Do you find faith to be an effective insurance against the stresses of life? No, and I have more reasons to believe in a higher power than most people. Regardless of whatever faith I have, though, I believe that any higher power out there is more of a non-active figure and expects us to run our own lives. As Constantine put it..."God is a kid with an ant farm."

Are the religious just being naive to think that God will solve their problems? Somewhat. I think that ultimately, in simple, day to day matters, we do have to fend for ourselves.

However, I do believe in the power of prayer in some situations. My mother had inoperable brain tumor and was told she had between one minute and one month to live, as it was growing rapidly. They did x-rays, it was still there. AN HOUR LATER, they did another batch of x-rays, and it was COMPLETELY GONE. My mother is on medical books as an unsolved case because absorbing a tumor, especially a brain tumor, that rapidly is basically a medical impossibility. So, do I think "God" will solve all our problems? No. Do I think we should take responsibility for our own actions? Absolutely.

Do I believe that miracles happen and that there's nothing wrong with having faith? Absolutely.

Is the purpose of religion to put things in perspective? Religion is there to remind us to be better human beings and to not get caught up in the rat race. One of the things I hold most dear about my beliefs is the feeling that I was put here for something greater than just focusing on my own little world. One of the reasons I am so politically minded is that I want to make this world a better place and a lot of that comes from my belief that I have a duty to the rest of humanity to do my part to make this world better. I'm not on some religous crusade, I just want to help people in any way I can. I just feel it is the reason I was born.

ARGH, that should be "My mother had AN inoperable brain tumor".

Again, I should not post while on pain meds.

Matdredalia, you quoted John Constantine - cool Good movie.

I wrote a blog about this article the other day. It was on digg and everyone there was making awful comments, saying pretty much anyone who believes in any religion is a nut. But I already ranted about them.

That said, I approve of Matdredalia's comment No really, very good comment.

Love the new avatar Wack!

What's up with the title? Guilt be gone?
Anyways, it does seem to me that my friends and family members who adhere to religion are happier. They dont "rely" on God to solve everything for them, they're very capable people. It could be because they feel a part of something bigger, or that, no matter what, in the end everything will be okay for them.
Besides, I'm agnostic and I am never not-stressed out or p!ssed off.

Just to clarify, having faith does not mean that you believe god will solve your problems. The reason I believe that those with religion and/or a higher power in their lives is that they have faith that as long as they live their life to the best of their abilities that god has their back. It's not that he is going to fix or do anything for you, but that he is there support you in what your choices are.

It takes the edge off when you say to yourself, "I am giving this problem to a higher power." not that the problem goes away, but if you believe that it will be taken care of, you're adding the power of positive thinking to the mix. You're less stressed, making you happier, and a little bit healthier. Not that non-believers don't have good coping mechanisms, but this is one.
I am a Christian, but I don't go to church much. Recently I started listening to Christian radio in the car to see if it helped my road rage problem. I still cuss a little, but I don't get as angry. The radio ad they plays says "listen to us for 15 minutes and see if you don't feel just a little better." Well, I think the music sucks for the most part, but I am totally a lot more peacful and calm in the car!

Kris you aren't into Christian power ballads???

It would probably be in my best interests, nay- the best interests of Georgia drivers in general, to check out that station, Krista. I have the worst road rage.

*KRIS

mymellowman, I think that's the exact reason people are less stressed. I am a Christian but I don't think God is going to solve every single problem I have, however, he is there to turn to. Maybe some feel better because they can pray to him and just get whatever is bothering them off their chest. Maybe others draw comfort from their religions teachings. I don't think most people who believe in God feel he's going to fix everything for them.

The findings of this poll don't surprise me at all. Most of the religious people I know are happier than those I know who aren't religious.. Plus Time came out with a poll a while back that said that clergy men and women have the most job satisfation out of all the careers... so it makes sense.

Christian power ballads:

it totally helps with the driving. I have tried it with other calm music, but those don't work. I end up dropping the f-bomb just as much. But I think maybe when I hear the positive words, and lyrics about Jesus I think about how God and Jesus are probably watching. I'm calmer, because I stop cussing. You'd be amazed how one little cussing episode adds to another, and before you know it you're in a full out rage!

I think I have to pay attention to where the long, rambling, wordy and philosophical lyrics are going. It's amazing how long one guy can go on singing before he gets to a chorus. "Lord, I fell down, and couldn't get up, I was tempted, you are always there, I was tempted, and fell down, on the ground, down low, down by Satan, and God, you were there, oh yeah, yeaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Whatever happened to good old Johnny Cash, Will the circle be unbroken?

hahaha... i don't get road rage as much as i used to, but thats a good tip!

Do they have a christian station on sirius?? I don't remember..

Good Comments Mymellowmen.

I have faith but that is not what defines my happiness. My happiness comes from my ability to live positively and a strong belief in reciprocity.

I find religion to be comforting, and yes it does make me happier and whatnot.

Do you find faith to be an effective insurance against the stresses of life? Absolutely, I was watching survivor the other night and there was some woman, kathy i think, that was so stressed out and she kept saying "i cant feel my family anymore" and that she felt so alone and depressed and didnt know what to do, meanwhile the most beautiful freaking sunset i have ever seen was blooming above the ocean and I just thought "thats where God comes in, fills that emptiness, shows you the beauty of the world and takes away that stress"

Are the religious just being naive to think that God will solve their problems, or is the purpose of religion to put things in perspective? I dont think its naive, and really God doesnt solve our problems, he has given us the tools to do it ourselves through him. He didnt give his son to die for our sins, so we can hang onto them as a souvenir. I think my faith helps me put things into perspective alot of the times.

i think this is a very interesting concept - that faith/religion can calm the nerves. i am not religious myself, but i can see how under the right circumstances faith can help someone who is already at peace with themselves and their place in the world to relax during a crisis.

however... it seems to me that the kind of hyper-religious, "moral authority" people who go around trying to tell everyone else they are going to hell are probably only creating a lot more stress in their own lives by worrying about how other people choose to live their own.

letting go of other people's issues by realizing that the only person you control is yourself is a great way to liberate yourself and de-stress... but in a way it goes against a lot of the christian beliefs that as a believer it is your duty to spread the word. so i suppose religion/faith is just like anything else -- it's good in moderation.

I think it's really wrong to compare god to an insurance. Herte's why:

1. I don't consider any offerings to the church a premium for god's protection.

2. I don't get pissed off every time money goes to the church because I feel I am overpaying for something that I rarely need.

3. I don't get mad at god because I have been giving money all this time and when things do go wrong I get hit with a deductible that almost always is higher than the estimate to fix the damage.

4. God doesn't request more money when I get into an accident.

5. God doesn't request more money if I live in a city or in a bad neighborhood.

6. God doesn't make me carry around proof that I am affiliated with him.

Personally, I became much happier once I left my religion. That said, the religion I was raised in was one of those super-fundamentalist fire-and-brimstone "everyone you know is going to burn in Hell" kinds. I think anyone would be happy to get away from that! (When my husband went with me to that church for a visit, he commented that it seemed very cultish to him.) Now I'm a happy agnostic.

My mother in law keeps asking me to start going to her church regularly and be a member and all that, but I just can't make myself go on anything but holidays, and then only for her sake. Church completely freaks me out now.

bookish, we belonged to the catholic church as children, and i hated it. I always would ask "why do i have to go through mary to speak to jesus?" and my dad would get so mad at me. I am so glad we dont belong to that church anymore.

Caterpillar, I am Catholic, and have never been told go through Mary to speak with Jeasus, that is very strange and would question it as well.

And I agree with all the above that you stated, except I love being part of the Catholic church

I think that the common thread here which can be associated to the faithful/spiritual and non-believers is meditation. Which is proven to relieve stress. Prayer is meditation. Non-believers also meditate however there are a lot more faithful/spiritual who "pray" than non-believers who "meditate" so the equation would come out that the faithful are generally more happy than non-believers.

I'm not religious - and certainly not faithful/spiritual in a Judeo-Christian sense - and I consider myself pretty darn happy and well-adjusted; I deal with stressful events and get on with my life without recourse to an invisible dude in the sky. So maybe this study is skewed? Because statistics can prove any point...

"I always would ask "why do i have to go through mary to speak to jesus?"

Common misconception about Catholicism. I've seen and dealt with that argument many times. Other Christians would ask "why do you pray to saints?" Extremely irksome, for sure. Most of them aren't very openminded, although some would say the same about devout Catholics which at times, I can agree with. I'm not very religious but spiritual indeed. Even though I'm not a regular attendee of my church, I still respect them and stand behind them.

I was a kid....as an adult i get the catholic faith and respect it....but as a child i would hear the hail mary, or mary mentioned and would think it strange.

I can understand that. What an inquisitive child you were.

I would love to chat with Jesus. But I don't know if he's got my number.

Who wouldn't be happy to have an all-powerful being watching over you with your best interests at heart, making good things happen, keeping bad things from happening (unless you need to learn from them, of course), listening to you whenever you feel like speaking (or thinking), loving you unconditionally, and forgiving everything you do if you are sorry? He also gives you the rules of life to follow and tells you what is right and wrong. Everything is planned out, everything happens for a reason, and if you're a good person and do what he tells you to do, you'll spend eternity in the clouds or with 10,000 virgins or whatever.

Here's my take on this story:
Religion makes you "happy" because it gives you a framework to view the world. It gives you morals and ethics which help your life work better. It may also give you some assurance that the annoying people in your life--from bad drivers to overbearing bosses--will eventually get their comeuppance. The good folks will get their rewards. It gives you hope that life is not pointless.

sirius probably has at least one Christian station. XM has several, slightly different genres.

trésjolie: Don't worry, he's got your number. http://www.mysmiley.net/freesmiley.php?smiley=innocent/innocent0006.gif

Since I've found religion, I've been a happier person over all, and have witnessed the same effect on others. Most of the people I know who are actively practicing their beliefs aren't at all naive, and certainly don't believe in using God as 'insurance'. IMO, that term seems impersonal.
This is an interesting topic to me, because there have been several studies about the effect of prayer and belief. One such study (which I don't have the link to, but I'm sure I could find it somewhere) was on large groups of people in Washington DC devoting significant amounts of time to praying for crime to lessen. The result was, in fact, a noticibly lower number of crime. It makes for a fascinating study
Indie, one of my biggest pet peeves is when people have the misconception that Catholics pray to saints, and I too, have had the same discussion over and over again!

i agree with mellowman and caterpillargirl's comments. couldn't say it better myself and i'm totally going to try the christian radio station thing. i have horrible road rage. i also don't care to much for the music but some of it isn't too bad. i was born and raised in a christian home, am a christian myself, but i just can't seem to get into most of the christian tunes out there.