---
"title": "Happiness and Religious Attendance"
"description": "People who attend religious services weekly or more are happier (43% very happy) than those who attend monthly or less (31%); or seldom or never (26%)."
"date": "2007-12-14"
"authors":
  -
    "name": "Russell Heimlich"
    "job_title": "Former web developer"
    "link": "https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
"url": "https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/short-reads/2007/12/14/happiness-and-religious-attendance/"
---

# Happiness and Religious Attendance

People who attend religious services weekly or more are happier (43% very happy) than those who attend monthly or less (31%); or seldom or never (26%). This correlation between happiness and frequency of church attendance has been a consistent finding in the General Social Surveys taken over the years. The same pattern applies within all major religious denominations. For example, 38% of all Catholics who attend church weekly or more report being very happy, while just 28% of Catholics who attend church less often say they are very happy. The survey also finds that white evangelical Protestants (43%) are more likely than white mainline Protestants (33%) to report being very happy, but this difference goes away after taking frequencey of church attendance into account. [Read More](https://alpha.pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/pubs/301/are-we-happy-yet)