Health and Religion

[CoinCube]

How will god prevent evil in the new universe though, people will still have free choice, no? Therefore they can still commit crimes there, again, 0 logic. What about children born there once we go there? How will he make sure they are born not evil? Garbage argument.

You would need to make sure that consciousness that made the transition from this world to the next were entirely grounded in the Law. Specifically such consciousness would need to be both superrational and adopt an unbounded and inclusive morality. As long as these two criteria were met there would be no crimes in the next world.

I discussed this immediately upthead in my discussion of Multiverse Wide Cooperation.

In Biblical terms you would need to separate the wheat from the chaff.

[Astargath]

How will god prevent evil in the new universe though, people will still have free choice, no? Therefore they can still commit crimes there, again, 0 logic. What about children born there once we go there? How will he make sure they are born not evil? Garbage argument.

You would need to make sure that consciousness that made the transition from this world to the next were entirely grounded in the Law. Specifically such consciousness would need to be both superrational and adopt an unbounded and inclusive morality. As long as these two criteria were met there would be no crimes in the next world.

I discussed this immediately upthead in my discussion of Multiverse Wide Cooperation.

In Biblical terms you would need to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Do those things affect your free will? If not, then why didnt god create us with those things? What about new babies that are born there, how will god make sure they have those characteristics, you are digging a deeper hole every time lol.

[BADecker]

This bit about the new universe is kind of new information. LOL.

Are you on God's mailing list?  You seem to know a lot about what your God wants and what he did, is doing and will do in the future.

Hmm, are you sure, maybe you are God?

You would have had this info long ago, if you had a direct line to God. But since you won't even acknowledge Him, I thank Him, for your sake, that He is lovingly giving you enough logic to understand a little here and there.

[BADecker]

How will god prevent evil in the new universe though, people will still have free choice, no? Therefore they can still commit crimes there, again, 0 logic. What about children born there once we go there? How will he make sure they are born not evil? Garbage argument.

You will never get a chance to find out how God will do this, because of where you have chosen to go. But I will give you a little hint.

In the new universe, there will only be good. So, people will only have free will to do good and better.

What I mean is, in this universe, no matter the good or bad you choose to do, you can only do what the physics of the universe allows. In the new universe, not even bad thinking will be a choice allowed by NU physics.



EDIT: What makes you think that children will be born in the new universe?

EDIT 2: This post nullifies your post at https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1373864.msg51994000#msg51994000.

[Astargath]

How will god prevent evil in the new universe though, people will still have free choice, no? Therefore they can still commit crimes there, again, 0 logic. What about children born there once we go there? How will he make sure they are born not evil? Garbage argument.

You will never get a chance to find out how God will do this, because of where you have chosen to go. But I will give you a little hint.

In the new universe, there will only be good. So, people will only have free will to do good and better.

What I mean is, in this universe, no matter the good or bad you choose to do, you can only do what the physics of the universe allows. In the new universe, not even bad thinking will be a choice allowed by NU physics.



EDIT: What makes you think that children will be born in the new universe?

EDIT 2: This post nullifies your post at https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1373864.msg51994000#msg51994000.

''In the new universe, there will only be good. So, people will only have free will to do good and better.'' ''in this universe, no matter the good or bad you choose to do, you can only do what the physics of the universe allows. In the new universe, not even bad thinking will be a choice allowed by NU physics.''

So why not do that from the beginning, have you ever thought about that? LOL

[BADecker]

How will god prevent evil in the new universe though, people will still have free choice, no? Therefore they can still commit crimes there, again, 0 logic. What about children born there once we go there? How will he make sure they are born not evil? Garbage argument.

You will never get a chance to find out how God will do this, because of where you have chosen to go. But I will give you a little hint.

In the new universe, there will only be good. So, people will only have free will to do good and better.

What I mean is, in this universe, no matter the good or bad you choose to do, you can only do what the physics of the universe allows. In the new universe, not even bad thinking will be a choice allowed by NU physics.



EDIT: What makes you think that children will be born in the new universe?

EDIT 2: This post nullifies your post at https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1373864.msg51994000#msg51994000.

''In the new universe, there will only be good. So, people will only have free will to do good and better.'' ''in this universe, no matter the good or bad you choose to do, you can only do what the physics of the universe allows. In the new universe, not even bad thinking will be a choice allowed by NU physics.''

So why not do that from the beginning, have you ever thought about that? LOL

Because NU is an extension, sort of, of his universe. It's an extension regarding the reward for the choice made. The reward is either locked-in joy and spiritual growth, or locked-in destruction  - though it takes all eternity for either to be completed.

There is this tiny free will that people have in this universe. Even God doesn't quite know for an absolute fact what the free will of us gods will be, although He can guess it quite accurately in most cases. In the resurrection, the results will be handed out, according to whatever each person chose in this universe and life.

In other words, the NU and Hell will BE the "from the beginning" you are talking about... because none of this universe will ever be remembered or come to mind once the NU is in use.

You made your choice. But God is happy to allow you to have the understanding of what is going on, both so that you will see that it is your choice that sent you there, and so that you can calculate it while you are here.

[CoinCube]

...
In other words, the NU and Hell will BE the "from the beginning" you are talking about... because none of this universe will ever be remembered or come to mind once the NU is in use.
...

"Earth, I think, will not be found by anyone to be in the end a very distinct place.  I think earth, if chosen instead of Heaven, will turn out to have been, all along, only a region in Hell:  and earth, if put second to Heaven, to have been from the beginning a part of Heaven itself." - C.S. Lewis

[BADecker]

...
In other words, the NU and Hell will BE the "from the beginning" you are talking about... because none of this universe will ever be remembered or come to mind once the NU is in use.
...

Earth, I think, will not be found by anyone to be in the end a very distinct place.  I think earth, if chosen instead of Heaven, will turn out to have been, all along, only a region in Hell:  and earth, if put second to Heaven, to have been from the beginning a part of Heaven itself. - C.S. Lewis

I agree.

[Astargath]

How will god prevent evil in the new universe though, people will still have free choice, no? Therefore they can still commit crimes there, again, 0 logic. What about children born there once we go there? How will he make sure they are born not evil? Garbage argument.

You will never get a chance to find out how God will do this, because of where you have chosen to go. But I will give you a little hint.

In the new universe, there will only be good. So, people will only have free will to do good and better.

What I mean is, in this universe, no matter the good or bad you choose to do, you can only do what the physics of the universe allows. In the new universe, not even bad thinking will be a choice allowed by NU physics.



EDIT: What makes you think that children will be born in the new universe?

EDIT 2: This post nullifies your post at https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1373864.msg51994000#msg51994000.

''In the new universe, there will only be good. So, people will only have free will to do good and better.'' ''in this universe, no matter the good or bad you choose to do, you can only do what the physics of the universe allows. In the new universe, not even bad thinking will be a choice allowed by NU physics.''

So why not do that from the beginning, have you ever thought about that? LOL

Because NU is an extension, sort of, of his universe. It's an extension regarding the reward for the choice made. The reward is either locked-in joy and spiritual growth, or locked-in destruction  - though it takes all eternity for either to be completed.

There is this tiny free will that people have in this universe. Even God doesn't quite know for an absolute fact what the free will of us gods will be, although He can guess it quite accurately in most cases. In the resurrection, the results will be handed out, according to whatever each person chose in this universe and life.

In other words, the NU and Hell will BE the "from the beginning" you are talking about... because none of this universe will ever be remembered or come to mind once the NU is in use.

You made your choice. But God is happy to allow you to have the understanding of what is going on, both so that you will see that it is your choice that sent you there, and so that you can calculate it while you are here.

That doesn't answer the question. Why is he making another universe, did he fuck this one up and has to make another one? Again, why wouldnt he just make that one knowing beforehand how this one will turn out??? Makes no sense.

Also how can god not know something for a fact, isnt he god lol?

[BADecker]

How will god prevent evil in the new universe though, people will still have free choice, no? Therefore they can still commit crimes there, again, 0 logic. What about children born there once we go there? How will he make sure they are born not evil? Garbage argument.

You will never get a chance to find out how God will do this, because of where you have chosen to go. But I will give you a little hint.

In the new universe, there will only be good. So, people will only have free will to do good and better.

What I mean is, in this universe, no matter the good or bad you choose to do, you can only do what the physics of the universe allows. In the new universe, not even bad thinking will be a choice allowed by NU physics.



EDIT: What makes you think that children will be born in the new universe?

EDIT 2: This post nullifies your post at https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1373864.msg51994000#msg51994000.

''In the new universe, there will only be good. So, people will only have free will to do good and better.'' ''in this universe, no matter the good or bad you choose to do, you can only do what the physics of the universe allows. In the new universe, not even bad thinking will be a choice allowed by NU physics.''

So why not do that from the beginning, have you ever thought about that? LOL

Because NU is an extension, sort of, of his universe. It's an extension regarding the reward for the choice made. The reward is either locked-in joy and spiritual growth, or locked-in destruction  - though it takes all eternity for either to be completed.

There is this tiny free will that people have in this universe. Even God doesn't quite know for an absolute fact what the free will of us gods will be, although He can guess it quite accurately in most cases. In the resurrection, the results will be handed out, according to whatever each person chose in this universe and life.

In other words, the NU and Hell will BE the "from the beginning" you are talking about... because none of this universe will ever be remembered or come to mind once the NU is in use.

You made your choice. But God is happy to allow you to have the understanding of what is going on, both so that you will see that it is your choice that sent you there, and so that you can calculate it while you are here.

That doesn't answer the question. Why is he making another universe, did he fuck this one up and has to make another one? Again, why wouldnt he just make that one knowing beforehand how this one will turn out??? Makes no sense.

Also how can god not know something for a fact, isnt he god lol?

He is making another universe for people who want to remain with Him. He is giving you what you are asking for, remaining in this universe without Him, even in its destruction.

Be happy that someone is showing you what is going to happen, so that you will be able to boldly say something like, "I am so happy that God gave me my free choice, even though I'm going to feel the pain of it through all eternity. I was free, and it was my free choice to be bound in pain."

God knows everything for a fact, except the tiny, inner choices of god-like beings. Why doesn't He know these inner choices? Because the beings are just enough like Him in their ability to use freedom of choice, that nobody can tell for a fact what they will choose.

God wanted you to be a creature of greatness, one able to freely make your own choice. Now that you have, He will honor your choice, and give you what you are asking for.

[CoinCube]

...
I just realized that I might be talking to a real schizophrenic.  So please excuse me, I have to leave this ward.

Heard this song on the radio today for the first time and it reminded me of your post. It is a song about crazy Christians.

Those Crazy Christians - Brad Paisley

[BADecker]

1 Corinthians 1:18-31:

18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

20Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

26Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

So, it is aspects of weakness in saved people, that allows the Holy Spirit to work faith in their hearts.

[chirannew22]

hi,

Health and disease are the common problem in the society. We need to be in good health to live well. Religion, in every society, in every stage of history, upholds the value of well-being and health as necessary for a meaningful life, and provides its adherents with ways and means to enhance their health and to enable them to deal creatively with human vulnerability to disease, pain and suffering. In every religion there are valuable advices about the health. Within the Buddhist tradition, physical pain and illness can provide an occasion for the cultivation of healthy and desirable mental states including forbearance and patience. Therefore, it is not illness but rather our response to it that has spiritual value in the Buddhist tradition.

[Magkirap]

I had an IQ of 160 once upon a time. It's probably about 100 less now. I regard the religious as mentally ill. I have zero desire to procreate and think the world's a fuckhole. Hey, I guess you're right.

We are almost the same. Religion for me is not required but needed. It is not required in terms that spiritualitybis more important for me rather than the label of religion and needed for the people to have something to atleast there is something they can give their faith on when there are unexpected things happen.

[johnpaul94]

I would like to tow a different line here. I want to say of a fact that one's religion influces an individuals health either negatively or positively and there has been a lot of research on the positive influence of religion and ones faith on one's health.

[af_newbie]

I would like to tow a different line here. I want to say of a fact that one's religion influces an individuals health either negatively or positively and there has been a lot of research on the positive influence of religion and ones faith on one's health.

So does joining a gym or a cooking class.  What is your point?

[BADecker]

I would like to tow a different line here. I want to say of a fact that one's religion influces an individuals health either negatively or positively and there has been a lot of research on the positive influence of religion and ones faith on one's health.

So does joining a gym or a cooking class.  What is your point?

The point is that these are personal religions of the people who do them, because they follow them devotedly for a time. That's also why atheism is a religion. It's in the definition of "religion" - https://www.dictionary.com/browse/religion?s=t.

[CoinCube]

The happiest wives in US are religious conservatives
https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/leftists-outraged-over-evidence-that-happiest-wives-in-us-are-religious-conservatives

October 8, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – One of the most consistently interesting things about our cultural debates surrounding marriage and sexuality is the resistance that many of those on the secular side of the spectrum exhibit towards the slowly growing mountain of evidence supporting the fact that our Judeo-Christian values are often essential to both social stability as well as personal happiness. While the soft-core porn mags sold at supermarket checkouts urge young men and women to engage in sizzling sexual experiments and public sex education teaches children to believe that anything is on the table, social studies tell us that we are robbing them of the future many of them desire—or will desire in the future.

Let’s take a look at just two recent reports. The New York Times, as The Blaze noted at the time, “caused an avalanche of anger” after they published a report by the Institute for Family Studies and the Wheatley Institution finding that “the happiest of all American wives consider themselves religious conservatives.” 

A tweet sent out by New York Times Opinion was apparently particularly galling: “It turns out that the happiest of all wives in America are religious conservatives, followed by their religious progressive counterparts.”

In the report, researchers detailed the fact that women who report having “above-average satisfaction with their marriages” are often both religious and conservative, and the New York Times op-ed on the findings noted that “Fully 73 percent of wives who hold conservative gender values and attend religious services regularly with their husbands have high-quality marriages. When it comes to relationship quality, there is a J-curve in women’s marital happiness, with women on the left and the right enjoying higher quality marriages than those in the middle—but especially wives on the right.”

This should not be particularly surprising. Those who believe that marriage is a sacred institution constituting a life-long, monogamous commitment to one person are, generally (and statistically) speaking, going to enter marriage with a radically different perspective than those who believe the whole thing can be called off with less difficulty than a cell phone contract. 

If, as many religious people believe, marriage is a covenant rather than a contract, this has obvious implications for both entering marriage and exiting one. If divorce is not seen as the exercise of the opt-out clause in a civil arrangement but rather, as Peter Kreeft once put it, “the murder of the one flesh” union, then the severing of the marital bond is obviously far more significant than our current social norms would have us believe.

The same is true for sexual activity prior to marriage. I recall one older fellow I worked with years ago asking me, with disbelief, how I could conceive of entering a marriage without first sleeping with my partner. After all, he explained, you wouldn’t purchase a car without test-driving it first. Side-stepping the offensiveness of his comparison of a spouse to a car and marriage to the purchase of one (the unspoken and perhaps unrecognized implication that a “newer model” might be preferable down the road did not come up), the evidence simply does not bear out the idea that multiple sexual partners prior to marriage is beneficial to committing to one person for a lifetime. In fact, it is rather bewildering that so many seem to believe that promiscuity is good practice for monogamy.

This, too, was once again proven by sociologist Nicholas Wolfinger of the University of Utah over at the Institute for Family Studies. He found, unsurprisingly, that Americans who had only ever slept with their spouses were by far the most likely to report that their marriage was “very happy.” Conversely, women who had between six and ten sexual partners in their lives reported the lowest odds of marital happiness (thirteen percentage points lower than women who had only reported one partner.) The same proved true for men, who also reported lower marital satisfaction after one partner, although their satisfaction did not dip as low as it does for women.

According to The Atlantic’s report on the study:

“Contrary to conventional wisdom, when it comes to sex, less experience is better, at least for the marriage,” said W. Bradford Wilcox, a sociologist and senior fellow at the Institute for Family Studies. In an earlier analysis, Wolfinger found that women with zero or one previous sex partners before marriage were also least likely to divorce, while those with 10 or more were most likely. These divorce-proof brides are an exclusive crew: By the 2010s, he writes, just 5 percent of new brides were virgins. And just 6 percent of their marriages dissolved within five years, compared with 20 percent for most people.

Other studies’ findings have also supported the surprising durability of marriages between people who have only ever had sex with one another. In this latest study, women who have had one partner instead of two are about 5 percentage points happier in their marriages, about on a par, Wolfinger says, with the boost that possessing a four-year degree, attending religious services, or having an income over $78,000 a year has for a happy marriage. (In his analysis, he controlled for education, income, and age at marriage.)

If our governments were genuinely interested in promoting personal happiness and social stability, public sex education would be conveying the findings of these reports and many, many others that concur. 

The ideologues running our education system are not committed to doing what is best for those in their charge, but instead promoting their own set of beliefs—beliefs, it must be pointed out, that have led to a polarized culture with rates of family breakdown unheard of in human history outside of war or natural disaster. Many young people in our society today are searching for answers, and those answers will not be found in what the secular establishment is offering. They can be found in the beautiful traditions we cast aside.

[af_newbie]

The happiest wives in US are religious conservatives
https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/leftists-outraged-over-evidence-that-happiest-wives-in-us-are-religious-conservatives

October 8, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – One of the most consistently interesting things about our cultural debates surrounding marriage and sexuality is the resistance that many of those on the secular side of the spectrum exhibit towards the slowly growing mountain of evidence supporting the fact that our Judeo-Christian values are often essential to both social stability as well as personal happiness. While the soft-core porn mags sold at supermarket checkouts urge young men and women to engage in sizzling sexual experiments and public sex education teaches children to believe that anything is on the table, social studies tell us that we are robbing them of the future many of them desire—or will desire in the future.

Let’s take a look at just two recent reports. The New York Times, as The Blaze noted at the time, “caused an avalanche of anger” after they published a report by the Institute for Family Studies and the Wheatley Institution finding that “the happiest of all American wives consider themselves religious conservatives.” 

A tweet sent out by New York Times Opinion was apparently particularly galling: “It turns out that the happiest of all wives in America are religious conservatives, followed by their religious progressive counterparts.”

In the report, researchers detailed the fact that women who report having “above-average satisfaction with their marriages” are often both religious and conservative, and the New York Times op-ed on the findings noted that “Fully 73 percent of wives who hold conservative gender values and attend religious services regularly with their husbands have high-quality marriages. When it comes to relationship quality, there is a J-curve in women’s marital happiness, with women on the left and the right enjoying higher quality marriages than those in the middle—but especially wives on the right.”

This should not be particularly surprising. Those who believe that marriage is a sacred institution constituting a life-long, monogamous commitment to one person are, generally (and statistically) speaking, going to enter marriage with a radically different perspective than those who believe the whole thing can be called off with less difficulty than a cell phone contract. 

If, as many religious people believe, marriage is a covenant rather than a contract, this has obvious implications for both entering marriage and exiting one. If divorce is not seen as the exercise of the opt-out clause in a civil arrangement but rather, as Peter Kreeft once put it, “the murder of the one flesh” union, then the severing of the marital bond is obviously far more significant than our current social norms would have us believe.

The same is true for sexual activity prior to marriage. I recall one older fellow I worked with years ago asking me, with disbelief, how I could conceive of entering a marriage without first sleeping with my partner. After all, he explained, you wouldn’t purchase a car without test-driving it first. Side-stepping the offensiveness of his comparison of a spouse to a car and marriage to the purchase of one (the unspoken and perhaps unrecognized implication that a “newer model” might be preferable down the road did not come up), the evidence simply does not bear out the idea that multiple sexual partners prior to marriage is beneficial to committing to one person for a lifetime. In fact, it is rather bewildering that so many seem to believe that promiscuity is good practice for monogamy.

This, too, was once again proven by sociologist Nicholas Wolfinger of the University of Utah over at the Institute for Family Studies. He found, unsurprisingly, that Americans who had only ever slept with their spouses were by far the most likely to report that their marriage was “very happy.” Conversely, women who had between six and ten sexual partners in their lives reported the lowest odds of marital happiness (thirteen percentage points lower than women who had only reported one partner.) The same proved true for men, who also reported lower marital satisfaction after one partner, although their satisfaction did not dip as low as it does for women.

According to The Atlantic’s report on the study:

“Contrary to conventional wisdom, when it comes to sex, less experience is better, at least for the marriage,” said W. Bradford Wilcox, a sociologist and senior fellow at the Institute for Family Studies. In an earlier analysis, Wolfinger found that women with zero or one previous sex partners before marriage were also least likely to divorce, while those with 10 or more were most likely. These divorce-proof brides are an exclusive crew: By the 2010s, he writes, just 5 percent of new brides were virgins. And just 6 percent of their marriages dissolved within five years, compared with 20 percent for most people.

Other studies’ findings have also supported the surprising durability of marriages between people who have only ever had sex with one another. In this latest study, women who have had one partner instead of two are about 5 percentage points happier in their marriages, about on a par, Wolfinger says, with the boost that possessing a four-year degree, attending religious services, or having an income over $78,000 a year has for a happy marriage. (In his analysis, he controlled for education, income, and age at marriage.)

If our governments were genuinely interested in promoting personal happiness and social stability, public sex education would be conveying the findings of these reports and many, many others that concur. 

The ideologues running our education system are not committed to doing what is best for those in their charge, but instead promoting their own set of beliefs—beliefs, it must be pointed out, that have led to a polarized culture with rates of family breakdown unheard of in human history outside of war or natural disaster. Many young people in our society today are searching for answers, and those answers will not be found in what the secular establishment is offering. They can be found in the beautiful traditions we cast aside.

Or, happiness is determined solely by the positive cultural interactions in the society you happen to live.  Not the superstition one adheres to.

Rape, abuse, murder, corporal punishment is prevalent in all cultures, regardless of the details of the corresponding religious cult.  I would venture to say it is more prevalent in societies where such incivilities are sanctioned by the divine powers.

Maren's sententious rhetoric is not only void of any substance, it completely ignores non-Christian, yet happy Americans.

[CoinCube]

Or, happiness is determined solely by the positive cultural interactions in the society you happen to live.  Not the superstition one adheres to.

Rape, abuse, murder, corporal punishment is prevalent in all cultures, regardless of the details of the corresponding religious cult.  I would venture to say it is more prevalent in societies where such incivilities are sanctioned by the divine powers.

Maren's sententious rhetoric is not only void of any substance, it completely ignores non-Christian, yet happy Americans.

Yes rape, abuse, murder, is prevalent in all cultures as are many other horrors great and small. Evil is an inherent part of biological humanity. We are wolves by nature. Some wolves are restrained by physical cages, others by fear of cages and punishment. The best of us try and to some degree succeed in putting the wolf in us to sleep and restrain ourselves allowing that which is best to emerge. In all cases, however, the wolf is never gone deep down it remains.

“Yes, but mark, what is true one day is not false another; "the carnal mind is enmity against God" at all times. The wolf may sleep, but it is a wolf still. The snake with its azure hues, may slumber amid the flowers, and the child may stroke its slimy back, but it is a serpent still; it does not change its nature, though it is dormant. The sea is the house of storms, even when it is glassy as a lake; the thunder is still the mighty rolling thunder, when it is so much aloft that we hear it not. And the heart, when we perceive not its ebullitions, when it belches not forth its lava, and sendeth not forth the hot stones of its corruption, is still the same dread volcano. At all times, at all hours, at every moment.” - REV. C. H. Spurgeon

Happiness is in part determined by positive cultural interactions. Positive interactions are win-win cooperative ones as opposed to defection which involve some form of force, coercion or exploitation. If you happen to live in an environment full of kind people and positive cultural interactions you have a reasonable chance of being happy. You appear to assume that the religion one adheres to does not materially impact the quality and quantity of one’s cultural interactions. Basically every study shows the opposite that religious observance leads to substantial improvements in well-being. Secular alternatives you mentioned like joining a cooking class are not genuine alternatives. They may facilitate socialization but they do nothing to address the problem of defection.

See: Multiverse Wide Cooperation

Religion ultimately is the framework of beliefs, views, and values used to structure one’s life. Some people join existing formal religions. Many people just follow their biological impulses any given moment.  Other people develop their own esoteric views or attach their meaning to political movements or cults. Everyone, is religious not everyone understands their religion.