Study shows the ill effect of religion on society.

gemwol

'Its God's will', "God didn't want society to turn out like this" phrases used all too often in society by religious believers. My mother in law who is a devout Catholic uses phrases like this every time she wants to make an argument to justify something awful that happens that doesnt conform to her Catholic beliefs. It does my head in, the way her face lights up when she uses phrases like this to describe some social ill or mishap. It is meant in such a cruel sadistic way, there's a pleasure derived from someone elses misfortune. I find the stronger the religious belief a person has the more justification they can find for a persons misfortune.

A recent study by the Journal of Religion shows an inverse relationship between religiosity and public health and social stability. It makes for a very interesting ready. It can be found by googling 'journal of religion' in the news section or by following the link below:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/correlation-of-christian-ethics-social-ills-knocks-advocates-fromknees-to-backside/2005/10/03/1128191653994.html

Dades

Interesting reading, but no doubt you could find a survey or statistics to back up a theistic viewpoint as well.

But I agree that the "God's Will" attitute can be exasperating.
There was a lot of that about around the time of the Tsunami last year.

bus77

I heard an American fella on the radio quoting this paper as part of his argument. He might have been the same fella but he just said he was "involved in biological research" instead of a Paleontologist(the guy who wrote this). I pricked up my ears because that was the second time(now a third) that I've run into an american scientist who has left his field of study to have a little 'forray' into social matters. The first fella was a Zoologist.

To put it bluntly, these people are applying evolutional theory allmost directly onto society. Maybe I'm being to hard on the fella that wrote this paper but tbh I think if you pushed him hard enough he would probably come out with the same dodgy political rationalisations the other two did.

bus77

gemwol wrote:

'Its God's will', "God didn't want society to turn out like this" phrases used all too often in society by religious believers. My mother in law who is a devout Catholic uses phrases like this every time she wants to make an argument to justify something awful that happens that doesnt conform to her Catholic beliefs. It does my head in, the way her face lights up when she uses phrases like this to describe some social ill or mishap. It is meant in such a cruel sadistic way, there's a pleasure derived from someone elses misfortune. I find the stronger the religious belief a person has the more justification they can find for a persons misfortune.

So what's your thinking here? That if she did'nt have religion she would take a more active role/care in society? My mother is probably the opposite of that. She points out every murder in the paper, then starts biting her nails. She is basicly a recluse. tbh I would have paid big money to hear her say "ah sure, It's Gods will" and got on with her life when I was younger.

It sounds like some sort of defence mechanism you mother in law has developed there. My question would be. Why did she develop a defence mechanism to disturbing events in the first place?

bus77

BINGO! I knew it! All it took was a bit of searching. The writer of that paper, Gregory Paul is a member of the "Council for Secular Humanism".

http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=speakers&page=index

I'm actually starting to enjoy this "creationism" war now.

joseph dawton

interesting article but I don't really see the connection. This is some kind of cod causality... men who where hats are often bald hence wearing a hat increases baldness in men.

I think the issue is far more complex, America the prime example cited is fraught with social problems caused by it's past, e.g. colonisation, slavery etc. It's true that religious fundamentalism is not good for the world but to say that belief in a spiritual power leads to social depravation etc is totally crazy.

In general I'd say that spirituality is a positive influence and gives guidance and values to live by to an otherwise nihilstic and morally bankrupt species. Without some sense of morality (which is inherent in religion) the world would probably be in an even worse mess than it is, despite the countless wars fought in the name of religion.

Dades

bus77 wrote:

BINGO! I knew it! All it took was a bit of searching. The writer of that paper, Gregory Paul is a member of the "Council for Secular Humanism".

What's your point?

That the research in the article referred to by the OP is flawed because the writer is biased?
That's a possibility allright.

joseph dawton wrote:

Without some sense of morality (which is inherent in religion) the world would probably be in an even worse mess than it is

This I feel is a common misconception. Just because morality is inherant in religion doesn't give it a monopoly in it.

Morality comes from us as humans, trying to create a society worth bringing our children into.
It doesn't need to come from a sacred book or a higher power.