Religious people more likely to be happy

People who go to church this Easter are more likely to be happy than those who don't, according to new research. Easter Vigil in a village church A study of the effect of religion on quality of life has found that religious people are happier the more often they go to church and pray. The research, presented to Britain's Royal Economic Society, gathered data from thousands of people across Europe and found that religious practice is linked with greater "life satisfaction". The author of the study, Professor Andrew Clark, says religion could also have an indirect effect on happiness -- for example, by fostering a stable family home.

Unemployment and even divorce have less impact on believers, acting as a kind of "insurance" against personal disaster, the study found. In fact the research began as an investigation into why some European countries had more generous unemployment benefits than others. While believers suffered less psychological harm, they were also less active in looking for work when they were out of job.