Ray A wrote:This article, from the same series of investigations, is even contrary to the OP:
According to psychologist Professor Ed Diener there is no one key to happiness but a set of ingredients that are vital.....
Marriage also seems to be very important. According to research the effect of marriage adds an average seven years to the life of a man and something like four for a woman.
The second vital ingredient is having meaning in life, a belief in something bigger than yourself - from religion, spirituality or a philosophy of life.
The third element is having goals embedded in your long term values that you're working for, but also that you find enjoyable.
Psychologists argue that we need to find fulfilment through having goals that are interesting to work on and which use our strengths and abilities.
I think that all of those are valid. I intentionally phrased the title of this thread in a provocative way. I didn't intend it to mean that secularism is the road to happiness. However, there are have been a few threads recently condemning any political viewpoint that disagrees with a particular Utahn conservative orthodoxy.
I merely wanted to point out the rather obvious fact that God doesn't seem to be punishing entire societies which reject said orthodoxy.
Droopy, I'll give you credit: that was an interesting article. Actually, I think that there may be something to the hypothesis that the post-modern view that all truth is relative is behind the higher levels of unethical behaviour in US liberals.
However, secularism and progressivism do not entail post-modernism. For the record, I reject post-modernism. I also reject the idea that God is the source of ethics and morality.
Jersey Girl wrote:Hold on. Did Canucklehead just dogmatically condemn a book that he hasn't read for being dogmatic?
Is that what I just read or not?
I have no desire to read a book with that title merelyy because it was mentioned it on a message board. I didn't "dogmatically condemn it", although that's what DCP would like you to believe. In fact, I specifically said that I would read it if someone I knew and respected recommended it to me.
There are many worthwhile books in the world to read and only a small amount of time in life. I don't take my recommendations willy nilly from people I don't know on message boards. If you want to call that dogmatism, go ahead.
whatever.
I didn't get that impression from your posts. I apologize if I misread/misinterpreted what you wrote, Canucklehead.
Failure is not falling down but refusing to get up.
Chinese Proverb
Canucklehead wrote:I didn't "dogmatically condemn it", although that's what DCP would like you to believe.
My mistake. I apologize. You open-mindedly pronounced the book, which you have not seen, to be "disgusting," "worthless," "dogmatic slop."
What was I thinking?
Strong language = dogmatism?
Look, perhaps the book is great. But given the title, it sounds a lot like an Ann Coulter fantasy. Ann Coulter IS trash, disgusting, worthless, etc. I don't have time to waste on that kind of writing.
If the book is well-researched, thoughtful and nuanced, then I would consider reading it. However, it would take something more than you, DCP, throwing its title up on a message board to convince me of that.
Actually, I think religionists are happier than non-religionists. I would even go so far as to suspect the FLDS (at least before they were under siege) would have reported being happier than their LDS counterparts.
Still, in many studies the Danes are reported to be the happiest people of any nation.
Country
Norway
Sweden
Canada
Belgium
Australia
United States
Iceland
Netherlands
Japan
Finland
I notice most of these countries have social democratic governments . Norway the highest. They actually employed a Christian Philosopher to help them use $250 billion of oil revenue ethically. Most of these except for the US have universal health care. No one is made bankrupt.
Hilary Clinton " I won the places that represent two-thirds of America's GDP.I won in places are optimistic diverse, dynamic, moving forward"
On the efficacy of religion and an absence of socialism in producing results apparently desired by readers of this board, might one not consider a comparison such as this one?
The [Utah Department of Health] in a statement said that some areas of the state had "alarmingly high" teen pregnancy rates that exceeded national rates (AP/Provo Daily Herald, 5/10). The health department is collaborating with other groups in the state to prevent teenage girls from becoming pregnant through abstinence-based sex education programs and other methods. In addition, the Utah Adolescent Health Network, a coalition of individuals and community groups, has developed an education campaign for parents and teenagers aimed at helping teens delay sexual activity (Utah Department of Health statement, 5/10). Mayfield said the state aims to reduce the teen pregnancy rate to 32 pregnancies per 1,000 women and girls by 2015 (AP/Provo Daily Herald, 5/10).