Given that we are all hopefully participating in the Plan of Happiness, it might be worth studying American views on happiness in general. With this in mind, I link the Pew study on happiness.
A few comments straight from a surprisingly well-written Pew summary:
Married people are happier than unmarrieds. People who worship frequently are happier than those who don’t. Republicans are happier than Democrats. Rich people are happier than poor people. Whites and Hispanics are happier than blacks. Sunbelt residents are happier than those who live in the rest of the country.
And this:
People who attend religious services weekly or more are happier (43% very happy) than those who attend monthly or less (31%); or seldom or never (26%). This correlation between happiness and frequency of church attendance has been a consistent finding in the General Social Surveys taken over the years.
The same pattern applies within all major religious denominations. For example, 38% of all Catholics who attend church weekly or more report being very happy, while just 28% of Catholics who attend church less often say they are very happy. The survey also finds that white evangelical Protestants (43%) are more likely than white mainline Protestants (33%) to report being very happy, but this difference goes away after taking frequency of church attendance into account.
And of course this:
Some 45% of all Republicans report being very happy, compared with just 30% of Democrats and 29% of independents. This finding has also been around a long time; Republicans have been happier than Democrats every year since the General Social Survey began taking its measurements in 1972. Pew surveys since 1991 also show a partisan gap on happiness; the current 16 percentage point gap is among the largest in Pew surveys, rivaled only by a 17 point gap in February 2003.
Could it be that Republicans are so much happier now because their party controls all the levers of federal power? Not likely. Since 1972, the GOP happiness edge over Democrats has ebbed and flowed in a pattern that appears unrelated to which party is in political power.
For example, Republicans had up to a 10 and 11 percentage point happiness edge over Democrats in various years of both the Carter and Clinton presidencies, and as small as a three and five percentage point edge in various years of the Reagan and first Bush presidencies. Also, we should explain here a bit about how our survey questionnaire was constructed. The question about happiness was posed at the very beginning of the interview, while the question about political affiliation was posed at the back end, along with questions about demographic traits. So respondents were not cued to consider their happiness through the frame of partisan politics. This question is about happiness; it is not a question about happiness with partisan outcomes.
Now I know why Mormon Republicans who go to church a lot are always so happy!
That’s pretty funny. They ought to make a campaign around it- you know, something like “Be happy, live well! Vote Republican” buttons or something.
Now I know why Mormon Republicans who go to church a lot are always so happy!
Why? Geoff, does this actually offer you a “why”?
This is fun stuff — thanks for the link. The Party ID relationship seems fishy. In fact, one of the charts on the Pew site helps account for this one. Click here and note that there is no statistically meaningful relationship between Party ID and happiness among families with an income of less than $30,000. I would imagine that controlling for church attendance as well as wealth would probably account for most of the relationship…
So money really does bring happiness! ๐
I agree with RT that the happiness connection to party affiliation is tenuous at best. The poll offers only sketchy data, but my guess is that married people who worship regularly report more or less the same level of happiness, regardless of their politics.
But it is pretty well established that married people who attend church tend to vote conservative. The most conservative person in America right now is a married woman with children.
Also, I think we need to be careful about drawing conclusions from polls like this.
For instance, people with higher incomes report greater happiness. It could mean that are happier because they are wealthier, or it could mean that they are wealthier because they are happier, and are therefore more productive at work.
I’m thinking back on Sociology 101 – coincidence, correlation, or causation?
Can you be a Single Mormon and vote Independent and still be happy?
what kind of dumb study is this? what happens if you are not religious and you vote Independent and you’re single, is it possible that you could at all be happy? not likely from what the highlights above are saying!!
Anonymoose:
Single? Voting Independent? Not religious? and HAPPY?!? Now that is a tall order. I suppose it could happen- like there is perhaps a 0.0000001% chance or something, but it’s not likely.
Of course, if the unfortunate soul you’re describing also happened to be poor on top of it all, then that miniscule chance for happiness would drop to 0.
It could mean that are happier because they are wealthier, or it could mean that they are wealthier because they are happier, and are therefore more productive at work.
Or it could be that their happiness and wealth share some mutual cause.
It’s easy to see why Rusty is not happy about surveys like this. ๐
Anonymoose, this is not a study that predicts people’s happiness — this is simply a poll based on the results of talking to thousands of people about their happiness. If you ask those people about their happiness level (are you very happy, somewhat happy, not happy?) and then ask them about their religious habits, income level, whether they are married and party affiliation, etc you get the results in the poll. The results have been consistent since 1972 in many areas, so the poll seems very reliable.
This doesn’t mean single Independents can’t be happy — it just means that of the people who say they are happy, fewer of them tend to be single Independents than, say, married religious Republicans.
There are all kinds of conclusions you can take from this survey. Just because people say they are happy does not mean they actually are happy. People who are married religious Republicans may be in an environment where they are more accustomed to telling everybody how happy they are, for example.
Having said that, I find the results in this poll persuasive. From personal experience, I spent most of my life around single, non-religious Democrats until my mid-30s. And since my conversion in my mid-30s, I have gotten to know many more married religious Republicans, while still staying friends with the single, non-religious Democrats (some of whom are no longer single but most of whom are still non-religious despite my missionary efforts and definitely Democrats despite my incredibly convincing powers of political persuasion). From personal experience, I can tell you that the married religious Republicans I have known are significantly happier than the single or married non-religious Democrats.
I’m sure there are many of you who will proceed to inform me that the most miserable people you know are all married religious Republicans, so fire away!
Also, Mark IV, the page I linked on the poll discusses the issue of causation and correlation thoroughly.
Thanks, Jordan for clarifying all that, now I know i need to vote Replubican, be married (sealed for that matter) attend church faithfully, and then get rich, all to be happy! That’s the American dream, I am sure of it!!
The most religious people I know aren’t the happiest, they’re just more likely than others to automatically say they are happy. My brother and sister-in-law, who are the most faithful LDS that I know, were perfect examples. Their son died and they refused to show any outward sign of sadness, believing they weren’t supposed to be sad if they believed in the plan of salvation. They would tell anyone they asked that they were happy that their son was with his Heavenly Father and they’d see him again. Privately they were depressed, angry and questioning their faith (all normal in a childs death my opinion).
The fact that anti-depressants are described in heavily religious Utah almost twice as much as any other state would seem to back this up. For all the people bearing their testimonies about how happy they are, they sure are using alot of pills to make them feel that way.
#13:
The fact that anti-depressants are described in heavily religious Utah almost twice as much as any other state would seem to back this up.
Do we have to drege that old falsehood up again?
It’s not true, and I am sick of people quoting it in order to condemn Mormons. Yes, anti-depressants are prescribed twice as often, but not because of depression – but because of budgetary reasons. People in Utah buy smaller prescriptions, so they have to get them twice as often.
Jjohnsen, without knowing the details or the people involved, it is easy to imagine the possibility that your brother and sister-in-law were in denial and were not going through the normal, most healing process of overcoming their grief. It is possible that their faith led them to show that they were not grieving when they really were. I mention this above in comment #10 as a possible partial explanation for the happiness survey.
I would submit, however, that the people who say they are happiest generally really are the happiest and the people who say they are depressed or sad generally are. Of course there are exceptions. But there is considerable evidence that saying you are happy becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy while saying you are sad drags you down. Some therapists call this “self-actualization.”
I would agree that anti-depressants are way over-used by everybody, including Latter-day Saints. I keep on hearing that they are used too much in Utah, but I’ve never seen an actual citation backing that up. Could you provide one?
It’s easy to see why Rusty is not happy about surveys like this. ๐
Actually, Geoff, my original question was serious. You stated that you now know why “Mormon Republicans who go to church a lot are always so happy” so I asked you why, but you never answered. I mean, the poll didn’t actually say “religious people are happier because they serve God and that’s what makes people happy.” It just says that the more religious one is the more likely they are to be happy. Do you understand my question?
And for the record, I am a Mormon who goes to church a lot but am neither a Republican or a Democrat.
…and I am quite happy.
Rusty, I suggest you become more “happy-go-lucky” and realize that there was nothing serious in my throw-away line about Mormon Republicans being happier nor in my claim that you were not a happy person. But I will agree blogs are not the best forums for irony and jokes because sometimes the writer’s intentions don’t come through the way they would in person.
Here Geoff – I’ll give you a link:
http://familycenter.byu.edu/columns.aspx?id=63
Of course, those who are determined to think badly of Utah willdismiss it, but here are some quotes:
I can only say that ignorance is bliss.
And Geoff you are the most blissful person I’ve ever read a thread from.
(Just kidding, you are very insightful and persuasive, almost I am persuaded to become a Republican because of you).
Ok, I’ll admit I am a very happy Republican. Does that mean I’m ignorant. I think part of the policital association between happiness relates to my perception of a significan portion of the Democratic party membership. As described by Geoff above I work and associate with many Democrats, big D, and there is a much higher degree of cynicism within their ranks which probably attracts them to the Democratic party and reduces their potential to be very happy.
Another study showed that most people have a happiness rest state and life events will move them temporarily up or down, but almost always will come back to their resting state. At least potentially people with higher happiness rest states are more likely to seek and chose the life described above. Single, non-religious, Democratic poor people can still be happy, its just not as likely.
I meant to say that like Geoff I also work with many Democrats.
Is there a way to edit posts after posting? Or do you have to be a moderator?
Ivan, thanks for helping debunk the “Utah people use depressants” argument. Heli, you can call me blissful anytime you want.
Heli, sorry, no way to edit posts after they are posted (at least that I know of). I think your point was clear.
Geoff –
I do have to say, that the bare numbers for anti-depressant rates are higher, but there are other studies that show that people in Utah tend to (across all prescriptions, including antidepresants) get smaller doses (i.e. the 15 pack rather than the 30 pack) so that they wind up getting prescriptions more often thus driving up the “rate.” (I can’t find any of those studies online right now and I have a dissertations I really should be working on…).
And, as Tim B. Heaton said over at FAIR
The problem I have is when people use these somewhat abstract numbers (with little context and no reference to other data) to “beat up” Utah. I have no idea why there is such a desire to “beat up” Utah, but it usually leads to sloppy claims based on incomplete data.
Anonymoose:
It was my pleasure! Anytime you need more tips on acvhieving bliss, just let me know! ๐
can i be happy if I am an atheist, don’t vote, am rich, and still buy prozac, but infrequently, in Utah?
I see that only 29% of independents are happy, while 30% of democrats are. That explains why I have been much happier since I changed my registration from independent to democrat two years ago.
Ivan, you say it’s because Utahn’s buy smaller ‘packs’. But everything I’ve read and seen say Utah has the highest amount of prescriptions, not amount of pills purchased.
LA Times
CBS News
Salt Lake Tribune
which says “Utah has the highest per capita usage of such drugs, with 16 percent of the population taking the medications, according to Express Scripts, a company that assembles a yearly drug trend report. The second highest use is 14.4 percent in Maine. “
You act like this is just some rumor I heard at the Quick E Mart and decided to mention at the bloggernacle. I’ve heard and read reports like this for years. And anecdotally, the women in my extended family all take anti-depressants, and I just happened to marry into a family where most of the women over the age of 20 take anti-depressants. Must just be luck, or could it possibly have something to do with some part of their life. Religion maybe? Again, anecdotal, but I’m guessing I could find other LDS women popping thos same pills pretty easily if they’d admit to it.
jjohnsen –
everything I’ve read and seen say Utah has the highest amount of prescriptions, not amount of pills purchased.
Odd: This agrees with my statement. A smaller amount of pills purchased at a time would equal more prescriptions but the same number of pills.
It’s interesting all your sources are newspapers, rather than serious academic studies. Newspapers have also widely reported the “Mormons have higher divorce rates” stat, even though that has been proven to be false. I’ve linked to an academic study that disproves your point. All you have are newspapers.
No one I know takes anti-depressants. I’m not sure how your anecdotal experience trumps mine.
I couldn’t get to your linked page, maybe it’s not Safari friendly. Do you have any studies that aren’t written by a LDS/Utahn?
The linked page seems to be down.
Here’s the Google cache:
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:pPfHx6dM4t8J:familycenter.byu.edu/columns.aspx%3Fid%3D63+utah+antidepressants+BYU&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1
and jj –
to imply that because it is done by and LDS/Utahn is to engage in the logical fallacy of ad hominem. It makes me think that you want to think badly of Utah and are therefore going to find some reason to discredit any evidence to the contrary. That’s how conspiracy theories work, but not serious inquiry.
But if you must think badly of Utah, I can’t stop you. I just try to inform.
The main problem is that no one outside of Utah really has any motivation to study this and see where all the nuances and actual reasons are.
I tell you what jj – you find a good, solid academic, emperical study that shows Mormons in Utah take more antidepressant prescriptions because they are depressed due to their religion, and I’ll see if I can find a study done by someone outside of Utah. Fair?
JJ, I’m not sure what your motivation is to claim:
So, is it your serious contention that LDS people are more depressed than non-LDS and that the religion is the reason? You’re going to need some pretty serious study to support that one. I don’t know a single LDS person who takes prescription anti-depressants, but I know many non-LDS who do. But again, that is just anecdotal evidence.
I also don’t understand why you would not accept a Utah-based study. Who else is going to study depression in Utah? It seems like the bloggernacle equivalent of holding your hands over your ears and shouting so you don’t hear the evidence.
Does the study show if Church going, married, wealthy, Republican women who take Prosac consider themselves very happy?
Gosh- leave for a few days and the conversation goes from a slightly humorous post about happiness to an argument about LDS depression!
I, for one, am sick of hearing that LDS somehow have a higher rate of depression than any other segment of society- I think the statistics would show that the rate is no higher among LDS than among any other group.
I know lots of people who do- some LDS, some not. There is no LDS link to depression, just a people link- depression strikes everyone. It is often caused by a chemical imbalance- how in the world would Latter-day Saints be more prone to a completely PHYSICAL characteristic than any other group of human beings? That’s just silly.
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