It's not the faith - it's the friendship

Previous happiness studies found, that religious people are on average happier and more satisfied with their lives. But now it turns out, that this is not about the faith, the spirituality - it's the friendships they form in their congregation, that make them happier with their lives. This is the result of a study which appears in the current issue of the American Sociological Review; the paper, titled Religion, Social Networks, and Life Satisfaction was co-written by Chaeyoon Lim (University of Wisconsin) and Robert Putnam (Harvard); Lim writes:

"Our study offers compelling evidence that it is the social aspects of religion rather than theology or spirituality that leads to life satisfaction. In particular, we find that friendships built in religious congregations are the secret ingredient in religion that makes people happier."

Based on previously collected data of the Faith Matters Study (a 2006/7 telephone poll of 1915 adult Americans), the authors found, that 33 per cent of congregants who attend service at least once a week and have between three and five friends in their church community, rate their lives as "extremely satisfied"; but only 19 per cent of regular churchgoers without any friends in the congregation reach that level of satisfaction - the same level as people who never go to church at all. But wait, there is more proof that it's the friends that make the difference:

- Neither respondents who "personally experience the presence of God" nor those who often "personally feel God’s love in life" have a significantly higher level of satisfaction than those who do not;

- People who believe in God or heaven with an absolute certainty do not differ significantly from those who have less certain views.

- And private religious practices, such as prayer and holding religious services at home, are not significantly related to life satisfaction.

Which means, that for the purpose of life satisfaction, churches are as good (and probably not better) than any other club, where one might meet friends. And closeness to God does not lead to a happier life - at least not this life ...