The study, ironically published by Sabbath keepers, will certainly be used to promote Sunday worship. The news report included a “day of rest” comment, which most Christians would think of as Sunday, in spite of the fact that the Bible clearly teaches Sabbath observance.
Day of Rest Agitation · November 15, 2010
Researchers at Ben-Gurion University in Israel have been conducting a study of Christians to determine happiness levels in relation to church-going. They studied consumer shopping habits over 30 years, and learned that among women, having money makes them less happy than going to church.
The researchers used data provided by the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Council. They looked “specifically at adults who lived in states where ‘blue laws’ (laws prohibiting commercial activity on Sundays) had been repealed between 1973 and 1998, they compared the happiness levels of adults with reported church attendance over that 25-year period. (Because Christians are most likely to attend church on Sundays, while Jews and Muslims normally attend religious services on Fridays or Saturdays, the researchers looked specifically at Christians for this study.)”
“Women, but not men, seemed to experience a steep decline in both church attendance and their happiness levels over the course of the 25-year post-blue law period,” the new study reports. “The data showed that blue law repeals decreased the likelihood of people reporting that they were “pretty happy” to “not happy” by at least 17 percent. But the authors also noted that people whose religious participation didn’t change after blue laws were repealed reported no drop in happiness levels. Using other data collected from the survey, the researchers ruled out the possibility that the declines could be related to women’s increased participation in the workforce or to family issues.”
The study, ironically published by Sabbath keepers, will certainly be used to promote Sunday worship. The news report included a “day of rest” comment, which most Christians would think of as Sunday, in spite of the fact that the Bible clearly teaches Sabbath observance.
“We could all stand to take a ‘day of rest’ from commercialism to get some perspective on what makes us truly happy, whether we consider ourselves religious or not. For those who attend them, religious services provide fellowship and often give people a greater sense of meaning to life, says Danny Cohen-Zada, PhD, assistant professor in the department of economics at Ben-Gurion University and lead author of the study.”
“The Sabbath will be the great test of loyalty, for it is the point of truth especially controverted. When the final test shall be brought to bear upon men, then the line of distinction will be drawn between those who serve God and those who serve Him not.” Great Controversy, p. 605.
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