If people are happy, the world will improve.
The World Happiness Report lists the top ten happiest nations along with their respective Happiness Scores.
- Rank Country Happiness Score
1 Finland (7.804)
2 Denmark (7.586)
3 Iceland (7.530)
4 Israel (7.473)
5 Netherlands (7.403)
6 Sweden (7.395)
7 Norway (7.315)
8 Switzerland (7.240)
9 Luxembourg (7.228)
10 New Zealand (7.123)
Now, all of the happiest nations on earth are included in the top ten lists of nations with the highest percentages of atheists, agnostics, or non-believers in God. The nonreligious population of the world's happiest nations is listed below.
- Country, nonreligious population (%)
1 Finland (55)
2 Denmark (61)
3 Iceland (49)
4 Israel (58)
5 Netherlands 42)
6 Sweden (73)
7 Norway (62)
8 Switzerland (58)
9 Luxembourg (38)
10 New Zealand (37)
- It follows that there is a clear relationship between atheism and happiness.
Religion, in the words of Karl Marx, is the opium of the masses.
- Religions can make you feel happy right away, much like drugs and alcohol, but they can also ruin your mental, emotional, and physical well-being.
- Religious people dislike (and often detest) not only the God of other religions but also their fellow followers, which leads to problems within society because each religious person exclusively believes in his own God. The worst thing about religion is that it stifles reason, which leads to irrationality and an easy acceptance of many myths and pseudosciences.
As a result, you will discover that the happiest nations have high rates of economic development, gender equality, and literacy together with a large number of atheists.
In a same vein, you'll also see that the happiest nations on Earth have the largest proportion of believers along with the lowest levels of economic growth, prejudice against women, and illiteracy.
But religion is big business, and given the entrenched interests of numerous influential individuals and institutions, it is unlikely that the promotion and celebration of religion would decline.
Similar to astute businesspeople, these religious merchants will see to it that people remain perpetually enamored with religion in order to benefit from their ignorance and superstition and establish an enduring state of dominance over them.
Seneca, a Stoic philosopher from ancient Rome, stated astutely more than 2,000 years ago, "Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful."
Religion is a lucrative industry as well.
"When the missionaries came to Africa, they had the Bible, and we had the land," stated Desmond Tutu eloquently. "Let us pray," they declared. We shut our eyes. We found the Bible within, and they had the land when we opened them.
Therefore, the world will be a better place to live if humanity does away with religion.
But you don't have to wait for religion to become obsolete and the world to transform.
There is nothing stopping you from being the change in your own life by eschewing religion, adopting a more logical mindset, and getting rid of pointless beliefs.
Eliminating religion can be difficult at first and cause withdrawal symptoms similar to those experienced when quitting alcohol, drugs, or cigarettes. However, once you are free of this opium, you will be able to view the world more clearly and lead a happier, more reasonable life.