Religion and Happiness

[_Fence Sitter]

by the way, if I am right about some personality types being happier in religion, then it really makes no difference which religion they are in.

Growing up in the church I was fed a consistent message about how Mormonism, as opposed to other religions as well as no religion at all, made people happier. a message reinforced every time a convert stood to bear his testimony or a recently reactivated member bore his. The decades that have passed since my inactivity have allowed me a better view of both active members with whom I still associate as well as my non member friends. Both sets seem to me to be equally happy or unhappy as the case may be. Frankly I think happiness has to do with how well one feels about oneself, ones family, friends and social group(s). Whether or not the social group is "true" seems to have no more impact on happiness than if one's favorite sports team is winning.

[_Themis]

If someone were to make the argument that returning to the church would have prevented catastrophe then it likey is an F&T statement.

This does bring up an interesting complexity, especially when offered outside of a chapel. A testimony is less of a statement of truth and belief, and more of a statement of identity -- "hey, I'm one of you!"

My first F&T at BYU was instructive. Students colliding to get to the pulpit and bear the most over-the-top testimonies in terms of how unshakable they were in faith and deep in feeling, and it is a also a competition to out-do the next person in terms of simplicity.

"Do you know what I did right in the middle of this impossible crisis? I prayed to my father I heaven."

There are major cred points for a banal testimony. And if it's being offered as an in-crowd buy-in; really confusing for the out-crowd.

I know so many members who think testimony meetings as the worst meetings of the month, but then go to some youth retreat and see all the emotional testimonies being borne at the end of the event. I see this in other groups as well. I suspect it has less to do with any particular belief and more to do with group identity and community that creates meaning and purpose. The best activities in getting youth to really believe were activities that involved a lot of fun activities with a sprinkling of the religion they were peddling. in my opinion meaning and purpose in life is what gives us a lot of happiness. Most atheists didn't grow up atheist, so becoming atheist can mean a loss of purpose and meaning and loss of their community. Without meaning and purpose we tend to be less happy in our lives. That may never be solved, but I think it is, for most, over time. Atheism is not lack of religion, but lack of belief in the supernatural. I suppose one could argue supernatural beliefs may be better at creating purpose and meaning in life.

[_Kishkumen]

This does bring up an interesting complexity, especially when offered outside of a chapel. A testimony is less of a statement of truth and belief, and more of a statement of identity -- "hey, I'm one of you!"

In my view, this is what the testimony is all about, signaling one's belonging to the community. Think about how robust an expression of identity it is. One bearing a testimony says, "I am absolutely invested in this group and its claims, regardless of any argument or reasoning against it; in fact, I live my entire life by the standards of this group, even more than most other participants do."

If a person sends the right signals and expresses the right emotions, they are golden. There is such a thing as the ideal expression of testimony. It can be borne by the crookedest, vilest villain in the right way and everyone will be convinced the bearer is the most righteous person they have ever met.

[_Kishkumen]

by the way, if I am right about some personality types being happier in religion, then it really makes no difference which religion they are in.

I think this is basically true within a reasonable range of religious behavior. There are groups so dysfunctional that their demands and the resulting discomfort outweigh any possible benefits.

Mormonism's greatest liabilities are its kooky beliefs and demands on one's time. That said, I think the kooky beliefs aren't the root problem. The root problem is that the quotidian church experience has become too unpleasant to justify the investment required to be a good member.

I could imagine a number of changes that would keep more butts in the pews, but I doubt anyone would listen to me, for good reasons.

[_Kishkumen]

I know so many members who think testimony meetings as the worst meetings of the month, but then go to some youth retreat and see all the emotional testimonies being borne at the end of the event.

I know what you are saying, but this was not always the case in the LDS Church. It wasn't always true that every event had to have a spiritual focus with testimony bearing and so forth. Over the past thirty years the trend toward making everything a spiritual event has ruined a lot of activities.

[_Themis]

I know so many members who think testimony meetings as the worst meetings of the month, but then go to some youth retreat and see all the emotional testimonies being borne at the end of the event.

I know what you are saying, but this was not always the case in the LDS Church. It wasn't always true that every event had to have a spiritual focus with testimony bearing and so forth. Over the past thirty years the trend toward making everything a spiritual event has ruined a lot of activities.

I agree that too much focus on the spiritual doesn't work. It's the sprinkling that works best. The church used to put on a lot of fun activities that built community and emotional attachments. It was probably the best missionary tool the church had. Religions have been around for a long time and built up communities around those religions. This is a good way to give people what they need, which is community, meaning and purpose. Happiness never did need the meaning to be true, although I think more accurate meaning will do better in the long run.

[_Kishkumen]

In my second to last ward, right before we stopped attending, a CES guy moved in. At one point he tried to recruit me to teach seminary. Anyhow, he would get up in meetings and lay out the mechanical process whereby people could trigger the Spirit. Guy was quite intense and the whole thing struck me as slightly creepy.

That memory for me represents the new cultish emphasis on the Spirit and priesthood under the CES/Correlation system. I find it nauseating.