Religious attendance is consistently correlated with higher levels of contentment and satisfaction. Here's what the research into that connection has revealed. The San Quentin Rehabilitation Center , a correctional facility located on the shoreline of the San Francisco Bay, seems an unlikely place to find happiness.
But the Rev. George Williams, a chaplain there, is flourishing. He leads Catholic masses for about incarcerated men on Sundays in English and Spanish and offers pastoral support during the week. Sharing his faith with inmates has been a source of joy for the bespectacled and soft-spoken priest. Researchers have found a strong link between faith and happiness—a relationship Williams has experienced at San Quentin as he practices his faith by serving those behind bars.
In recent years, social scientists have surveyed people around the world to ask how happy they are. Similar correlations are found among people practicing Christianity as well as Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism and other faiths—and for people living and working in and outside of prison walls.
An influential Pew Research Center study , for example, showed that people who are active in religious congregations tend to be happier than unaffiliated or inactive members of religious groups.
They also tend to be more civically engaged. These findings, released in , were based on an analysis of survey data from the U. The study also suggests that countries where religious engagement is dropping, like the U.
