February 3, 2016
Statistics from Britain's national happiness index have suggested that
Christians are among the happiest people in the nation, while those who don't
identify with any particular religion generally scored the lowest life
satisfaction numbers.
The
Office for National Statistics posted numbers pertaining to
several happiness and life satisfaction questions measured between April 2012
and March 2015.
The study, released Tuesday, found that Christians, with all denominations
grouped together, reported an average mean of life satisfaction at 7.60. This
was the highest mean in the table, alongside Hindus, who also posted the same
number. The groups with the lowest average score were the non-religious at 7.41,
and the "any other religion" group, at 7.31.
When it came to the question of whether life is worthwhile, Jews and
Christians were on an average most likely to answer yes, at 7.90 and 7.86 mean
respectively. The non-religious were at the lowest end of the scale, with a 7.58
mean.
Similar results were also marked in the general happiness question, with
Hindus and Christians scoring the highest average means, at 7.57 and 7.47
respectively. Once again the non-religious had the lowest number, at 7.22.
The detailed survey, which had a sample size of 304,740 people, explored the
questions in a variety of other categories as well, including geographic
locations within the U.K., age groups and health status.
The statistics showed that the 65 to 79 age group was the happiest of all,
while those aged 45 to 59 reported the lowest levels of life satisfaction.
As for the religious group results, Dr. Paul McLaren, a consultant
psychiatrist at the Priory Hospitals, said that faith can indeed be a protective
factor for many people.
"With it usually comes strong social support which is a recognized protective
factor against psychological trauma," McLaren said, according to
The Telegraph.
Other studies in the past, such as a December 2014 release by the Austin
Institute for the Study of Family and Culture, have also found that there is a
strong link between happiness and religion.
The results found that 45 percent of those who attend church weekly would
describe themselves as "very happy," while only 28 percent of those who never
attend said the same.
On the other end of the scale, 4 percent of those who never attend church
said they were "very unhappy," compared to 2 percent of those that attend
weekly.
"Greater levels of church attendance predict higher life satisfaction even
when we account for how important religious faith is in people's lives," the
study said at the time.
"This result offers tentative evidence that actual integration into a
religious support network through attendance at religious services may in part
be responsible for the increased happiness observed among religious people."
Thu, Feb 4, 2016 at 3:07 PM
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