Here's Contributor #1 to happiness as the author of Gross National Happiness tells it (and note that religious people are defined as going to service at least once per week, secularists as going to religious service seldom or never):
"Religious people of all faiths are much happier than secularists on average. In 2004, 43% of religious folks . . were very happy with their lives versus 23% of secularists. Religious people are a third more likely than secularists to say they are optimistic about the future. Secularists are nearly twice as likely as religious people to say, "I am inclined to feel I am a failure."
Bear in mind that this conclusion is drawn from tons of data, not from a small group polled for the purpose of getting into this book.
Author Arthur Brooks suggests some reasons for the association of happiness and religious life: "social integration and support," material comforts ("People who live in religious communities, even correcting for other cultural factors . ., do better financially than those who live in secular communities"), a little bit of genetics, and belief in an afterlife.
Apart from the data, in my own view as a Christian, I love God and that makes my life better.
Would Contributor #1 be a surprise to most people you know?
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