We are annoyed when children play inside the church in the middle of the service. They seem to be happy doing it. Just because they are fussing around doesn’t mean they dislike faith. A new study reveals a link on children’s happiness and spirituality.

Psychologist Mark Holder and graduate student Judi Wallace from the University of British Columbia, Canada studied 315 children aged nine to ten from public and private schools ”measuring spirituality and other factors such as temperament and social relations that can affect an individual’s sense of happiness.” What they found out was surprising: spirituality contributes 6.5 to 16.5% of a child’s happiness. ”From our perspective, it’s a whopping big effect,” said Holder. “I expected it to be much less – I thought their spirituality would be too immature to account for their well-being.” In contrast, adults only account four or five percent of their happiness.

”Spirituality is not the same thing as religion, Mr. Holder and Ms. Wallace were careful to point out. While religion is usually affiliated with an institution, spirituality is related to an inner set of beliefs that guide you in life.”

Spiritually produces a sense of hope and meaning and can provide a social network.

According to Victor Chan, a friend of the Dalai Lama and founding director of the Dalai Lama Centre for Peace and Education in Vancouver

”…spirituality (in children) is simply a way in which they’re more grounded internally and less dependent on external factors for their well-being.”

The children in the study were asked questions such as:

“How often do you pray or meditate privately outside of church or other places of worship?” and to rate the importance of statements such as I feel a higher power’s presence and “developing meaning in my life.”

Also, the children’s parents and teachers were asked to describe each child’s level of happiness.

(Read usatoday.com, canada.com, image courtesy of jameshew)