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Pixxie
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 Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 8:18 am Post subject: Question Regarding Statistics and Religion Corruption |
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I have been slowly digesting this information in the Why Won't God Heal Amputees? website. As I read the quote below, although I understand what is said, what I don't get is why. So there are statistics that prove that religion has corrupted the U.S. in a myriad of ways, but how is it that religion is CAUSING these problems? How is religion doing this? I don't think it's enough to say that it is, I want to be able to understand (and more importantly explain) why.
Does anyone understand what I'm getting at? 
| Quote: | There is also growing evidence that the delusion of religion may cause significant social dysfunction. Statistical research is revealing the problems that go with religious delusion. For example, a recent article in the Journal of Religion and Society points out that religion is correlated to the significant social difficulties that we can see in America:
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 (Figures 1-9). The most theistic prosperous democracy, the U.S., is exceptional, but not in the manner Franklin predicted. The United States is almost always the most dysfunctional of the developed democracies, sometimes spectacularly so, and almost always scores poorly. The view of the U.S. as a “shining city on the hill” to the rest of the world is falsified when it comes to basic measures of societal health.
The prevailing view is that religion is harmless even if it is delusional. That turns out not to be the case. America is the most religious country of those studied in the developed world. America also has the biggest problems in terms of things like homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy, and abortion. |
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Pixie
"My Karma Just Ran Over Your Dogma" |
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PJS
Joined: 25 Apr 2004
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Location: Clearwater,Fl.
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| Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 9:46 am Post subject: |
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The old adage is correlation is not the same as causation. Based on your question I think you do understand this. If however, religiosity did aid in helping reduce social and health problems one could reasonably expect, other factors being fairly equal(comparing similar countries), the most religious countries- in general - to show lower rates of such problems. This does not seem to be the case as this study shows.
http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2005/2005-11.html
I realize that your "why" question may not be so easily answered but speculation may follow.
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The path of least resistance and least trouble is a mental rut already made. It requires troublesome work to undertake the alternation of old beliefs.
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PJS
Joined: 25 Apr 2004
Posts: 937
Local time: 12:30 PM
Location: Clearwater,Fl.
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| Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 9:52 am Post subject: |
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Pixxie, I just realized that the link I provided is probably the same study you quoted. 
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The path of least resistance and least trouble is a mental rut already made. It requires troublesome work to undertake the alternation of old beliefs.
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Pixxie
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Joined: 18 May 2007
Posts: 75
Local time: 12:30 PM
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| Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 9:59 am Post subject: |
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You know it might be, but it actually looks like it has a lot more information on the subject than where I got my information. I'm going to print it out and take a look! Thanks!
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Pixie
"My Karma Just Ran Over Your Dogma" |
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