Prof. G. Alexander Ross of the Institute for the Psychological Sciences discusses the decline in female happiness over the past four decades and how it is related to declining religious partipation.  We begin with a general discussion of happiness and focus on the secular factors that promote it.  Our discusson then turns to the general decline in female happiness (relative to males), with Prof. Ross noting that while women report a higher level of happiness than men, on average, there has nonetheless been a more steep decline in female happiness since the early 1970s when compared to men.  Prof. Ross notes that recent declines among church attendance, particularly among women, and explains how this relates to levels of happiness.  We conclude with a discussion of the role of religion in psychological counseling and talk about what the Institute for the Psychological Sciences — a Catholic graduate training school — has been doing over the past decade since it was founded.  Recorded: March 7, 2011.

RELATED LINKS

Prof. Ross’s webpage at the Institute for Psychological Sciences.

“The Impact of Church Attendance on the Decline in Female Happiness in the United States,” by G. Alexander Ross.  This is the article from the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion mentioned in the podcast.  The site requires registration but it is free.  Many of our podcasts draw from this excellent research journal.

The Institute for the Psychological Sciences.

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Byron Johnson on Religion & Delinquency.

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3 Responses to “Alexander Ross on Religion & Happiness”

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