Regular Churchgoers Are Happier!

We live in a world where religious observance and church attendance are rapidly diminishing, especially in Europe and the United Kingdom. Yet research continues to support the idea that religion is important to health and happiness. Gallup, Harvard and Baylor universities, and the Center for Open Science collaborated in an effort to discover what factors help people flourish, based on “measures of happiness, character and virtue and social relationships, among other values” (ReligionNews.com, March 28, 2024). They conducted a massive study, interviewing 200,000 people in 20 nations. According to their findings, one factor that clearly impacts individual happiness and a sense of flourishing is regularly attending religious services. A professor of social sciences from Baylor University remarked, “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.”

While results from this and past studies highlight the impact of regular attendance at religious services on human flourishing, many psychologists write off religion as simply creating an opportunity for human interaction. Many do not consider the importance and impact of the worship that occurs during religious assembly, and its specific effects on happiness. And while many believe it does not matter what church you attend, the Bible clearly says otherwise. To learn what Scripture reveals about where we should go to church, be sure to read or listen to our booklet Where Is God’s True Church Today?

In February 2025, the next stage of analysis for this multi-nation study should be published, including an examination of the differing effects of specific religions on human flourishing. Those findings may be interesting.