Religion in European countries 2002-2018 : is there a happiness advantage ?

Abstract EN

There is no convergence in empirical literature about the effects of religion on subjective wellbeing although religious denomination is increasingly used as an important explanation of different developments in modern societies.

In this study it is assessed whether religious denomination affects happiness through application of the European Social Survey that covers 2002-2018.

Descriptive results indicate a advantage for Protestants.

Once we control background factors, this advantage is considerably reduced.

Although the advantage is statistically significant it has a low magnitude, and the happiness across religions is practically the same.

In contrast, there is a huge effect of the degree of religiosity, while prayer load and the frequency of visiting places of worship are negligible.

Results are generally stable across survey years and countries.