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/sci/ - Science & Math

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4006989 No.4006989 [Reply] [Original]

Does increased religiosity cause increased happiness?

What, if any, implications might this have for our reasons to adopt religious belief?

>> No.4007004

A drunktard is happy.

>> No.4007015
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4007015

>>4006989
yes it does, but religion is not a choice
<<<
/thread

>> No.4007021

Perhaps. but only as a side effect from 'ignorance = bliss'

>> No.4007028

>>4007015

Surely it is, to some degree. You can follow ritual and let cognitive dissonance play its part.

Further, even if it's not a choice for the individual with respect to himself, it's certainly a choice for parents and policymakers, no?

>> No.4007034

>>4007028
following the rituals, praying and singing to the air while knowing that there is no god listening will just make you feel fucking stupid.
you cant force yourself to believe in god anymore than you can make yourself believe in santa claus again.

>> No.4007045

Why do you think magical beliefs are so widespread in almost all cultures? They work.

>> No.4007050
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4007050

Do you ask questions to answers you already know just to justify your position on religious views?
Are you so deluded OP that you cannot assign common-sense to your question? Nigga i wont even answer the damn question, because you already know the answer.

>> No.4007063

>>4007034
Not true, some people purposefully brainwash themselves to believing in something for the experience. This includes religions. Yes I have met a person who did this.

>> No.4007080

Unquestionable beliefs of any sort (such as those sourced to remote and all-powerful entities) are always very successful enforcers of social cohesion. Generally more cohesive societies are happier.

>> No.4007106

>>4007063
wouldnt the knowledge that he brainwashed himself make him realise that he believes lies? or things that at least arnt necessarily true, and need reanalysing?

>> No.4007112

>>4007106
you forgot about the part where it never happened like that poster said it did

>> No.4007118

>>4007050

brofist

>> No.4007120

>>4007112
lol, you think he's lie just to make a point?
...i wonder how one would be able to brainwash themselves though.

>> No.4007131

I don't really know if it does cause increased happiness. A quick search of google scholar indicates that there are studies showing both, though this one guy in particular ALWAYS gets the result that there is no correlation, whereas most of the other people get a least a small correlation, which I find slightly suspicious. It is suggested in one of the abstracts that this is related to the tests they use to indicate happiness, but this isn't good for any scientific investigation.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886904002405
http://www.springerlink.com/content/x85247k73330nhp2/
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=05MeqarwjAcC&oi=fnd&pg=PA75&dq=religi
osity+and+happiness&ots=X3htPzuGRf&sig=KzDUnGL03cP66m6LBTHZ8ydgkF8#v=onepage&q=religiosi
ty%20and%20happiness&f=false
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886997889106
http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2000-03596-001

Still, from personal experience of no valid scientific meaning, I would say I lean towards the small positive correlation result. The super religious people I've known are generally happy folks, but the average religious person I don't really think is significantly happier. It probably has something to do with how willing a person is to completely abandon goals they have at the drop of a hat because "God has other plans". Or to rationalize any difficulties towards goals as either tests or signs to look for something else.

>> No.4007151

>>4007021
Pretty much this. The thought that there is a plan, a meaning in suffering, and that someone is watching out for you in the long run helps people get through bad times and feel good about their shit lives.

For me though, knowledge > everything else. So I'd rather have an extreme amount of knowledge and not be entirely happy than be dumb and ignorantly blissful. Remember, there's a strong correlation between intelligence and depression.

>> No.4007160

>>4007151
and women commit suicide more than men. so women more intelligent than men

>> No.4007186
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4007186

no. just no.

>> No.4007190

>>4007151

If you mean scientific knowledge, it's falsifiable and not guaranteed to be true in the long run. If anything you'd prefer living in doubt than believing in a comforting lie. But the point is whether spiritual beliefs are a lie after all

>> No.4007292
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4007292

>>4007160
>and women commit suicide more than men

Actually men commit suicide at a much higher rate than women:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate

>> No.4008585

bump

>> No.4008719

>>4006989
Last i heard typically religious folk are more happy but the happiness seems like it might come from the actual social experience of church rather than belief itself.