Is God central and necessary to happiness? The answer is both Absolutely and Not Necessarily…

Some of the happiest people in the world are Buddhists whose religious teachings do not recognize an all powerful God like the Judeo-Christian and Muslim traditions. Buddhist spiritual teachings do strongly emphasize the actions and attitudes that lead to a happy, rewarding, joy-filled life.

In fact ALL major religions are founded on the same fundamentals that are central to happiness… Caring, compassion, creating a loving community, altruism, goodness, sharing, tolerance and release from anger and greed. Problems arise when religious righteousness becomes a bludgeon rather than a blessing.

Happiness and Love are Healing.

Living and worshipping within a happy, affirming spiritual community helps build and strengthen the skills and love that propels happiness. Helps, but it’s not absolutely necessary. Some of the habitually happy people we interviewed said they were atheists or agnostics.

The Happiness Habit is all inclusive, embracing and accepting all major religious traditions, yet resting on and requiring none.

Existing religious and spiritual communities already do a superior job sharing their theology, we leave that work to them. We focus on strictly skills and strategies that lead to a happy, fulfilling, successful life and leave religious teaching to others.

Happiness Habit: Skills & Strategies of Habitually Happy People
Copyright 2005, Michele Moore. All Rights Reserved. Reprints.