I don't think religion makes people happy. However, it is difficult to measure such things, particularly since religious people often believe that religion is supposed to make them happy, so they are very likely to pretend that it is making them happy even if it isn't. Also, if they have never been completely nonreligious, they do not have a frame of reference for their judgment on the matter, so they are not in a position to know if their religion really is bringing them more happiness than not having a religion would.
In my case, I became much happier after becoming an atheist than I was as a theist. Not immediately, but over time, after getting used to being an atheist. And I have never met anyone who felt differently, who was a complete atheist for a few years, who said that he or she was less happy (overall) with atheism than with being religious.
One of the great advantages to being an atheist is that one does not worry about pissing off god and getting him to punish one. I have zero fear of ending up in hell, because I do not believe in it. When I was religious, I knew that (according to my religion) if I screwed up later in life, I could end up in hell, even if I presently was doing what I should be doing. My guess is, with every religion in which god or the gods punish people, the believers will always have, at least in the backs of their minds, the idea that they could make a mistake and anger god(s) and end up getting bad consequences. And that is in most religions, that one can be punished by god(s). I don't think such fears are conducive to happiness.
In my case, I became much happier after becoming an atheist than I was as a theist. Not immediately, but over time, after getting used to being an atheist. And I have never met anyone who felt differently, who was a complete atheist for a few years, who said that he or she was less happy (overall) with atheism than with being religious.
One of the great advantages to being an atheist is that one does not worry about pissing off god and getting him to punish one. I have zero fear of ending up in hell, because I do not believe in it. When I was religious, I knew that (according to my religion) if I screwed up later in life, I could end up in hell, even if I presently was doing what I should be doing. My guess is, with every religion in which god or the gods punish people, the believers will always have, at least in the backs of their minds, the idea that they could make a mistake and anger god(s) and end up getting bad consequences. And that is in most religions, that one can be punished by god(s). I don't think such fears are conducive to happiness.
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
