happiness

According to a new survey, churchgoers who attend a house of worship at least weekly are more likely than non-churchgoers to rate their mental or emotional health as "excellent."

As our society continues its post-Christian slide into secularism, holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas have become secularized as well. One can go the entire Christmas season without seeing a mention of Christ’s birth in secular culture; Thanksgiving has become far less about gratitude to God and far more about football and feasting. Thus we should not be surprised when even gratitude becomes generically secularized. But we should not overlook the illogic of this trajectory nor the power of thanksgiving when it is properly directed.

On this Fourth of July, as you’re celebrating the independence of our nation with your loved ones, I hope you will remember that we have the opportunity to choose how we pursue happiness. I pray that you choose to pursue a lasting joy. God is the sole source of a happiness that no person or government could ever provide.

Most of us understand that money can buy the best mattress, but it can’t guarantee sleep. Why do millionaires, movie stars and top entertainers often turn to spirituality, drugs and alcohol for the answers if success satisfies? Many discover that money, fame and recognition are not the answers. CEOs, presidents and vice presidents frequently admit that they are happy when they reach production goals, but very unhappy when under budget, largely because they measure happiness by what’s happening to them. When things go well, they’re happy, when things go poorly, they’re unhappy. I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t be productive, but if happiness is measured by our circumstances, it’s going to be a very rough road.

Happiness is far less the result of our circumstances than our response to them. Psychologists refer to the “hedonic treadmill” as “the observed tendency of humans to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events or life changes.” However, we were made for more than happiness.

According to new findings, just 14 percent of American adults say they are very happy at this time.

A Pew Research center poll found earlier this year that there is a powerful and positive link between being religiously devoted and overall happiness and mental well-being.

Daniel Markovits is a professor at Yale Law School with previous study at the London School of Economics, Oxford, Harvard, and Yale Law School. In The Atlantic, he pulls back the curtain on one of America’s most destructive myths: the harder you work, the happier you’ll be.

The Democratic Party’s presidential debates begin tonight. According to the Wall Street Journal, this is the largest Democratic presidential field in modern history. The candidates are hoping to differentiate themselves from each other and make an impact on the voting public.

A Pew research study has found that people who are regularly religiously active are happier and more engaged in civic matters than people who are religiously unaffiliated or religiously inactive.