We can measure both religiosity and happiness and also their relationship to one another. There is an immense amount of data on this subject, and it indicates conclusively that religious people really are happier and better off emotionally than their secular counterparts. . . .What really matters for predicting attitudes and behaviors is not affiliation with a religion, but rather the practice of that religion.

. . . .Religious people of all faiths are much, much happier than secularists, on average. In 2004, 43 percent of religious folks said they were "very happy" with their lives, versus 23 percent of secularists. Religious people are a third more likely than secularists to say they are optimistic about the future. Secularists are nearly twice as likely as religious people to say, "I am inclined to feel I am a failure."

The correlation between religion and happiness has little to do with money, age, or education. Religious people are happier than secularists even if they are alike in these ways--as well as in sex, family status, and race. If two people are identical in these characteristics, but one is religious while the other is secular, the religious person will still be 13 percentage points more likely than the nonreligious person to say he or she is very happy.

The connection between faith and happiness holds regardless of one's particular religion. A major 2000 survey revealed that observant Christians (Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, and others) and Jews, along with members of a great many other religious traditions--even esoteric and new age faiths--were far more likely than secularists to say they were happy.