Societies worse off 'when they have God on their side'

[Briar]

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.

...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.”

...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1798944,00.html

[opihimoimoi]

1. Its a NO BRAINER....But,.... can we break the cycle???

[sarcasmo]

3. Flying Spaghetti Monster can lead you to sanity. He does not rely on fear.

[greekspeak]

2. I have not read it but let me see if I produce a theory

In more developed societies...Germany, France, Italy, Japan... people have learned to get along without having to be told to. They behave like adults. They are taught to THINK early on in life, to demand change when it is needed. Concepts like moderation are a part of the process of growing up.

In America, we have churches and media outlets that do all this for us. As we grow up and become adults, we do not learn concepts like moderation. Quite the opposite.

From the time we are old enough to understand words, many of us are plopped down in church pews and taught we MUST depend on a religious structure to survive. This is evil, that is evil. No reason why other than Hell as a consequence. People are taught in such situations in America that earthly thinking is abhorrent. DO NOT think for yourself. Do NOT use moderation. Hate what I say, love what I say. Not all of Americans grow up in this environment. But I dare say a substantial number do. And whether we go to church or not, the church flavors our government, society, education etc.

Then, we have the Media. Commercial, Commercial, Commercial. From the time we can see, we are bombarded with "you must HAVE HAVE HAVE." Get this cereal, toy, outfit, etc. or you just may not survive. You will be square. Do not THINK about it. GO get it. That is an order. Again, this mass consumptionism affects education, government and society.

See? Then we have all these social ills. The Media and Church disagree, causing cognitive dissonance. Sometimes, the media and the media disagree! The TV says smoking, drinking, and sex are cool, then during the commercials they say it isn't. The church says no smoking, drinking and sex (except for makin' babies). And then, ministers and parents do those things anyway. More cog. dissonance.

The American educational system becomes the rope in this tug of war. Educators, many of whom have overcome this societal dissonance, just do not know how to react. They have to try to teach people to think on their own. But then the hyper-pietistic protestantism that permeates American society at all levels gets in the way. More conflict and dissonance. Do we blindly follow or think? Do we trust evidence or faith? Can we somehow make these work together? Unfortunately, overcoming the dissonance is too hard for most. It is easier to just accept and go on than think. And thinking is not fun. Let others--ministers, politicians, bosses--make our decisions for us. What a mess.