Does believing in God make you more likely to be a millionaire? For two religions... maybe.

Being religious, and no, it doesn’t matter which religion, is one of the nine things most happy people have in common. It made me wonder how being religious affects success - especially since happy people tend to be dramatically more successful (Inc 2022).

What are my religious views?

Before getting into the data, I want to explain my religious views because I want you to understand where I might be biased. If you're looking to jump to that bit, it's at the end. I believe in God, and I have since I can remember, but I only consciously acted as if God existed from around the time I turned 18 when I moved overseas and needed something to cling to. God and acting in a way that God would like became more important to me as everything I had known felt further away.

The first time I felt like I felt God was visiting my friend Jon in Israel. I remember standing in Jerusalem marvelling at the beauty, I was fully present. It was a simple moment, and I could be crazy, but if you’ve felt what I’ve felt- you know exactly what I mean. After visiting Jon, I went back to university and I went through what I’ve come to fondly call “my Christian phase.”

In my Christian phase, I got involved with my uni’s church group. They were a lovely group of people, and I went to gatherings and church with my friends Sophie and Ade for a few months. I stopped going when one of the well-meaning women told me God’s plan for me might be to be single forever. Considering I’m a girl who grew up on a steady diet of Twilight and Wattpad (aka the cheesiest romance stories you can read) - I didn’t like that very much.

Where am I now?

I would consider myself spiritual. For the next few years after my “Christian phase”, I didn’t think about God as much, although I did try to act in a way I thought God would be happy with, and I found comfort in going through life knowing there was always a place I could turn to for hope, forgiveness and guidance. I don’t follow any specific religion, but I probably follow the rules of Islam and Christianity the most after being exposed to Islam by Sabah Ahmedi at a People Like Us Event and Christianity at university.