Originally posted by RJHinds
He makes a lot of sense to me. We don't want polygamy do we?

But the student education study was by William Jeynes, Professor of Education at California State University, Long Beach.

The Instructor

Here is a study I found: Americans #17 on the list of worlds happiest countries.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/09/09/happy-countries/2785845/

Is that what religion does?

Originally posted by karoly aczel
Religion has it's place and it's not in schools

True. There's a limited amount of time in which a child can learn as much as possible about the world while still allowing him to be a child. Using up that valuable time and brainspace by having grownups living their own religion through their child borders on child abuse.

Originally posted by sonhouse
Here is a study I found: Americans #17 on the list of worlds happiest countries.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/09/09/happy-countries/2785845/

Is that what religion does?

The following is what the report says:

Happiness scores rose worldwide, but not in the USA or countries hit hard by economic and political upheaval. Americans are not the happiest people on earth, but we do rank a respectable No. 17, among 156 countries evaluated for a new United Nations report. The lowest ranked were Rwanda, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Benin and Togo, all in Africa.

Happiness was up most in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, but down in countries struck by economic upheaval (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain) or political convulsions (Egypt).

Happiness in the United States fell slightly, but Americans remained happier than people in the United Kingdom (ranked 22nd), France (25th) or Japan (43rd). Countries ranked higher than the USA include Canada (6th), Costa Rica (12th) and Mexico (16th).

One reason the USA lags behind leading countries is "a relatively mediocre life expectancy," Sachs said in an e-mail. The USA also lost points, and fell from 11th to 17th, because of perceived declines in "freedom to make life choices," which might be linked to poverty or unemployment, he said.

The report notes that mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety, are major contributors to unhappiness around the world.

This is not a study of the religious effects on peoples happiness, so the answer to your question is NO.

The Instructor