Are religious people happier than non-believers?

[Vox]

One has to define happiness at first.

and one can find that the definition is not the same for those who are religious/spiritual ( never understand why is it being distinguished as it is basically the same) and atheist are glaringly opposite.

your first post was full of hate

how christiany of you

my first post is way over your comprehension abilities, bonehead

 

[Vox]

see why people don't like christains?


because you are elitists so much of the time.

Be true to what Jesus taught ( you now LOVE and kindness) and maybe you might be a better religion

thruthie, you are a bonehead and, how to say it lovingly, not very bright

this discussion is way over your head, so don't torture yourself - you would not understand it.

 

[pacer]

Now you also feel it incumbent upon yourself to remind these people "hey, you know that God you are praying to?... he doesn't exist. And you know that heaven you look forward to?... when you're dead, you're dead. There is no hope."

You certainly read a heck of a lot into my post. My point simply was humanity provides hope to the starving and oppressed, not god. I trust in humanity.

 

[GISMYS]

HOW TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!PSALM 53:1====Only a fool would say to himself, “There is no God.” And why does he say it?[a] Because of his wicked heart, his dark and evil deeds. His life is corroded with sin.

 

[vanityofvanitys]

Now you also feel it incumbent upon yourself to remind these people "hey, you know that God you are praying to?... he doesn't exist. And you know that heaven you look forward to?... when you're dead, you're dead. There is no hope."

You certainly read a heck of a lot into my post. My point simply was humanity provides hope to the starving and oppressed, not god. If the world did nothing but pray and no one lifted a finger in support of Africa, who would provide food and water and shelter, etc.

Oh and you think those who do not believe in God are doing the lion's share of caring for them most destitute in this world while Christians are sitting on their hands and their bank accounts?

In other words, would it change your mind in the least if you realize the opposite was the truth? Christianity is far and away the greatest friend of the sick and the lonely and the oppressed. But none of that matters to those abandoned if they are not directing their lives towards a greater goal in the after life.

 

[pacer]

Oh and you think those who do not believe in God are doing the lion's share of caring for them most destitute in this world while Christians are sitting on their hands and their bank accounts?

We are compassionate beings. When it comes to providing aid, it is not a question of believing or not believing in god.

 

[vanityofvanitys]

Oh and you think those who do not believe in God are doing the lion's share of caring for them most destitute in this world while Christians are sitting on their hands and their bank accounts?

We are compassionate beings. When it comes to providing aid, it is not a question of believing or not believing in god.

We are not compassionate beings, by and large. When it comes to sharing what we have with those who have not. Not even close!

And that includes almost all Christians and unbelievers in this world, and me too.

And get this. We are all going to be judged very harshly on that salient point. It will be an awful day. Matthew 25:31-46 (The Last Judgement)

 

[LittleNipper]

Oh and you think those who do not believe in God are doing the lion's share of caring for them most destitute in this world while Christians are sitting on their hands and their bank accounts?

We are compassionate beings. When it comes to providing aid, it is not a question of believing or not believing in god.

So how many schools, orphanages, hospitals, homes for unwed mothers, libraries, soup kitchens, humanitarian efforts were the result of atheistic concern?

 

[Truthmatters]

see many Christians don't like other humans.


its not what Jesus wanted by hey these new Christians don't much listen to what Jesus said

 

[Truthmatters]

human beings developed an ever increasing brain to deal with being a community of cooperating humans who cared for each other.


the people who think people are evil are the people who look inside their own hearts and think EVERYONE is as heartless as they are.

 

[Truthmatters]

If you think mankind is evil its likely because your evil

 

[pacer]

Oh and you think those who do not believe in God are doing the lion's share of caring for them most destitute in this world while Christians are sitting on their hands and their bank accounts?

We are compassionate beings. When it comes to providing aid, it is not a question of believing or not believing in god.

So how many schools, orphanages, hospitals, homes for unwed mothers, libraries, soup kitchens, humanitarian efforts were the result of atheistic concern?

Humanitarian efforts did not discriminate between believers and non-believers.

 

[chikenwing]

"Are religious people happier than non-believers?"

Based upon the many people I have known from both groups, I would answer with a resounding, YES.

Even a half bind person could see that.

 

[daws101]

the study and statistics are about the 2010.

The first two links are from 2008.

I provided the link to the study, not opinions.

The links to the studies was contained in the opinion pieces.

GLOBALLY the amount of Christians is growing and the amount of atheists and agnostics is shrinking.

I agree polls are not necessarily reliable but it is all we have and most recent polls suggest religions are on the decline.

"studies" can be and are just as fallible and sometimes just as bias as polls.

 

[daws101]

And they are not. they are expanding if anything.

There are recent stats posted in one of these threads (can't put my finger on it right now) which show Christianity and other organized religions are rapidly declining, especially amongst the younger generations. Here are a couple of articles on the subject.

Christianity Is In Decline And Could Go Extinct In The UK, Says Lord George Carey

The Slow, Steady Decline of Evangelical Christianity

you provide blog opinions as a proof of the authors opinion?

Number of Christians of all denomination has been steadily GROWING over the last 100 years and the number of atheists and agnostics has been declining. Globally.



Lausanne World Pulse - Research Articles - The Past Five Years of Christian Growth Worldwide
Study: 2.6 Billion of World Population Expected to Be Christian by 2020

and here is a STUDY which just confirms by graphs and figures - ALLdenominations have been GROWING and continue to do so.

http://wwwgordonconwell.com/netcommunity/CSGCResources/ChristianityinitsGlobalContext.pdf

The world in 2010 was more religious than in 1970,
and this trend will continue to 2020 and perhaps
beyond.

Projections to 2020 indicate a sustained decrease of the
global share of the non-religious. This is due primarily to the
resurgence of Buddhism, Christianity, and other religions in
China, and Christianity in Eastern Europe. If this trend continues,
agnostics and atheists will be a smaller portion of the
world’s population in 2020 than they were in 2010. Although
the number of atheists and agnostics continues to rise in the
Western world, the current growth of a variety of religions
in China in particular (where the vast majority of the nonreligious
live today) suggests continued future demographic
growth of religion. From the point of view of 1970–2010,
there has been a global religious resurgence, and it seems
likely to continue into the future.
Two religions, Christianity and Islam, dominate religious demographics
and seem poised to continue that dominance in
the future.

can you say extremely bias..I knew you could!

 

[daws101]

Belonging is a very powerful need. Man is a social animal so it is only logical that being around people would be uplifting and fulfilling. It is not religion, per se - belief in God or belief in the tenets of a faith, etc. - that makes people happier. It is the fellowship and supportive relationships that provide a sense of contentment.

Here is an article you may enjoy reading. It makes some very interesting points.

"Are religious people happier than atheists?"

During the past 30 years or so, a slew of studies have suggested that religious people tend to be happier and healthier, on average, than those who describe themselves as non-religious.

In fact, some research has found that people who regularly attend religious services can expect to live an average of seven years longer than their peers who never step inside a church, synagogue or mosque.

For years these kinds of studies have been construed as bad news for the 15 percent of Americans who cite “none” as their religious affiliation. But, as Sandra Upson points out in an article this month in Scientific American Mind, non-religious individuals and atheists (for they are not necessarily the same) needn’t worry.

New research has found “that the positive effects of religion depend enormously on where you live,” writes Upson. “Religious people may be happier than their godless counterparts, but only if the society they belong to values religion highly, which not all societies do.”

In other words, the “happiness premium" that previous research has found among religious people stems not from those individuals' religious beliefs, but from the social support they receive from being part of a community of like-minded people.



Are religious people happier than atheists? | MinnPost

Copyright. Link Each Only paste a small to medium section of the material

"The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one."

— George Bernard Shaw

Is a drunken man happier than a sober man? I seem to remember stories that my grandfather used to beat my grandmother and my mother when he got drunk... Of course my grandpop might have been having a grand time; however, I doubt my grandmom enjoyed it.

my dad used to beat my mom and us kid drunk and sober...and he was highly religious ....

 

[daws101]

Bullshit, and a really ignorant response. First of all, for believers there are consequences for their behaviors, and not just on a spiritual level. Also, you're not considering the religious people who struggle with their faith and/or even feel stress by not being able to reconcile everything with God. It often takes a lot of work to maintain a healthy relationship between God, family, work, society, etc. In some ways it's a lot easier to be a non-believer.

bullshit! believers believe there are consequences above and beyond "earthly" consequences for their behaviors ..as if bad behavior and good behavior are not punished or rewarded in real life...
nonbelievers think that being punished twice is overkill.

What part of "and not just on a spiritual level" was lost on you, Skippy. Don't pretend to know what believers believe...and I don't have any concern what a non-believer believes. I think it's amusing when non-believers accuse believers of being so judgmental, as they sit on their holier than thou little pedestals looking down at the poor misled fairy in the sky believers.

the spiritual level is what's at issue....diva!
I know exactly what believers believe... I like lots of people were raised with so called Christian values.
my family attended church religiously (pun intended).
so when you say i and other nonbelievers are pretending to know...that's because WE DO know..
it's not like god just proofed us in to existence just to test you ass hats.
also your feinted indifference to what non believers think is a steaming pile of bullshit...
if that were true then why were you compelled to answer if you didn't give a shit?

 

[daws101]

?Nones? on the Rise | Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project

Non-affiliated (atheist, agnostic, and god-believing but without religion) is growing -- and quickly at that.

EDIT: It also says Protestantism is declining as well.

Society is falling apart also, so maybe you are onto something. However, it isn't that God doesn't exist, but that disbelief, in general, brings about despair and not joy.

judging upon animosity and bile of our self-professed atheists here, they are full of "joy" and "happiness"

wow! you just stated fact! even with the sarcasm

 

[Vox]

There are recent stats posted in one of these threads (can't put my finger on it right now) which show Christianity and other organized religions are rapidly declining, especially amongst the younger generations. Here are a couple of articles on the subject.

Christianity Is In Decline And Could Go Extinct In The UK, Says Lord George Carey

The Slow, Steady Decline of Evangelical Christianity

you provide blog opinions as a proof of the authors opinion?

Number of Christians of all denomination has been steadily GROWING over the last 100 years and the number of atheists and agnostics has been declining. Globally.



Lausanne World Pulse - Research Articles - The Past Five Years of Christian Growth Worldwide
Study: 2.6 Billion of World Population Expected to Be Christian by 2020

and here is a STUDY which just confirms by graphs and figures - ALLdenominations have been GROWING and continue to do so.

http://wwwgordonconwell.com/netcommunity/CSGCResources/ChristianityinitsGlobalContext.pdf

The world in 2010 was more religious than in 1970,
and this trend will continue to 2020 and perhaps
beyond.

Projections to 2020 indicate a sustained decrease of the
global share of the non-religious. This is due primarily to the
resurgence of Buddhism, Christianity, and other religions in
China, and Christianity in Eastern Europe. If this trend continues,
agnostics and atheists will be a smaller portion of the
world’s population in 2020 than they were in 2010. Although
the number of atheists and agnostics continues to rise in the
Western world, the current growth of a variety of religions
in China in particular (where the vast majority of the nonreligious
live today) suggests continued future demographic
growth of religion. From the point of view of 1970–2010,
there has been a global religious resurgence, and it seems
likely to continue into the future.
Two religions, Christianity and Islam, dominate religious demographics
and seem poised to continue that dominance in
the future.

can you say extremely bias..I knew you could!

I know stats is too biased for your little brain, dawsy

 

[Book of Jeremiah]

While Daws and I don't agree on everything concerning faith - I find him to be extremely intelligent. If I had to vote on a top three he'd be in it.