Study: God Unnecessary For Strong Society

[Slickster 0]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly...98944-2,00.html

 

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.”

[The Czech Republic 0]

Liberals rejoice!

[Ripper 0]

That is the dumbest goddamn thing I have read in the last 5 minutes.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

spurious correlation

[The Robfather 0]

Ok then. Time for everyone to become Atheists. *yawn*

[The Czech Republic 0]

relatively secular countries, such as Britain, with the US

State-supported churches are relatively secular?

[Masked Man of Mystery 0]

It's a proven fact that when people have a state sponsered church, they aren't as religous, whereas when people have a choice and can devote themselves to other things, they don't go to God or whatever. Mind you, this does not hold true in the Middle East, that's a differant matter

[The Mandarin 0]

Mind you, this does not hold true in the Middle East, that's a differant matter

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That's an understatement.

[SuperJerk 0]

I can't say there is definitive proof that religion CAUSES social decay, but this statement:

 

“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.”

 

is undisputable. Being non-religious is NOT harmful to society.

 

 

 

 

That is the dumbest goddamn thing I have read in the last 5 minutes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Excellent counter-argument. You've totally convinced me. Praise Jesus.

[The Czech Republic 0]

It's a proven fact that when people have a state sponsered church, they aren't as religous, whereas when people have a choice and can devote themselves to other things, they don't go to God or whatever. Mind you, this does not hold true in the Middle East, that's a differant matter

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So it's true unless it's not? Airtight rebuttal

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

While the read is at least interesting, and certainly thought provoking, it's naive to either encourage or discourage a lack of religion.

 

Let people choose. At the same time, do it discreetly.

 

You can be moral without religion, and both religious and immoral. And of course, the opposite holds true. Thus, there's really no need for finger pointing or blaming, or hoping for a totally religious society, or one with a lack of religion altogether.

 

I'm not religious, but religion, if nothing else, does do a lot of good things for people.

[2GOLD 0]

Violence is caused by a combination of people who think all religious people are dumb and naive and of course religious people who believe they are 100% right just because they say they are.

 

And even if you eliminate those factors, people find another reason to become violent. Violence is nature, no matter what the organism.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

Violence is nature, no matter what the organism.

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[Jobber of the Week 0]

Here's the study in question.

 

And it says...

This is not an attempt to present a definitive study that establishes cause versus effect between religiosity, secularism and societal health. It is hoped that these original correlations and results will spark future research and debate on the issue.

 

In other words, just because these two things are going up and down at once does not mean that they're directly linked to one another.

 

In simpler terms, this news story is stupid.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

I think what we've all learned here is that violence is nature, no matter what the organism.

[Stephen Joseph 0]

www.economicsofreligion.com

 

yeah, that story is dumb

[iggymcfly 0]

The study doesn't look like it proves a whole lot, and it could have been done a lot better.

 

However, I think it's obvious that religion has caused a shitload of problems. Islam is taking center stage right now, but Christianity was just as destructive during its heyday. Really, I think organized religion is quickly becoming archaic in the modern world, as people lose their naivete and start looking at things rationally.

 

People still say they believe in God because they heard it so much when they were growing up, but out of the close to 100 peope I know between the ages of 18 and 25, I'd say that maybe one or two actually attend church on a regular basis.

[dubq 0]

Religion and I get along just fine. I won't bother with them as long as they don't bother with me.

[CheesalaIsGood 0]

The study doesn't look like it proves a whole lot, and it could have been done a lot better.

 

However, I think it's obvious that religion has caused a shitload of problems. Islam is taking center stage right now, but Christianity was just as destructive during its heyday. Really, I think organized religion is quickly becoming archaic in the modern world, as people lose their naivete and start looking at things rationally.

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I agree with this.

 

Still, as working becomes the most important act in people’s lives they will not have the time or the energy to put into a working faith. With all the hours one must work in order to be remotely successful it's possible that religion might just get pushed out of the way. Cuz you better get your ass to work. At least in the United States you better.

[Dangerous A 0]

Don't you know all religion is just an opiate for the masses!

 

Praise Marx!

[The Czech Republic 0]

With all the hours one must work in order to be remotely successful it's possible that religion might just get pushed out of the way. Cuz you better get your ass to work.

Tyrone Marx?

[Dobbs 3K 0]

It sounds like either the study was done with the intent to prove that "religion is evil" or that the news writer wrote the story to make it sound like "religion is evil." Someone is biased in this one.