Why are secular liberals so unhappy? This question is provocatively discussed in Arthur Brooks' new book Gross National Happiness. Brooks is a sociologist and statistician at Syracuse University. I am reading his book while vacationing with my lovely wife on the beautiful island of Santorini. So it's natural for me, watching the most beautiful sunsets in the world, martini in hand, to think about the question of happiness.
Brooks' book is full of interesting data. We learn, for instance, that money does buy happiness, but only upto a point. Poor people and poor countries are unhappy, and by the self-description of the people involved. So the movement from grinding poverty to the comfortable middle-class brings a huge gain in happiness. But interestingly economic improvement at this point brings diminishing marginal returns. This is not to say that rich people aren't happier: they are. But not by very much.
Brooks also shows that, in his own words, "people who say they are conservative or very conservative are nearly twice as likely to say they are very happy than are people who call themselves liberal or very liberal. Conservatives are much less likely to say they are dissatisfied with themselves, that they are inclined to feel like a failure, or to be pessimistic about their future." Conservatives' mental health is far better than that of liberals.
Equally fascinating, Brooks notes that "faith is an incredible predictor, and cause, of happiness. Religious people of all faiths are much, much happier on average than secularists." Specifically, 43 percent of those who attend church weekly or more call themselves "very happy," versus 23 percent who attend seldom or never. Observant Jews and Christians are by Brooks' measure the happiest people in America.
So why are secular liberals in general so miserable? I offer two reasons. The first is that liberals are political utopians. They consider human nature to be wonderful, and they expect freedom to be used wonderfully well. So they are always bitterly disappointed when they discover that this is not the case. Conservatives, by contrast, have a dimmer view of human nature. So their expectations are more modest. When things don't turn out half-badly, conservatives are pleasantly surprised. They are happier because it takes less to make them happier.
It's not too hard to figure out why religious people are happier. Belief in God gives people a powerful sense of higher purpose in life. It assures people that the universe is in the benign hands of a omnipotent, omniscient, and compassionate higher power. It offers people a code for how to live. It gives us a reason to hope in cosmic justice, which is better than the imperfect justice of our terrestrial world.
By contrast, secular people have little to hope for. They are sure that they came from nowhere--the chance product of random mutation and natural selection--and are going nowhere. They know that terrible things happen, and they don't believe there is any purpose in this. No wonder that secular people have so few children: they have much less reason than religious people to believe in the future.
So why is an atheist like Richard Dawkins so frequently wearing a conspitated scowl? And why am I usually smiling? Some may attribute these differences to our genetic temperaments. Others may put it down to the fact that I live in sunny California, eating healthy nouvelle cuisine and going on walking tours in Santorini. Dawkins, by contrast, lives in dank, rainy England and eats abominable English food. ("May I offer you some more kidney pie, Professor Dawkins? It's somewhat bland, I know, but perhaps it will work as a laxative.")
But Arthur Brooks would probably say that our temperaments are also the consequences of two very different worldviews, one producing the wholesome optimism of What's So Great About Christianity, the other the angry bitterness of The God Delusion. Read Brooks' new book yourself to see if he's right.
Reader Comments ( Page 3 of 42)
31. Which studies show religous conservatives to be more charitable? More charitable than who? and who recieves this charity?(donations to anti abortion groups don't count)
I agree that being charitable does lead to happiness but I don't think those who vote republican and believe in a magic guy named Jesus have any monoploy on it. This superiorty at charity certainly doesn't reveal itself in your leaders and their policies.
tmo at 1:26PM on May 23rd 2008
32. sorry it is locus
sometimes i get type-happy and my fingers resort to patterns
Richelle at 1:27PM on May 23rd 2008
33. Richelle, I tend to agree with you 99% of the time, but in my experiences the extremists are not happy and will never be happy until the last man agrees with them.
Kuni Linqvist at 1:31PM on May 23rd 2008
34. Dinesh,
you are truly getting funnier than The Simpsons now! Raise your glass and toast all the naive who have taken you to where you are today! Your smugness is exquisite! Yes, being a leech brings easy joy, glad you figured that out.
My mantra:
You deserve happiness, even if you have to pry it out of the cold dead hands of everyone around you.
BTW, the best religion is Happy Happyism (from EarthBound). If things are going badly, just paint everything blue and be happy happy!
Mokele Mbembe at 1:32PM on May 23rd 2008
35. "32. sorry it is locus
sometimes i get type-happy and my fingers resort to patterns
Richelle at 1:27PM on May 23rd 2008"
Hi Richelle! What is your job that you frequently type about locusts, and hence the pattern?
OK, that one deserves a slap from danny when I meet the both of you!
Cheers.
B
brandon at 1:38PM on May 23rd 2008
36. kuni,
i agree that it doesn't seem like extremists would be the most happy people. but according to the studies, they are. i assume it must be because they are happy in their ignorance and delusions.
Richelle at 1:38PM on May 23rd 2008
37. Are Religous people happier than non-religous people?That is subjective.I am a born-again Christian,and i still struggle with depression.A lot.I won't say that you need religous faith to be glad,but it does help one to cope.
However,I do agree wholeheartedly that money does not bu one hapiness.And to be truly glad,one must be selfless and caring for others.Some of the truly glad people I have known in my life have always been selfless.Some are naturally so,others came into it via religion.
So,to be truly glad,one must be selfless.
mad african christian at 1:42PM on May 23rd 2008
38. well you know brandon, when posting comments on one of dinesh's blogs it's easy to turn locus into locust just based on the source and his following :)
Richelle at 1:42PM on May 23rd 2008
39. You are absolutely kidding me right?
I am a secular liberal and I couldn't be happier. I have a great life, great marriage, great kids, and religion has no stake in that. I make my own happiness and I don't need someone or some book to tell me how to live a moral or ethical life. We are volunteers in our community, we give to charities regularly and I have been told I have the nicest kids around. What about the stats that show liberal states have a much lower divorce rate than those that are conservative? What a bunch of hooey this is.
RO at 2:41PM on May 23rd 2008
40. Hey Guys-
I've figured out how we can best use this website.
Every time Dinesh writes one of his useless blog entries, let's just use that occasion to talk to one another. When you add a comment to his blog, don't even bother to read what Dinesh wrote. Or if you did read it, don't even discuss it.
It appears that Dinesh blogs only a few times a month, so we can have a chat every week or two, all courtesy of Mr. Know-It-All.
(Of course, many of you commenters already do this, but I just wanted to make it official, inviting all thoughtful, polite people to participate.)
Let the games begin!
pierrejc2 at 1:44PM on May 23rd 2008
41. oh pierre a few of us here are already pros at it! we're veterans of hijacking dinesh's shit blog.
glad you'd like to join in the fun though :)
Richelle at 1:47PM on May 23rd 2008
42. Isn't the real obvious reason religious types are "happier": IGNORANCE IS BLISS?? when i was a child, dreaming of santa, the tooth fairy, and the easter bunny, I couldn't be happier! stands to "reason" that is why "believers" think they're happier. now as for conservatives, that's a different story. I think they just plain LIE about their happiness!
jeff at 2:02PM on May 23rd 2008
43. "Which studies show religous conservatives to be more charitable?"
google is your friend, but here is a head start:
http://www.hoover.org/publications/policyreview/3447051.html
"This superiorty at charity certainly doesn't reveal itself in your leaders and their policies."
I think we're talking about the common folk, like you or I. Still while Bush has his faults, he has done more for Africa to fight disease and poverty than any other president, according to Bob Geldof.
http://video1.washingtontimes.com/fishwrap/2008/02/bob_geldof_in_rwanda.html
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1717934-1,00.html
bigTuna at 2:01PM on May 23rd 2008
44. Oh feh...
Christians are no more nor less inherently ignorant than any atheist. They might have a different point of view, but they have the exact same problems as any American. They have to pay taxes. They have to pay bills. They have to deal with frustrating and annoying people. It comes with being human.
What christians DO have is a promise that in the end something good is going to happen to them. They don't know exactly what (because the bible doesn't describe much of heaven at all) but they know it's good and they expect that they'll like it. And since christians associate with other christians, chances are they'll see people they like there and people they don't like absent. And sure, it's pure fantasy, but who cares? Some times fantasy is far better than having to face a reality that offers no greater promise then you are going to die and some day be forgotten as if you never existed at all. That's pretty bleak. So no surprise that christians and other theists have made up a final and good reward for them to enjoy. Can you blame them? Why deal with the cold and harsh reality when, as they always assume, they're going to the good place when they die.
And if that is what they want to believe... have at. I don't begrudge anyone their happiness. If singing hosannas is your idea of a good time, heck, why wait to die. Start singing now. Don't stop. Ever. See if it really matches your idea of what heaven and happiness truly is.
Personally I love heaven and hell... as literally writing tools. "What dreams may come" is top on my list of good movies about heaven and hell. But as a literal place... no. I'd much rather try to fix this world than spend what little time I have left preparing for a fantasy.
Somber at 2:18PM on May 23rd 2008
45. Big Tuna,
Thanks for the link. An interesting article from a a good source. I will be unfair and cherry pick comments that support my veiw.
Secularists are distinct from religious people in their view on the government’s role in providing social welfare. According to the National Opinion Research Center’s 1996 General Social Survey, secularists support greater public spending for social programs — even if it means higher taxation — at slightly higher rates than religious people do.
Yeah I know it is only slightly, but I thinks it speaks to the desire to solve problems instead of just put band aids on them. Personaly I think we need some of both, private and public to really get anything done. Also many, but certainly not all, religous charity groups seem to put at least an equal emphasis on converting and witnessing when providing charity. Half your money to these guys is for spreading the word.
You are right this is discussion about people such as ourselves, but since this is something of a democracy who we choose as our leader does reflect on us personally. While what he has done in Africa may be commnedable(we both cherry picked) his body of work as a whole would not paint a charitable man(ask the city of New Orleans) unless you are say Haliburton, Blackwater or any other currently making a fortune from a no bid contract(so much for the free market).
tmo at 2:31PM on May 23rd 2008