Cult Question

[The Czech Republic 0]

I wondering about something pertaining to the standard of living for members of borderline Christian sects such as the Mormons, Christian Scientists, et al.

 

It seems to me that members of these groups tend to be, on average, more affluent than Catholics and mainline Protestants. Going along with this, they tend to be some of the more intelligent people that I know. (Insert cult joke here.) In all my experiences with knowing people that are pretty well off, invariably some of them, or their neighbors in their expensive neighborhoods, belong to one of these groups. It goes without saying that Mormons own a lot of things in this country, such as radio stations, hotel chains, and more.

 

Also, if you look at their places of worship, you'll notice that they're some very nice buildings. I find the architecture of the CS and LDS buildings that I've seen to be quite aestetically pleasing. With fewer members than the mainlines, they have to be getting these funds from somewhere, and some of it has to be from the members of the church. But to keep up, they must be getting a bigger tithe per person than others.

 

Do you think it's a matter of the religions themselves that lead people to happiness and success? With Mormons and Christian Scientists preaching hard work in addition to clean and conscientious healthy lifestyles, they could be more successful just by virtue of not throwing their lives away through alcohol, cigarettes, and such. With that, they can achieve more in their places of work, hold a better job that yields more income, which makes for a much happier family than the neighbors who have a legitimate religion.

 

So if you haven't guessed, this is something that has been intriguing me, and any insights would be welcome.