People with religious faith tend to be happier than those without?

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Permalink Reply by Michelle on January 19, 2010 at 1:53pm

Can someone teach me how to roller blade, I fell once and got rid of them. BTW, I can ice skate and roller skate, it seems to be the combination. I also went to a small university in IL and studied theatre, so I could be of some use (finally).

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Permalink Reply by Michelle on January 20, 2010 at 8:47pm

It wasn't Wesleyan was it?

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Permalink Reply by Prog Rock Girl on January 21, 2010 at 6:40pm

I still feel special--for seeing through all the bullshit!

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Permalink Reply by Freedom of Anonymity on January 29, 2010 at 9:53am

1. Self-induced euphoria or self-hypnosis leading to release of endorphins

From what I've read of the brain, it is an endorphin junkie, part of the problem with the constant need for "instant gratification"; so I think this one nails it for the larger portion of the masses.

One of the major issues for those who gain no euphoria/endorphin dump from religiosity, is we all still suffer from the need of gratification; fortunately/unfortunately, however it is viewed, those of us lacking these behaviors feel compelled to face stark reality, head on. It would seem likely, barring substitute behaviors/stimuli, we would be less "happy", in the euphoric seen.

Actuality, dealing with what is, as it is, can be a real brainfuck. I wonder if E.A. Poe was an atheist ... hmmm.

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Permalink Reply by John D on January 19, 2010 at 10:00am

Keep in mind that this is "self-reported" happiness. One of the biggest effects on how happy someone claims to be is their expectations for happiness. There have been studies suggesting that "curmudgeons" are the happiest people. Well, this is because they have low expectations.

My dad is a perfect example. He is a curmudgeon and he is religious. I asked him how happy he was. He says he is very happy, even though he complains about all kinds of problems with politics and people and has rapidly declining health. He once told me that if you can say you are happy 60% of the time that life doesn't get much better than this. I think this was good advice. I call myself happy too!

Part of being human is a natural desire to find out what is wrong and to fix it. There is always a pile of dissatisfaction with life. The question is... does this "dissatisfaction" actually make you unhappy????

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Permalink Reply by AnnaSero on January 19, 2010 at 4:44pm

John, did I get your point right - religious people have low expectations because they have high expectations of the afterlife?
Why don't atheists self-report happiness too?

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Permalink Reply by JayBarti on January 19, 2010 at 5:27pm

Why don't atheists self-report happiness too?

I am an atheist and I am very happy (there you go self-reporting in action). In fact... I cannot think of a time in my adult life when I have been happier in general terms. My life on the outside to others possibly doesn't look good as it has been in the past, I have had better jobs, made more money, had maybe the life I thought I wanted, but I wasn't happy.

It is probably more down to my attitude towards life. I approach my problems realistically, and I get real joy when I crack the nut of one of those problems. I stopped trying to fix myself (I am not broken, I am human) and instead got on with evolving (thank you HowardD I told you I would steal that line) and improving what I like about myself. I haven't set my expectations low (which is a common accusation I have had leveled at me recently), I have set them to realistic. I work on solving those problems which are in my control and I have stopped worrying about things in which I have no control over at all.

I basically decided to just get on with the business of living, after all this is the moment in time when I exist, I don't get another go, so why waste it.

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Permalink Reply by AnnaSero on January 19, 2010 at 5:52pm

I'm a atheist too and happy too:) No, I don't mean that atheists don't report being happy, what I meant is that statistically we report it less then those who are religious. Aaron just made a point, I wonder how it can be tested.

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Permalink Reply by John D on January 20, 2010 at 8:56pm

No - I'm just sayin that you can't assume religion makes these people happy. There are other factors involved. Also, there is no scientific definition of happy or any accurate way to measure happiness. The whole thing is problematic.

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Permalink Reply by Freedom of Anonymity on January 29, 2010 at 12:24pm

fMRI can be used; pleasure centers of the brain, in reaction to unbiased inquiry, would give a picture.

There certainly are empirical means of determining the factual nature of "happiness"; the only caveat being there is so much discrepancy between individuals in how "happiness" is defined, as you stated previously.

There has to be a "happiness algorithm" somewhere out there ...

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Permalink Reply by Ted Delorme on January 19, 2010 at 11:45am

I got a nice little smile at the "Pilgrimage to the Holy Land" ad on the side of this page. Does that make me happy? I'm a comedian (improv/stand-up/acting) currently in rehearsals for a dream role. Does that mean I'm happy? I've been married to a wonderful woman for 23 years, I'm debt-free, have a good job, and have a plan to do something soon that's outrageous and hopefully entertaining enough to make me marginally famous. Happy yet?

I can't say that I feel happy. Maybe we aren't meant to be happy. I get to do stuff I enjoy, I'm comfortable, I have a few friends. But I can see the reality in the world, and it isn't a happy place. I'm guaranteed "the pursuit of happiness;" I'll take it. That's all you get. Happiness is something I don't quite understand, I suppose.

Help me out here. What IS "happiness?"

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Permalink Reply by AnnaSero on January 19, 2010 at 4:54pm

Definition would be - state of mind or emotion described as satisfaction, pleasure, or joy. Positive psychology guys (Haidt among them) describe happiness as positive emotions and positive activities and allocate three kinds of happiness: pleasure, engagement, and meaning.

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