Study: Religious belief can cause damage to a society

[lordblazer]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...798944,00.html

The Times, England: "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.”

Be nice to each other in responding to this one, please.

lol Yet another angry atheist writes a letter how America invovles religion within its government(which it doesn't).

Science, and technological innovation would've never happened without religion.

Thats the problem I have with atheist. They exclude something and it isn't all atheist just the bastards who have time on their hands to complain via article style. I mean dang... get over it move on with your life.

Also WTF? does murder rates and the USA being devout have to do with why religion hurts society? USA has high murder rates because we give ordinary citizens the right to bare arms. I mean from AK-47 to the D.Eagle fromt here to the Uzi from that to the .50 caliber rifles. I mean heck you can buy a M16 Rifle.

What does that have to do with the hypothesis that religion hurts society.

Such a bias eassay. Well a crappy one I would say. Compared two things htat had no relations with each other? i didn't know religion advocated go kill pepole./

Very few people in the USA has murdered someone due to religious composition due to that fact that religion is part of our private lives.........

Anyway this "study" was just too extreme on one side or the other and showed no balance nor moderation and a weak thesis.

I didn't know by my church according to this article causes more violence. I mean we set up church in the most violent neiborhoods. thats what most churches in major cities do!!!! why? to help!!!! I mean thats were the chruches needs to be in chrisstainity. The whole point of christainity is helping your fellow man, and the community, and how to live. Christainity strongly I mean strongly stresses contributing to society..

No the authur did go out of his way to say it. I just wanted to get my 2 cents in on his opinions. Bah my head hurts from the ty extremnism.

The author goes out of his way to name off Christians.

Gee, could that be because it's the majority religion?

theres Islam,Scientology,there is also buddhism and hinduism and no one talks crap about
why the hell does hinduism have a caste system? But yeah lets bash on christains.


I mean come on this type of mind thought is pathetic. Christainity is always talked down about becuase of hte crusades. Were European leaders hid behind a religion to gain power,land,and wealth for their own greed. The Islams did the exact same and evetually the two groups met and boom the crusade wars. When can people get there head out their butts and study some world history besides Europe,america,middle east,.. I mean study for once look back for once.

thats another 50 cents in...