Happiness and Religion - Essay Example

 Happiness is a psychological state of comfort, characterized by positive actions or emotions leading to pleasant moments varying from satisfaction to extreme ecstasy. According to research, success does not guarantee happiness. However, happiness can determine the success of individuals. The Christians, Jewish and Islam believe that the only way to find happiness is through following the teachings of the holy books. They also believe that once an individual has found inner happiness success will surely come their way. The happiness of individuals can range from their religious background, activities, culture and aspects of life (Gulla, 44). Religious groups have a belief that their happiness comes from the relationship between them and their God. The theory of happiness attempts to explain the ultimate reason for humankind existence is happiness. “happiness is this feeling of existence" (Critchley, 449).This quote reveals how happiness is a major determinant of the future of human kind. However according to scientists and researchers religion is just one of basic factors determining happiness. Human kind happiness is affected by many other factors that revolve around him. Psychological happiness can be determined by three components. Happiness can be due to genetic factors, circumstances, and activities. A large percentage of the human beings happiness is due to genetic factors where some of the individuals are joyful than others. Some individuals are born as good comedians, which reveal their state of mind as positive or jovial. Demographic factors like age, gender, culture and geographic factors affect the happiness of individuals. Happiness can be affected by age where you find children are happy than their parents. Responsibilities as parents affect the happiness comparing to children who do not even realize the meaning of responsibilities. The activities that individuals involve themselves in also determine of their state of their minds. According to psychologists, individual careers can affect their happiness since some of the careers tend to be stressful. According to Islamic religion, when half of their population is happy they are referred to as “ridha bi al-gadha” meaning individuals who are contented with their achievements in life. Islam’s belief that as believers who love their God Allah and have faith in Him should be contented with his verdict (Gulla, 84). All Gods commandments according to Muslims focus on bringing happiness to believers. The Muslims belief that there is nothing too big or small that is not clearly covered in the Islam teachings. Islamic religion is said to be the complete way of life. The Quran teaches individuals to be optimists in life, always be at peace, rejoice and be joyful in all aspects of life (Chittister, 24). Religions have specific holy days, which are the most important days in their religious life. Christians have Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter Monday as their hold days. These specific days are happy moments for all Christians worldwide. Muslims also have their Eid ul fitr as their holy day. The religious groups use these special days to make peace with God and seek for spiritual guidance. They believe that making peace with God is a path to inner happiness, which in turn lead to success. According to the holy books teachings marriage is considered as holy union. The holy books are used to educate couples on their biblical roles of husband and wife. The Bible teaches us on the secrets of happy marriage. In addition, Christian’s couples who follow the holy book teachings and guidance are assured that they in the path of success. In real life, the non-religious are not welcome in religious countries and are believed to be perpetrators of evil deeds. On the other hand, in the non-religious countries all individuals regardless of their religious background they are welcome. Religious individuals are believed to have a happy life than the non-believers since they have no boundaries. According to the Muslim culture, the non-Muslim individuals have difficulties in dwelling in the Muslim countries. Their religious culture views the non-Muslim as non-believers who do not trust and belief in God. Some of the religious believes affect their happiness that in turn hinders their success. According to the holy books, happiness is a soft joy that is determined by individual faith and obedience to God. “People who believe in god are happier than those who don't” (Senior 425) In most of the Islamic countries, they lack peace and unity, which has been caused by hatred towards other religions. The holy books teachings reveal that peace and unity are contributors of joy. These factors are also the key determinants of the success of a country. Religious groups have a belief that religion is the key answer to all problems that human kind face (Chittister, 54). If individuals realize they will be a guarantee of happiness in the world we live as they await eternal happiness in their life after death. Islam is believed to be the path of life that determines our life after. Islam teachings emphasize on our efforts as believers to please God determines the relationship between his followers and Him. In my opinion, pursuing achievements and goals is not the key to success. For individuals to be successful they are required to be happy and contented in life then success will surely. Contentment in life comes when I have spiritual guidance, secured the basic needs, and accomplished my dreams, stress free life, and living a healthy life. These factors tend to be hard to accomplish since different careers we chose have different challenges in their path to achievement and come hand in hand with stress. However, when individuals achieve and accomplish their future needs he or she is said to be living a happy and successful life (Chittister, 24). Conclusion Perfect happiness according to Islam teachings will only be achieved if we spend our everlasting life in paradise. Believers have their faith on the fact that life in paradise will be a life with total peace, harmony, and security. Religions also have their belief of life without fear and success if they adhere to the teachings of the holy books. However, Islam religion allows the imperfect human kind to seek their happiness in their present world but the key to ensure both happiness and success in the present world and paradise remains seeking pleasure and love of God. Works Cited Chittister, Joan. Happiness. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2011. Print. Gulla, Ashok. In Search of Happiness. Bloomington, Indiana: AuthorHouse, 2010. Print. Critchley, Simon. The faith of the faithless: experiments in political theology. London ; New York: Verso Books, 2012. Print. Senior, Olive. Gardening in the tropics. Toronto: Insomniac Press, 2009. Print. Read More