Announcing the results of a new Global Flourishing Study, a consortium of scholars and pollsters led by Gallup said that they found links between religiosity and people’s satisfaction with their lives.
The study, a joint project of Harvard and Baylor universities, Gallup and the Center for Open Science, aims to uncover what influences “human flourishing,” which is defined by measures of happiness, character and virtue and social relationships, among other values.
According to the group’s research, attending a religious service regularly positively affects flourishing.
“We’re not shocked at that because there’s a lot of other research that indicates that faith is important to human flourishing, but it may come as a surprise to people that religion would be an important thing,” said Byron R. Johnson, director of Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion.
Help and healing
Earlier studies have shown that religion could help young people struggling with mental health issues, but also that being involved in a congregation could influence the level of happiness.
For this study, Gallup interviewed 200,000 individuals in more than 20 countries, including Mexico, Japan, Nigeria, Indonesia and Israel. Participants were asked questions about the six domains the Center for Open Science has identified as the core indicators of human flourishing. Physical and mental health, purpose and financial stability were among the topics discussed.
Their responses were collected during short in-person interviews and used to create a “human flourishing index” ranging from 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest level of satisfaction.
Respondents who said “religion is an important part of daily life” score 0.23 points higher on average than those who didn’t. Those who attend a religious service at least once a week scored 0.41 points higher than those who never do. Attendance one to three times a month correlated with a 0.22 point higher score, while those who go a few times a year scored 0.18 points higher on average.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This article was originally published at Religion News Service. Click here to read more.
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