Inspiration To live happier

There would be a solution to living a happier life - a way out from depression, anxiety, loneliness, hatred, anger and sadness. It's something you wouldn't immediately think of: religion.Incredible but true! If you want to be happier, get off the couch and go to church.

A recent five-year study conducted by Gallup (1), Harvard and Baylor University examined whether religiosity could contribute to "self-fulfillment", defined as "living in a state in which all aspects of one's life are good". In other words: happiness. And they found that this was indeed the case.

The name of the study, Global Flourishing Study (2), reveals its objective: in the world and in various belief systems, what is really necessary to truly "flourish" in life?

Although the study is not yet complete, it has already produced some initial results. "Faith comes up repeatedly as an important variable related to self fulfillment," Byron Johnson, director of Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion , declared (3).

In fact, they quantified their results: the "self-fulfillment" score is 0.23 points higher for someone who says religion is an important part of his daily life. One’s "probability of happiness" increases even more if one goes to church at least once a week - by 0.41 points.

Naturally, pollsters try to explain where this happiness comes from - what part of religious faith holds the secret? Johnson thinks it may be the emphasis on others, as most religions teach; while Brendan Case, Associate Director of Research at Harvard's Human Flourishing Program, argues that accumulated life experience plays a role.

"One of the best indicators of future participation in a religious community as an adult is having participated in it as a child," he said, "and participation as an adult is very strongly associated with self-fulfillment in the present."

But it's never too late to start.

According to the study, particular faith or denomination isn't that important: apparently, whether you're Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Scientologist, Zoroastrian, Baha'i or from any other religion, believing, being united in and being part of something bigger than oneself simply makes you happier.

In his famous essay "Religious Influence in Society (4)", L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology's founder, had explained why: "Let a man know he is himself, a spiritual being, that he is capable of the power of choice and has the right to aspire to greater wisdom and you have started him up a higher road."

As active promoter of religious tolerance and well aware of religion's role in creating happiness, L. Ron Hubbard had described how "Man (5), since the dawn of the species, has taken great consolation and joy in his religions". It's a fact that research continues to confirm it. "People who are active in religious congregations tend to be happier and more civically engaged than either religiously unaffiliated adults or inactive members of religious groups, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of survey data from the United States and more than two dozen other countries,” states an article covering the subject (6).

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(1)www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/faith-religion-happiness-spirituality - (2) https://hfh.fas.harvard.edu/global-flourishing-study - (3) www.baylorisr.org - (4) ww.freedommag.org/issue/201412-expansion/l-ron-hubbard/religious-influence-in-society.html - (5) www.chemindubonheur.fr/thewaytohappiness/precepts/respect-the-religious-beliefs-of-others.html - (6) www.pewresearch.org/religion/2019/01/31/religions-relationship-to-happiness-civic-engagement-and-health-around-the-world/