Long before Gross Domestic Product came to be regarded as the single best measure of a country’s well-being, philosophers and theologians looked on happiness as the key factor. Socrates, Marcus Varro, and Augustine, for example, all viewed happiness as the supreme good, and the spirit and soul an integral part of happiness, and they presented many different philosophies of happiness, 288 in Varro alone. (City of God, Book 19, Chapter 1). Though there is no accepted measure of happiness, one could argue that the level of satisfaction of a people with life would be one way of measuring happiness, at least if such perceptions could be reliably measured.
In the years 1997 and 2000 Statistics Canada asked Canadians "How satisfied are you with your life in general?" in its National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating. This survey had a sample size of over 18,000 in 1997 and over 14,000 in 2000. The only noteworthy difference in the response to the question for the two years is the higher percentage of respondents not answering the question in 2000, though the refusal rate is still low, 6% in 2000, and 2% in 1997. The basic similarities in the patterns of responses to this question suggest that this survey source is yielding reliable information in answer to a question of fundamental importance. In this note the relationship between life satisfaction and some other variables is explored, especially marital status and religious commitment.
Of those reporting their level of satisfaction with life, the vast majority say they are either very or somewhat satisfied with their life. Overall, just over ten million Canadians (aged 15 and over, living in households in the ten provinces) said they were "very satisfied" in both years, about 42% of the population each year. Another 11 million in each year, 48% in 1997, and 45% in 2000, said they were "somewhat satisfied"; about 48% of the responding population in both years. The satisfied population therefore totaled 90% in 1997 and 87% in 2000, or 92% of the responding population in both years. Only 6% to 7% of Canadians in both years said they were "somewhat dissatisfied" with life in general, while only one to two percent said they were "very dissatisfied". In total those dissatisfied with their life equaled 1.9 million in 1997 and 1.7 million in 2000.
The rest of this note comments on differences between subgroups of Canadians among those reporting their level of satisfaction with life. About equal percentages of men and women were very satisfied with their life in 1997, 43% to 44%, and men and women were quite similar in 2000 as well, 43% of men and 46% of women. Similarly, the percentages of men and women saying they were somewhat satisfied with their lives is similar, 48% and 49% in 1997, and 50% (men) and 46% in 2000. Life satisfaction does not appear to vary much by age group. In both years the seniors aged 65 and over were most inclined to say they were very satisfied with life, 50%, while those in the next lower age bracket were least inclined, 46%. These differences are not great, however, and no simple pattern in life satisfaction with age is discernable (though a relationship is found in the analyses described at the end of this note).
Clear differences, however, are to be seen in life satisfaction according to marital status, and the patterns are similar in 1997 and 2000. The married/common law population is most likely to say they are very satisfied with their life, 48% in both years, followed by the single (never married) population, 40% to 41%, the widowed population, 35 to 37%, and the separated or divorced population, 25% in 1997 and 32% in 2000. For the year 2000 it is possible to get separate estimates for the married and common-law population, and the differences are large. Some 50% of the married population say they are very satisfied with life, compared with only 38% of the common-law population. It is also possible in 2000 to get separate estimates for the separated and divorced populations, and again the differences are noteworthy. Divorced men and women are more inclined to say they are very satisfied with life, 35%, than the separated men and women, 27%. The trauma and life readjustment associated with separation would probably account for at least some of this difference. Some differences between the sexes are evident - married women are somewhat more inclined than married men to say they are very satisfied with life (53% versus 48%), widows are more inclined than widowers to say they are very satisfied (38% versus 32%), while divorced men are more inclined than divorced women to say they are very satisfied with life (39% versus 33%).
No matter what the marital status, it is expected that religious commitment is associated with higher life satisfaction, providing not only a sense of community and support, but also purpose and meaning. Married (plus common-law), single, widowed and separated or divorced populations are therefore examined according to their religious affiliation and frequency of attendance at religious services. The samples for 1997 and 2000 are pooled for this investigation in order to increase the reliability of the estimates.
Married men and women are most likely to say they are very satisfied with life if they are Baptist, United, or affiliated with a smaller Christian faith (58% to 60%), and least likely if they are French Roman Catholic or non-Christian (38% and 36%, respectively). Married non-French Catholics are almost as likely as all married persons in Canada to say they are very satisfied, 49%, while Anglicans, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and Pentecostals are above the Canadian average, 53% to 56%. Non-religious married persons who were affiliated with a religious group when young (the no religion now group) are also more likely than average to be satisfied with their life (55%), while the non-religious who did not have a religious association when young (the no religion ever group) are less likely than average to be very satisfied with life (45%). For the married population satisfaction with life increases with the frequency of church attendance. Those attending weekly are most inclined to be very satisfied with life, 56%, while those attending just once or twice a year or not at all are least inclined to be very satisfied, 44% to 46%. This tendency is to be observed for both married men and women.
The single population exhibits some patterns that are similar to those of the married population and some that are different. Single Presbyterians, are the most likely of all identified faith groups to be very satisfied with life, 55%, though United, Lutheran and Pentecostal singles are not far behind, 49 to 52%. French Catholic and non-Christian singles are least likely to be very satisfied, 33% and 35%, respectively. Those affiliated with the smaller Christian faiths, non-French Catholics and no religion groups, are also on the low side with 40% to 42% very satisfied with life. Singles who attend church at least weekly or monthly are more inclined to be satisfied with life (50% and 48%) than singles who attend less frequently or not at all (36% to 38%) - this is true for both single men and women.
Among the widowed population, satisfaction with life is highest in the Presbyterian, Lutheran and Baptist communities (52% to 53% are very satisfied), and lowest in the Catholic and no religion ever communities (29% to 33%). Those with no religion now are much more likely to be very satisfied with life than their counterparts with no religion ever (44% versus 29%). The widowed population that attends church weekly is much more likely to be satisfied with their life than are their counterparts who attend less often or not at all (45% versus 29% to 34%), and this result holds for both widows and widowers.
Finally, the separated and divorced population is seen to vary widely in terms of their likelihood of being very satisfied with their life. Lutherans are most likely to be satisfied, 45%, followed by the smaller Christian faiths, Presbyterians, and the no religion now group (35% to 39%). Separated French Catholics, Baptists and the no religion ever groups are least likely to be very satisfied. As usual, those attending religious services weekly are more inclined to be very satisfied with life than those attending monthly or less often (39% versus 34% and 25% to 26%). Among separated and divorced men, some 44% of the weekly and monthly attenders are very satisfied with their life, compared with 25% to 29% of their counterparts who attend religious services less often or not at all. The difference is not as great among separated and divorced women: 37% of the weekly attenders are very satisfied, compared with 29% of monthly attenders, and 24% to 26% of those attending less often or not at all.
An analysis was conducted in order to detect significant (not arising from chance) associations with the level of satisfaction reported by both men and women. In the analysis of men, life satisfaction is higher for non-French Catholics, liberal Protestants (United Church affiliates, Anglicans, Presbyterians and Lutherans) and conservative Christians (Baptist, Pentecostal and smaller Christian faiths) than the non-religious population, while satisfaction is lower among French Catholics and non-Christians than the non-religious population. Also, satisfaction declines with age, and is higher for married than single men or widowers, and lower for separated or divorced men than single men. Satisfaction is lower among Quebec men than those in either Ontario, the Prairie region or British Columbia, and lower in the year 2000 than in 1997. In these analyses the estimates of association between any two factors hold, given the effect of the other factors in the analysis.
In the analysis of women, life satisfaction is again higher for non-French Catholics, liberal Protestants and conservative Christians than the non-religious population, though satisfaction is no different among French Catholics and non-Christians when compared with the non-religious population. As in the case of men, satisfaction declines with age, and is higher for married than single women or widows, and lower for separated or divorced women than single women. Satisfaction is also lower among Quebec women than those in either Ontario, the Prairie region or British Columbia, and lower in the year 2000 than in 1997.
In summary, this analysis of satisfaction with life in Canada has found marked variation according to marital status and religious commitment, and has identified some other important factors as well. The married/common law population is found to be most satisfied with their life, especially the married group, and the separated/divorced population the least satisfied, especially the separated population. Satisfaction is found to vary by religious commitment, both faith affiliation and the frequency of attendance at religious services, for the married/common law, singles, widows and widowers, and the separated divorced populations - satisfaction is higher for the regular attenders and members of the Christian faiths except French Catholic, when compared with either non-Christians or the non-religious. Analysis reveals satisfaction to be lower in Quebec than in regions west of Quebec, following control for other factors. Several other factors might be expected to be related to life satisfaction (income, health status, education, and labour force status, for example) and could easily be explored in future studies using this data source.
Supporting tables, charts and an appendix follow.
Frank Jones,
Adjunct Professor of Economics, University of Ottawa, Deemed Employee, Statistics Canada and Director of Research, Christian Commitment Research Institute (CCRI).
The author alone is responsible for any errors or omissions.