In Israel, Faith is Linked to Greater Happiness

Does being religious make you happier or mentally healthier? To explore this question, researchers studied nearly 3,000 Jewish adults in Israel, as part of a massive global project on human flourishing. They asked people about their religious practices, such as how often they attended synagogue, prayed, or studied sacred texts.

“In Israel, more religiously observant Jewish adults consistently report greater happiness and less anxiety.”

They also asked about their belief in God and how important the teachings of Judaism were in their personal lives. At the same time, they measured well-being by asking about overall mental health, recent feelings of depression or anxiety, experiences of suffering, and general levels of happiness and life satisfaction. The results were striking and consistent. People who were more religiously observant reported better mental health across the board.

They had higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction, and lower levels of depression, anxiety, and suffering. This powerful connection remained strong even after the researchers accounted for other factors that can influence well-being, like a person's age, income, gender, or marital status. This study is significant because it uses a large, representative sample, meaning the findings can be generalized to the entire adult Jewish population of Israel. For a long time, some fields in psychology viewed religion with suspicion, but this research adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that for many people, faith is a profound source of strength. It confirms that the positive link between religious practice and mental health, often studied in Christian populations, also applies to Jewish people in Israel, highlighting that faith can be a key part of a flourishing life.