In popular media, religious people are sometimes portrayed as sober, serious, no fun, and overall not very happy. Billy Joel’s famous line comes to mind: “I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints, the sinners are much more fun.”
The iconic film “Footloose” likewise embodies this stereotype through its portrayal of Reverend Shaw Moore. A stern small-town minister, Moore bans dancing and is generally depicted as opposing joy and self-expression. Through Moore’s character, the film implies that devout religious belief is incompatible with spontaneity, fun, freedom and happiness.
Other anecdotes, though not as prominent in the public mind, offer a different narrative. Kirsten Powers grew up somewhat religious, but by college her self-described “flimsy” faith collapsed into atheism.
Ambitious and sharp, she landed a job in the Clinton White House. Her smug contempt for religion started to shift when she began dating a devout Christian. (A week before the two went on their first date, a friend asked if there were any deal breakers when it came to potential boyfriends. Only one, she responded: “Just nobody who is religious.”)
Powers was initially dismissive of her boyfriend’s beliefs. But as their relationship became more serious, he asked if she would ever consider becoming religious. She gently explained that this was not in the cards. But then he spoke the magic words that are the kryptonite for any liberal: “Do you think you could keep an open mind about it?”
“I’m very open-minded!” she quickly retorted, even though she knew she wasn’t being completely honest. Eventually, however, as she began attending church, she was drawn in by the pastor’s messages of grace, forgiveness and love. Ultimately, she experienced what for her was a deeply spiritual encounter with God. Upon fully embracing religion, she described that “the world looked entirely different, like a veil had been lifted.… I was filled with indescribable joy.”
So which is it? Is stepping away from faith or more deeply embracing it the pathway to deeper sweetness? Should we be taking our cues more from Kirsten Powers or Billy Joel here?
Decades of rigorous research tells us that religion is almost always linked with more happiness, not less. In fact, on this topic, the findings are so clear that they are found in almost every major survey of the topic.
A comprehensive analysis of 30 years’ worth of data (1972 to 2002) by scholars Rodney Stark and Jared Maier found a large and consistent link between happiness and attending a church, synagogue or mosque. Those who reported never attending religious services weekly were about two-thirds as likely to be “very happy” compared to those who attended weekly.
What’s more, happiness and religious activity were connected in a graded fashion. In other words, the more frequently people attend church, the more likely they are to report they are very happy. We repeated this analysis using more recent data (2018-2022) and our results have shown the same thing: those who attend religious services more frequently are happier than those who attend less frequently or don’t attend at all.
Other recent Pew data show much the same pattern.
But do these patterns hold for specific religious communities, such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (which owns the Deseret News)? And what about the related question of whether people who leave the faith are happier (or not) compared to those who stay?
These questions are particularly timely given a recent front-page article from a major news platform that highlighted the experiences of some former Latter-day Saints. The article highlights former members who have used social media to broadcast their journey away from faith, frequently “shar[ing] snapshots of the happier lives they find outside the Church.”
But what does the data say?
For a long time, it was difficult to find a survey with sufficient data on current and former Latter-day Saints to answer these questions. However, the latest Pew Religious Landscape Survey (2023-2024) includes responses from 313 former members, 414 lifelong members, and 147 converts. (The highly reputable Pew survey also has the advantage of being independent and not specifically about active Latter-day Saints or former members. This avoids sample and selection biases, and there is less risk of desirability bias, or people answering according to what they think the surveyors want to hear.)
According to the Pew numbers, about 35% of lifelong Latter-day Saints are “very happy” and 50% “pretty happy” — totaling 85% of current members. On the same questions, about 20% of former Latter-day Saints say they are “very happy” and 55% “pretty happy” - totaling about 75%.
When asked in this national survey, then, majorities of members and former members say they are happy. In the other direction, while about 10% of converts and 15% of lifelong members surveyed say they are “not too happy,” about a quarter of ex-members say the same.
When asked about their family life, 31% of converts and lifelong members said “excellent” (with another 38% saying “very good,” 19% “good”, 11% “fair” and 1% “poor”).
On the same question, 20% of former members described their family life as “excellent” (with another 39% saying “very good,” 28% “good,” 8% “fair,” and 6% “poor”).
These differences above are not dramatic, but they are enough to rebut an increasingly popular narrative. The idea that leaving The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints leads people toward more happiness — as implied by the influencers highlighted by The Wall Street Journal — is not borne out by data.
Of course, this is the story of averages, not individuals. It’s likely that there are plenty of former Latter-day Saints who are content with their lives. And there may also be many devout church members who are struggling to find happiness.
But on the whole, the data show that, all else being equal, current church membership — along with all the privileges and responsibilities that it entails — is linked with greater happiness, not less.
Reasons that religiously devout individuals are happier than their secular counterparts are varied, and many of these factors likely apply to the happiness gap between current and former Latter-day Saints (since many former members drop out of religion altogether).
Religion provides many with a sense of meaning and purpose, a close-knit community, hope for an afterlife in the face of existential dread, and belief in a loving God who is interested in their personal welfare.
Religious teachings also tend to impart self-discipline and healthy lifestyles, which leads people away from risky behaviors (e.g., substance abuse) that are frequently the source of much unhappiness.
While some may still wonder whether these differences simply reflect that people who are unhappy with their faith tend to step away, the fact that converts not raised in the faith are also happy suggests the church itself is contributing to that happiness.
Even so, we acknowledge the possibility that the causal arrows point in both directions, and that people who have had challenging experiences with the church are more likely to leave. (Though the Pew data suggest it’s unlikely that former members receive a substantial increase in happiness upon leaving the faith, since their average happiness levels are consistently and significantly lower than current members.)
The decision of whether to leave or remain in one’s natal faith is undoubtedly influenced by many factors such as beliefs in truth claims which are not readily amenable to quantitative analysis. But if optimizing happiness is a primary goal, then those pondering such a significant decision should be informed by the best available data.
And all else being equal, keeping the faith is the happiness-maximizing option. A person’s walk with God can be complicated, but sometimes the fresh-faced, happy looking Latter-day Saint is, in fact, happy.