Abstract
The flourishing literature in economics, sociology, and religious studies finds that religious individuals are happier than the nonreligious. This chapter summarizes the most influential literature on this topic, focusing on theoretical foundations, empirical applications, and challenges in analyzing the religion-happiness relationship. Based on previous economic literature, several theories explaining why individuals engage in religious activities are outlined, including the theory of time allocation to religious and secular (market) activities, rational choice theory, and the club goods theory. The chapter also discusses how these theories explain why religiosity helps to promote happiness. The review of empirical studies focuses on the insurance effect of religion and summarizes the studies of happiness and religion at the individual- and country-levels. Another dimension underscored in the chapter is the geography of religious beliefs and the studies of happiness and religion in different world regions. Finally, the major challenges in studying the religion-happiness relationship are highlighted and several avenues for future academic and policy-oriented research on the topic are outlined. The chapter underscores that studying the religion-happiness relationship and understanding the channels behind it is an important milestone in pursuing happiness, well-governed institutions, and more generally, sustainable development.
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Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Milena Nikolova, Martin Guzi, and an anonymous referee for helpful comments and suggestions. Vladimir Otrachshenko acknowledges the funding by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) from funds of Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation (BMZ), SDGnexus Network (Grant No. 57526248), program “exceed – Hochschulexzellenz in der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit.”
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Popova, O., Otrachshenko, V. (2021). Religion and Happiness. In: Zimmermann, K.F. (eds) Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_175-1
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