Quickie: Religious Couples Find Happiness in Their Faith During Easter and Beyond
It’s not just about church service
Are you planning to celebrate Easter with your partner? Do you enjoy going to church together, whether it’s a religious holiday or not? Do you and your partner regularly spend time with the people you attend church with?
“One of the important functions of religion is to give people a sense of belonging to a moral community based on religious faith.”
If so, a study in the American Sociological Review shows that for religious people, this is the key to true happiness. Although at first blush, it may seem that this joy comes from the spiritual connection they have to their faith, these positive feelings are largely tied to something else: the interpersonal connections they form with the people they worship alongside of.
“Our study offers compelling evidence that it is the social aspects of religion, rather than theology or spirituality, that leads to life satisfaction,” said researcher Chaeyoon Lim. “In particular, we find that friendships built in religious congregations are the secret ingredient in religion that makes people happier.”
“Our study offers…
