Survey suggests highly religious Catholics live happier lives

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American Catholics who are highly religious most likely to report being “very happy” with their lives, satisfied with their family life, and frequently attending family gatherings, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center.
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Catholics who are highly religious—meaning that they report praying daily and attend religious services at least once a week—are also are more than twice as likely as the average Catholic to look to the teachings of the Catholic Church, the Bible, and the pope for guidance on difficult moral questions, according to the study, called “Religion in Everyday Life.”
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The report examines the personal, family, and social habits of more than 35,000 Americans across a wide range of faiths and denominations, including non-Christians and those who are religiously unaffiliated. Survey respondents were asked questions ranging from what they believe are the essentials of their faith, to whether they had told a white lie in the last week, to whether they recycle.
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cruxnow.com/church/2016/05/04/survey-suggests-highly-religious-catholics-live-happier-lives/
 
This doesn’t surprise me at all.This describes my life,now that I embrace my Catholic faith fully!👍
 
Thank God am Catholic. We should be proud and open about our faith.
 
I think I’m happier than when I wasn’t Catholic (converted Easter 2015) but I wish my family and friends were Catholic. I have just a handful of Catholic friends - all but one met at the Church- and one Catholic relative. By and large my friends and family are not religious at all, and while my fiance sees positive changes in me, he has no intention of converting himself and I know he thinks I’m rather strange at times now.
 
Shouldnt this be the other way around though?

I never heard Jesus say life on earth was going to be an easy, happy thing for christians…didnt he actually say the exact opposite?
 
mikekle said:
Shouldnt this be the other way around though?

I never heard Jesus say life on earth was going to be an easy, happy thing for christians…didnt he actually say the exact opposite?
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I am not the happiest person (occasional mild depression/anxiety) but I am very happy with my life. There’s no contradiction.

I think perhaps religious people will be more likely to accept the cards they are dealt which will make one more satisfied with life. Detachment is freedom (someday I’ll get there :cool: ).
 
J_Peterson said:
I am not the happiest person (occasional mild depression/anxiety) but I am very happy with my life. There’s no contradiction.

I think perhaps religious people will be more likely to accept the cards they are dealt which will make one more satisfied with life. Detachment is freedom (someday I’ll get there :cool: ).
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This exactly.No one’s life is ever free from sorrow in all it’s many forms.Yet,like our Blessed Mother,as Christians,in spite of our sorrows and suffering we can enjoy peace of mind and still experience joy.Knowing that God is beside us all the way.🙏
 
mikekle said:
Shouldnt this be the other way around though?

I never heard Jesus say life on earth was going to be an easy, happy thing for christians…didnt he actually say the exact opposite?
Click to expand...
No. People who truly work to be faithful know that life is going to have its ups and downs. They never expect everything to go there way, and their expectations of what can be expected from this fallen world is far more realistic than those who have a weaker faith, or no faith. Those realizations lead to a greater acceptance of life’s troubles, and in the process it leads to a happier life for those people.

People with a deep and abiding faith also know that they have far greater blessings to look forward to after they have completed their pilgrimage on this earth.
 
In my opinion this comes from knowing where to turn in sorrow, pain, uncertainty, anxiety and so on. I know my life is happier as a Catholic than ever before.

Once I realized God was calling me to the Church and I submitted to Him, I was happier. Not long after being received into the Church I was diagnosed with a little known debilitating illness, had to stop working, and basically had to change the life I had know for 30+ years. With my faith I was able to turn to God in prayer and accept His will for my life. Life is happier.
 
Doesn’t surprise me either.

More or less agreeing with some of the others.

I don’t think my being Catholic necessarily makes good things come into my life, but it has an effect on my overall frame of mind.

With a lot of the things that have gone on in my life, I could easily be an unhappy person if I weren’t in the right frame of mind.
 
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are awesome!!! I’m content, but not happy given all pain and suffering in the world. Saint John of the Cross warns us not to become a spiritual glutton where we enjoy spiritual sweetness instead of seeking spiritual purity and discretion. Remember that we are to Love God with all our soul, heart, mind and strength. Anything that interferes with this commandment works against us in the long run.
 
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