New Study says Evangelical Christians, Rich People are Happier

Americans are still cheerful says a new study, 84% claiming to be "pretty happy" or "very happy."
Those who are married report being more happy than those who are not by a ratio of almost 2 to 1.
Contrary to much-used cliches about money and happiness, the study finds that the richer one is the happier he reports to be.
Republicans report being more happy than Democrats (some of my Democrat friends may be surprised by this).
Regular Church-goers report being happier than those who do not attend, and white Evangelical Protestants report being happiest of all.
Older people are happier than the young.
Americans are happier than Europeans (some of my Democrat friends may be surprised about this too).
And (my favorite) Southerners report being happier than Yankees!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/13/AR2006021302145_pf.html

Is there any theological reasoning behind these trends? Maybe it all means God favors wealthy, white, elderly, American, Protestant, married, conservative, Evangelicals. Maybe. I suspect it is a bit (or a lot) more complicated than that. But it is an interesting place to start thinking, isn't it?

Another interesting note: the all-time American "happiness high" came in the mid-70s coinciding with the fall of Saigon, the disgrace of the Nixon administration, a fuel crisis, and an economic recession. I wonder what that may suggest about when we report being happy and when we really are happier? I suppose it might imply that people report being more happy when they are less happy for some reason and the title should read "Evangelical Christians, Rich people less Happy." But I doubt it is that simple either.