The more religious you are the happier you are likely to be according to new research.

A study of the effect of religion on quality of life claims that religious people are happier the more often they go to church and pray.

The research, presented to the Royal Economic Society, gathered data from thousands across Europe including the UK and found that religious people have better “life satisfaction” than their non-religious counterparts.

But the author of the study, Professor Andrew Clark, admitted that other factors could be at work. He said benefits of a religious upbringing unrelated to belief such as a stable family home, could have influenced the outcome.

The report found that religious people suffer less psychologically if they become unemployed. But believers are lazier when it comes to looking for work when they are out of a job, say researchers Professor Clark and Dr Orsolya Lelkes.

Other traumas, such as divorce, have less of an impact on the state of mind of believers according to researchers, who say that religion acts as a type of “insurance” against personal disaster.

This is not the first study showing a positive correlation between religious belief and perceived quality of life, but this one began as an investigation into why there were different levels of unemployment benefits across Europe.

Professor Clark said: "We originally started the research to work out why some European countries had more generous unemployment benefits than others, but our analysis suggested that religious people suffered less psychological harm from unemployment than the non-religious.

"They had higher levels of life satisfaction".

Terry Sanderson, director of the National Secular Society, dismissed the findings. “Non-believers can’t just turn on a faith in order to be happy,” he said. “If you find religious claims incredible, then you won’t believe them, whatever the supposed rewards in terms of personal fulfilment.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article3577517.ece

There is also an interesting study that deals with the question Is personal happiness associated with religious belief and involvement?  

http://wps.ablongman.com/ab_henslin_sociology_8/43/11215/2871166.cw/index.html   <---- Full article

INTRODUCTION: Although sociologists long ago recognized that religious differences were often the source of social conflict, they have also noted that religion meets a variety of positive functions. For example, religion presumably helps provide people with meaning and purpose, a sense of security, and ethical guidelines, although Karl Marx, as discussed in the text, put a negative spin on such functions. He argued in the 19th century that religion was the "opium of the people," deflecting their attention from their material conditions and therefore from participation in the class struggle. But, what about religion today in our society? What do the empirical data show? Does religion actually tend to make one happier

TABLE 1. HAPPINESS BY BELIEF IN GOD *

TABLE 2. HAPPINESS BY REPORTED RELIGIOSITY

Moreover, they become even happier the more they pray and go to church, claims the study by Prof Andrew Clark and Dr Orsolya Lelkes

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1581994/Believers-are-happier-than-atheists.html <----- Full article

esearch* shows exactly the opposite is true. Evangelical Christians have more fun and are the most happy. The closer a Christian follows the Bible, the less stressed out they are and happier they are. Overall 99% of Evangelical Christians say they are happy. Those who believe in the philosophy of eat, drink and be merry -- atheists -- are the least happy and most stressed out group of people. In other words, if we follow God's plan we are more likely to find happiness. If we follow man's plan (human wisdom), we are more likely to have a stressed out life.

http://www.missiontoamerica.org/christianity/obey-God.html <----- Full article

Some would say 'ignorance is bliss'. I say I have a ton of fun as an Evangelical Christian.

Is this thread a response to the other one where it was said there were many more religious prisoners than atheist ones?
Well then, ignorance is bliss until you commit a crime, you religious person you!

Religious pople are more likely to be poor as they dedicate their lives to their cause.

Meh. I'm an atheist and I'm the happiest person in the world.

Or it could be that the Evangelicals are stressing everyone else out. Mostly the Atheist.

What's up with all the religion threads lately?

People who believe in God are happier?...Or are people who believe in God more likely to "say" that they are happy?

This study does not differentiate between the two.

God curses atheist people so it makes sense.

Please, there is no need for flaming and provoking. Stay civil :)