Churchgoers are a happy lot, so say researchers at the University of Wisconsin. But not all churchgoers, only those who stay connected with their religion, attend church regularly and who have fostered close friendships with three or more members of the church. According to Chaeyoon Lim, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who led the research, the secret ingredient in religion that makes people happy is the friendships that they share with their fellow church-goers.

“Our study offers compelling evidence that it is the social aspects of religion rather than theology or spirituality that leads to life satisfaction,” said Chaeyoon Lim. The study was a phone-based survey undertaken in 2006, of over 3,000 Americans and a follow-up survey in 2007, of 1915 participants. Most participants were Catholics, Protestants, and Evangelicals, besides a small number of other Christian denominations, Jews and Muslims.
Experiencing the presence of  God, reading scriptures, praying and any such religious rituals were not causes of satisfaction and happiness, instead participating in church services, sharing rituals and praying along with friends made a huge difference. Lim explains this as people being able to experience something abstract and remote, more realistically in the presence of friends.

The results from the survey show 33% who attend church service regularly and have three or more friends were extremely satisfied and yet another 23% who attend church several times over the year, but have three to five friends were happy in their lives. However, only 19% regular church-goers, but with no friends in the congregation were extremely satisfied too. The study suggests that a religious identity backed by  like-minded friends are two factors that complement each other and herein lies the key to a satisfied life.