2 replies to this topic

[FutureQ]

Like I didn't already know this but it's nice to have the backup.

http://www.timesonli...1798944,00.html

Britain

The Times  September 27, 2005

The Times

Societies worse off 'when they have God on their side'
By Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent

RELIGIOUS belief can cause damage to a society, contributing towards high murder rates, abortion, sexual promiscuity and suicide, according to research published today.

According to the study, belief in and worship of God are not only unnecessary for a healthy society but may actually contribute to social problems.

The study counters the view of believers that religion is necessary to provide the moral and ethical foundations of a healthy society.

It compares the social peformance of relatively secular countries, such as Britain, with the US, where the majority believes in a creator rather than the theory of evolution. Many conservative evangelicals in the US consider Darwinism to be a social evil, believing that it inspires atheism and amorality.

Many liberal Christians and believers of other faiths hold that religious belief is socially beneficial, believing that it helps to lower rates of violent crime, murder, suicide, sexual promiscuity and abortion. The benefits of religious belief to a society have been described as its “spiritual capital”. But the study claims that the devotion of many in the US may actually contribute to its ills.

The paper, published in the Journal of Religion and Society, a US academic journal, reports: “Many Americans agree that their churchgoing nation is an exceptional, God-blessed, shining city on the hill that stands as an impressive example for an increasingly sceptical world.

“In general, higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy and abortion in the prosperous democracies.

“The United States is almost always the most dysfunctional of the developing democracies, sometimes spectacularly so.”

Gregory Paul, the author of the study and a social scientist, used data from the International Social Survey Programme, Gallup and other research bodies to reach his conclusions.

He compared social indicators such as murder rates, abortion, suicide and teenage pregnancy.

The study concluded that the US was the world’s only prosperous democracy where murder rates were still high, and that the least devout nations were the least dysfunctional. Mr Paul said that rates of gonorrhoea in adolescents in the US were up to 300 times higher than in less devout democratic countries. The US also suffered from “ uniquely high” adolescent and adult syphilis infection rates, and adolescent abortion rates, the study suggested.

Mr Paul said: “The study shows that England, despite the social ills it has, is actually performing a good deal better than the USA in most indicators, even though it is now a much less religious nation than America.”

He said that the disparity was even greater when the US was compared with other countries, including France, Japan and the Scandinavian countries. These nations had been the most successful in reducing murder rates, early mortality, sexually transmitted diseases and abortion, he added.

Mr Paul delayed releasing the study until now because of Hurricane Katrina. He said that the evidence accumulated by a number of different studies suggested that religion might actually contribute to social ills. “I suspect that Europeans are increasingly repelled by the poor societal performance of the Christian states,” he added.

He said that most Western nations would become more religious only if the theory of evolution could be overturned and the existence of God scientifically proven. Likewise, the theory of evolution would not enjoy majority support in the US unless there was a marked decline in religious belief, Mr Paul said.

“The non-religious, proevolution democracies contradict the dictum that a society cannot enjoy good conditions unless most citizens ardently believe in a moral creator.

“The widely held fear that a Godless citizenry must experience societal disaster is therefore refuted.”

Enjoy!

FQ

[Lister]

Religion as a philosophy is only as successful as its followers. I don’t think that religion is the source of all these poor results; you need only look at the state of education and social system in these areas.

The countries and areas that had better results likely had higher education, higher employment rates, low poverty and overall better living conditions. It has been said (likely proven) that a better educated people are less religious. Does this mean that their success is down to their lack of religion or is it down to their higher education?

The hate, violence, and overall bigotry that revolve around religion often have a direct correlation to the quality of life in those specific areas. The Middle East is a center for extremism and ALSO a center for poverty and low standards of living.

Really improving standards of living should be the goal of Religious and Atheist alike. This goal would lower rates of religion as well as achieve the core goals of most religions.

Atheists and Theists hating on each other is pointless, fruitless, childish, and more importantly dangerous. Fight for Education, Fight for Equality, Fight for better living conditions through whatever political, and philosophical method that work best for you. Whether privatized or socialized or a mix as long as you’re fighting for that you’re doing the right thing.

[NeuroGuy]

Really improving standards of living should be the goal of Religious and Atheist alike.
...
Atheists and Theists hating on each other is pointless, fruitless, childish, and more importantly dangerous.

Well said on both counts, Lister. Mutual respect and concern for the well-being of all would unquestionably be a net win for everyone involved.