Are religious Americans happier?

A recent study indicates that religious people in America are happier than those who are not.

The Pew Research Center published on April 12 their findings about "Religion and Everyday Life," and the results suggest that "highly religious Americans are happier and more involved with family but are no more likely to exercise, recycle or make socially conscious consumer choices."

The research center defined "highly religious" as those who attend religous services at least once each week and pray every day, while those "not highly religious" refer to the rest of the respondents.

Based on data gathered in 2014, 40 percent of highly religious respondents said they are very happy with how their life is going, while only 29 percent of those who are not highly religious said the same.

The survey also reveals that 47 percent of highly religious respondents gather with their extended family at least once a month and 74 percent claimed to be very satisfied with their family lives. These numbers are undoubtedly higher of those who are not highly religious, with 30 percent and 67 percent giving similar respective responses.

Meanwhile, 45 percent of highly religious people volunteered in the week prior to answering the survey, while 65 percent donated either goods, time, or money to the poor in the same time frame. Again, the results are higher than those who are not highly religious, with only 28 percent having volunteered and 41 percent having made donations the week before.

When it comes to interpersonal interactions, 41 percent of highly religious respondents admitted to losing their temper within the week prior to the survey, lower than the 43 percent of those who are not highly religious. Meanwhile, 39 percent of the highly religious group said they told a white lie in the past seven days, while 43 percent of the not highly religious group admitted to doing the same.

In terms of health, diet and exercise, 54 percent of the highly religious said they are satisfied with their health, 58 percent over-ate in the past week, and 44 percent exercised at least thrice within that period. The difference from the not highly religious respondents is not so big, with 51 percent, 58 percent, and 43 percent giving similar answers.

However, in an article by Baptist minister and Christian Today contributing editor Mark Woods, these numbers may not really prove anything. He deems that perhaps, people are not happy because they go to church, instead it could be the other way around -- that people attend church services because they are naturally happy, family-oriented people who like to be in the company of others who encourages their happy demeanor. Also, Woods points out, many Christians actually live difficult lives; thus, it's not wise to use such numbers to view happiness as "the normal Christian state."