If a person goes to church more on a regular basis, do you think that they’re more likely to be successful in life? How about productive? Do you think that if a person goes to church on a regular basis, that they’re less likely to end up in jail or prison? Get a college education? Start a family?
I’m not religious but I’ll say yes if they are truly committed to the tenants Christ taught.
I’m very appreciative of the fact that I was raised in a church by a strong Christian family. It helped me develop a moral code that has kept me out of trouble (for the most part).
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Church is a great place to develop a community. Social gathering is important for our species, and church has long been a device to satisfy that need for us. However, there are plenty of other ways to where people can congregate and develop relationships that aren’t based on spirituality.
Religion has nothing to do with morality, education level, or a willingness to start a family; so no, I don’t believe going to church on a regular basis contributes to those things anymore than say being a member of a book club.
Yes. Depending on what one puts into it and what they come away with.
I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but there is at least some co-relation between religion and household income.
According to Pew:
How Income and Church Attendance Affects Happiness
Those with higher family incomes are happier than those with lower incomes. Similarly, those who attend religious services at least weekly are happier than less frequent attenders. Half of those holding both of these characteristics are very happy, while only about a fifth (21%) of those with neither characteristic are very happy.
Personally, I think that it helps with the positive things in life, that most
people seem to want. Weather they’re Democrats or Republicans.
I’m going to preface what I’m about to say with my background. My first degree was a Pastoral Studies degree from a well known Baptist college. I went on staff full time with the college as a junior, using my business minor to land a job in the business office. After graduation, I went on to work pretty much every job in a local church for the next 6 years from Minister of Education to Interim Pastor.
I will say that I had an experience in my 6th year that totally put me off to “full time ministry” and I went into the secular work force at that time, and continue in that to this day. Comparing the 2 experiences, I will say that, even prior to that event I experienced much more unethical behavior in my religious work life than I have in my secular work life. I am much happier with the environment I work in these days, as I can actually trust my coworkers more.
As to the event that finally pushed me out of full time ministry - the church where I had served as Interim Pastor finally hired a new pastor after a 6 month search. All went well for the first few months, until I walked in to the new pastor raping an 8th grade girl. I immediately got her out of there, and with the church secretary tried to calm her down as best I could. The church secretary and I drove her to the hospital, and the secretary called the police to meet us there as I was driving.
As bad as that was, the sickening part continued. I was attacked by several fellow clergy for being a “traitor” to the clergy and reporting the incident. I knew I could not be a part of that whole system any longer. I resigned at that point, and haven’t looked back since.
So, my answer is - the church can give you the tools to stay out of jail and such. However, being in church doesn’t give you any extra special status in such things. You can still end up in jail - even if you are in clergy as this pastor was. It is character that counts. If you don’t use the tools the church gives you properly, you are just as likely to fail in life as anyone else.
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Have to do more than just go to church every Sunday. Many who attend church on Sunday are some of the same raising hell, Monday - Saturday…some even raise hell before they leave the parking lot on Sunday.
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- What percentage of any given Sunday congregation do you consider hell raisers?
- Many Catholics attend daily Mass. What percentage of these raise hell?
Numbers don’t matter, it’s just a fact in the faith.
Like I said, it takes more than going to church on Sunday to be better in life. Anybody can go to church Sunday after Sunday, unfortunately that doesn’t save anyone. It means nothing if you have not accepted Christ. I went to church consistently for 18 years and several years not at all…before I got saved. If I would have died before March 18, 2001 I would have gone straight to hell.
Numbers do matter, and here is a fact of faith. I often attend daily Mass at the Catholic Church. There are usually between 50-80 of us there at 6:30 a.m. I walk. Meeting even earlier (as I walk past) are Muslims gathering at their place for morning prayer. Walking home, across from where Muslims pray, Jews are now gathering. Whether in the Catholic, Muslim, or Jewish parking lots, I have never seen anyone raise hell. Everyone offers a friendly greeting. On Sundays, I pass by three large non-Catholic churches. I have never witnessed any issues in any of these parking lots, but lots of friendly smiles and greetings as I walk by.
I am not claiming there are no parking lot incidents anywhere. Everyone has a bad day or gets in a hurry. I am saying that I personally witness people of three faiths and several denominations gathering to worship–and that it is unfair to defame good people because you have run into, what, a dozen or so who are not the epitome of any faith or congregation.
Many of us gather to worship on more days than just Sunday (or the Sabbath) simply because it is a good way to start one’s day for those of us who are lucky enough to be able to work it in.
if you say so,…
Can’t imagine it, can you… shrug.
My gosh what a life altering experience that must have been? I hope the young girl is healing and doing well? I’m glad you landed on your feet. Who can imagine the evil one can find behind the next unopened door?
I’ve never seen any evidence that religious people are any more or less happy than non religious. But I can see why religious folk want to believe that.
“According to Gallup data for 2010, the happiest nations were Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands. These are among the least religious countries in the world. Also according to Gallup data, Sweden, Denmark and Norway were the second, third, and fourth least religious states, being exceeded only by Estonia in their atheism.”
I go to church to learn about God and the bible. I do not go there to become financially successful. It does however lead me to have higher satisfaction with what I do.
1 Timothy 6: 7For we have brought nothing into the world, and neither can we carry anything out. 8 So, having food and clothing, we will be content with these things
Don’t those countries also have legal pot? Perhaps their happiness had no correlation to their religious beliefs.
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And people say my contempt for baptists is unreasonable.
