A positive correlation between religiosity and life satisfaction has long been recognized by researchers, but a new study in the December issue of the American Sociological Review reveals religion's "secret ingredient" that makes people happier: friendship.

Of course, Endless Beauty readers already know that friends can help you live longer and decrease stress, as well as being a source of fun. But the intersection of friends and religion is a new revelation:

"Our study offers compelling evidence that it is the social aspects of religion rather than theology or spirituality that leads to life satisfaction," said Chaeyoon Lim, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who led the study. "In particular, we find that friendships built in religious congregations are the secret ingredient in religion that makes people happier."

• 33% of people who attend religious services every week and have 3-5 close friends in their congregation report that they are "extremely satisfied" with their lives. 
• 19% of people who attend religious services weekly, but who have no close friends in their congregation report that they are extremely satisfied.
• 23% of people who attend religious services only several times a year, but who have 3-5 close friends in their congregation are extremely satisfied.

According to Lim, people like to feel that they belong. "One of the important functions of religion is to give people a sense of belonging to a moral community based on religious faith," he said. "This community, however, could be abstract and remote unless one has an intimate circle of friends who share a similar identity. The friends in one's congregation thus make the religious community real and tangible, and strengthen one's sense of belonging to the community."

The study's findings are applicable to the three main Christian traditions (Mainline Protestant, Evangelical Protestant, and Catholic).