Survey: Churchgoers, Married Adults Most Likely to be Happy
Most Americans are "very satisfied" and "very happy" with their personal lives, according to a recent national poll.
Those who attend church weekly, married adults, those in higher income households, whites, and Republicans are most likely to say they are currently satisfied and happy with their lives, according to the Gallup Poll.
A full 84 percent of Americans say they are satisfied with their personal lives, with 14 percent saying they are dissatisfied. This level of satisfaction is consistent with past results measured by Gallup, which averaged about 82 percent.
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Out of the Americans satisfied with their lives, 59 percent expressed they are "very satisfied," while 25 percent say they are "somewhat satisfied." The level of "very satisfied" Americans in 2007 is the highest since 2001.
On the contrary, Americans strongly expressed dissatisfaction with the way things are going "in the United States at this time." Only 27 percent of Americans say they are satisfied with the current situation in the United States, according to the same survey.
In terms of happiness, 52 percent of Americans say they are "very happy," and 40 percent say they are "fairly happy." Only six percent of Americans say they are "not too happy" at this time.
According past Gallup polls, the most unhappy year was in December 2003 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks when only 37 percent of Americans said they were "very happy" in their personal lives.
The survey also found that Americans who attend church services every week were more likely to say they were "very satisfied" (66 percent) and "very happy" (62 percent) with their personal lives.
In comparison, 51 percent of those who seldom or never went to church were "very satisfied" with life, and 45 percent of this group said they were "very happy" with their personal life.
Adults who were married were more likely to say they are "very satisfied" (65 percent) and "very happy" (59 percent) with their personal lives than their unmarried counterparts.
Household income was another factor that affected levels of happiness. In households earning $75,000 or more per year, 74 percent said they were "very satisfied" with their lives, compared to 42 percent of those in household making $30,000 or less each year.
The people living in higher income families were also more likely to say they are "very happy" (64 percent), than those in lower income families (40 percent).
Additionally, a solid majority of whites, 58 percent, said they were "very satisfied" with their personal life - much higher than the 39 percent among blacks. White Americans are also more likely to say they are "very happy" (52 percent) than black Americans (44 percent).
In terms of political affiliation, the majority of Republicans, Independents, and Democrats were all "very satisfied" and "very happy" with their personal lives. But overall, Republicans had a higher percentage of "very satisfied" and "very happy" people.
The Gallup Poll was conducted Dec. 6-9 with 1,027 adults age 18 and older by telephone.
