Faith Makes You Happy?

Insights from Happiness Research and Theology

Johan Graafland

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2026
• Print ISBN:
  9781041229100
• eBook ISBN:
  9781040846704
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christianity

This book examines how faith and happiness intersect. It reflects on why religion and happiness are positively related, and why believers are often shown to be hap>pier than nonbelievers. The author provides an overview of existing literature on religion and happiness and draws on in-depth empirical research. The chapters touch on questions such as: Which aspects of religion are related to happiness? What channels mediate the relationship between religion and happiness? Under which conditions is the relationship stronger or weaker? The book also investigates whether and how the empirical findings of happiness research are relevant from a theological perspective. It asks why Christians might be skeptical about the rela>tionship between faith and happiness, and whether this perception is rooted in the Biblical texts and the Church tradition. The author considers the implications of the research for those (believers and nonbelievers) who live in a society where happiness is often seen as the highest value, and what lessons churches can learn from the results. This book is relevant for a broad audience of theologians, sociologists, psychologists, and, more generally, academics who are interested in the relationship between religion and happiness.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• 1 Introduction
• Part I The relationships between religion and happiness unraveled: Results of happiness research
• 2 Methodology of empirical research
• 3 Are religious people happier?
• 4 Why are religious people happier?
• 5 When are religious people happier?
• 6 Overview of the empirical findings
• Part II Theological perspectives on happiness and interpretation of empirical results
• 7 Biblical perspectives on happiness
• 8 Happiness in the church tradition
• 9 Happiness in other religions
• 10 Theological significance of empirical findings
• Data sources and definitions of variables
• Number of observations per country included in the sample of this study
• Interview questions and characteristics of interviewees
• References
• Index