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Module 06 – Religion and Happiness
G125/HUM2023 Section 03 Humanities
Stephanie Antuna
November 29, 2023
Religion and Happiness
Religion plays a significant role in happiness. Faith or belief encourages us to live in the
best nature, leading us to act willingly, voluntarily, and happily. If we seek religion to enter a
state of eternal happiness, we should always encourage an optimistic view. Relying on faith can
give us the strength to face the trials and tribulations in life and guide us to do unto others as
others do unto us. Religion is crucial in the moral code of conduct and provides the groundwork
for human behavior. We are taught about heaven and hell from a young age. Do good, and you
will go to heaven, but do wrong and go to hell. Religion provides a moral compass for right and
wrong and how to live a righteous lifestyle. Religion plays a significant role in happiness;
however, one does not need religion to be happy.
Taoism is an example of how religion plays a role in happiness. Taoism believes that
order is fulfilled in opposite interactions, such as life and death, hot and cold, success and failure,
and joy and pain. The belief is that we cannot experience a whole life without being prepared for
death. We cannot fully experience joy without pain. We can only achieve success by first
experiencing failure. Taoism's fundamental belief is ethical dealings in all human interaction, the
health of the body's system, respect for elders, hospitality toward strangers, and the mind's
harmonious processes. Taoism expresses that we are all a part of society with negative, double-
dealing prejudices. It teaches us to conduct ourselves ethically and honorably within that society.
The ancient writing of the Tao Te Ching ("The Way of Life" or "The Way and Its Power") is a
volume of short poems that contain the view that the "Way" is a divine order that rules the
universe and is the essential guide to living an ethical and entire spiritual life. Tao Te Ching is
essentially an attempt to remind us that everyone can live peacefully together if everyone is
mindful of how their actions and thoughts affect others along with themselves (Mark, E., 2016).
Buddhism is another excellent example of how religion plays a role in happiness.
Buddhism is a religion that is based on the beliefs of Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha was a
monk who deprived himself of the world's possessions and learned to free himself from suffering
through meditation. Siddhartha's Eightfold Path is essentially the guide to a peaceful life and
harmony and a life that can, as we come closer to death, be regarded as happy in knowing that
one has brought goodness into the world. The Eightfold Path is built around acting, reacting, and
thinking about everything as they are, not as how we want them to be or as we convince
ourselves they are. It means walking through life in a constant state of wakefulness with
appropriate actions, not selfishness. Buddhism centers around karma, meaning do good things,
and good things will be done unto you. On the flip side, bad things will be done to you if you do
bad things. Essentially, what goes around comes around, whether good or bad (Janaro, R.,
Altshuler, T., 2017).
Finally, moksha in Hinduism is another excellent example of how religion affects
happiness. The concept of moksha is centered on achieving oneness with the universe and being
delivered from pain. To reach moksha, one must suffer. There can't be happiness without pain
and suffering because how can one recognize joy if it is achieved without struggling? Life throws
us trials and tribulations, and in return, we do bad things such as cheating, stealing, and causing
harm to others. However, doing bad things leads to other struggles, and immoral behavior brings
further punishment. Hinduism is based on the belief that one's soul passes through a cycle of
successive lives, and the next incarnation always depends on how the previous life was lived.
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Moksha is achieved by overcoming desires and ignorance, ending the death and rebirth cycle.
Once moksha is reached, the ultimate reward is the eternal release from pain and peace at last.
By living a good life without desire, supreme peace and happiness can be obtained (Janaro, R.,
Altshuler, T., 2017).
Religion is not necessary to achieve happiness. Honor, health, wealth, ethically
permissible satisfaction, sybaritic delight, internal peace, and social harmony in pursuing a
common good make human life happy. Happiness is a psychological concept concerning positive
emotional states or an overall sense of satisfaction and enjoyment in life. All of these can be
obtained without religion. It is all about what drives you and how you live your life that makes
you happy.
Hedonist theory is an excellent example of how religion is not necessary to achieve
happiness. The hedonist thought is a theory of satisfaction derived from Greek culture. Hedonism
is the theory that happiness results from experiencing as much pleasure as humanly possible in
the short time we are here. Memories or anticipation of fun don't count as pleasure; instead, no
happiness is enough, and a life without joy is not lived at all (Janaro, R., Altshuler, T., 2017).
Aristotle's philosophy is also derived from Greek culture and is another excellent
example of how religion is unnecessary to achieve happiness. Aristotle's theory is that pleasure
and satisfaction are not the same. No matter what we are experiencing, there is always something
better. For example, no matter how big a house we may own and live in, we can always desire a
bigger and better home. Material things provide us pleasure, but it is temporary until we want
something newer and more significant. The idea of Aristotle's theory is by always doing the right
thing and living a good life, we can achieve wisdom, virtue, and happiness (Janaro, R., Altshuler,
T., 2017).
Finally, Epicurus's theory is an excellent example of how religion is unnecessary to
achieve happiness. Epicurus's theory is based on seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. People of
reason have free will and can control the desire for pleasure, therefore preventing or reducing
pain that almost always follows fun. Epicurus's theory is that complete happiness is a small
amount of pleasure with no pain to follow (Janaro, R., Altshuler, T., 2017). For example, I love
chocolate, which makes me happy and brings me great pleasure to indulge; however, indulging
in chocolate leaves me with a horrible stomachache. So, in the end, chocolate brings me great
joy, but overdoing that pleasure brings me pain. Instead of seeking the ultimate pleasure by
overeating chocolate, I eat enough to satisfy my need for happiness and go without the
discomfort of seeking too much joy.
In conclusion, people pursue what they feel is good, and many would love to devote their
time and energy to practicing their faith. People happily commit to what they want to achieve,
and having religion can help many individuals spiritually and vice versa. Pursuing happiness has
been the center of theories and philosophies about human behavior. Faith helps many individuals
achieve happiness by being involved with social activities, enhancing workplace performance,
engaging many with volunteer activities, and having something or a higher power to believe in.
Even if some individuals have done wrong, religion is commonly picked up as a redemption
point. Happiness is found in many places and pleasures in life, but ultimately, happiness is in the
satisfaction you get from personal achievements and how you treat others. If we live a good life
and do good things, happiness is easily achieved.
References
Janaro, R. P., & Altshuler, T. C. (2017).
The art of being human. The Humanities as a
Technique for Living
. Boston: Pearson. Retrieved on December 15, 2020, from
https://ambassadored.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781323330166/cfi/6/24!/4/28/16/2/2.
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Mark, E., February 22, 2016.
Taoism
. Retrieved on December 15, 2020, from
https://www.ancient.eu/Taoism/.