William Weston, a sociology professor and moderate Democrat, writes: "Happiness comes more from the process of doing something worthwhile with other people we care about than it does from any specific outcome of that process. This is a common finding of happiness research. Religious people are, on the whole, happier, than non-religious people. This is also a standard finding of happiness research."
He continues his commentary about religion and happiness: "I believe what religious institutions do that adds to happiness is to
give structure and permanence to the process of doing good things
together with other people. One-off group projects are good, and an
interest in civic betterment can produce such projects. But for sheer
persistence and long-term effect, nothing can compete with religious
institutions for getting a group of people to work together for the
common good week after week, year after year, decade after decade."
Why Religious Belongers Are Happier
