the Dark Side of Faith

[Kelvin Mace]

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-brooks1oct01,0,3034570.story

IT'S OFFICIAL: Too much religion may be a dangerous thing.

This is the implication of a study reported in the current issue of the Journal of Religion and Society, a publication of Creighton University's Center for the Study of Religion. The study, by evolutionary scientist Gregory S. Paul, looks at the correlation between levels of "popular religiosity" and various "quantifiable societal health" indicators in 18 prosperous democracies, including the United States.

Paul ranked societies based on the percentage of their population expressing absolute belief in God, the frequency of prayer reported by their citizens and their frequency of attendance at religious services. He then correlated this with data on rates of homicide, sexually transmitted disease, teen pregnancy, abortion and child mortality.

He found that the most religious democracies exhibited substantially higher degrees of social dysfunction than societies with larger percentages of atheists and agnostics. Of the nations studied, the U.S. — which has by far the largest percentage of people who take the Bible literally and express absolute belief in God (and the lowest percentage of atheists and agnostics) — also has by far the highest levels of homicide, abortion, teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

This conclusion will come as no surprise to those who have long gnashed their teeth in frustration while listening to right-wing evangelical claims that secular liberals are weak on "values." Paul's study confirms globally what is already evident in the U.S.: When it comes to "values," if you look at facts rather than mere rhetoric, the substantially more secular blue states routinely leave the Bible Belt red states in the dust.

Murder rates? Six of the seven states with the highest 2003 homicide rates were "red" in the 2004 elections (Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina), while the deep blue Northeastern states had murder rates well below the national average. Infant mortality rates? Highest in the South and Southwest; lowest in New England. Divorce rates? Marriages break up far more in red states than in blue. Teen pregnancy rates? The same.

"Knowledge is power" vs. "Ignorance is faith"

[patrice]

1. Because of "God" their locus of control is external.

Then they are constantly getting blind-sided by themselves, because they have little need for self-awareness, since they've given it all to "the Lord".

[highplainsdem]

2. I think Countdown will have a story on this tonight.

Heard a commercial while channelsurfing earlier this afternoon that mentioned a Countdown story on religion causing problems in society, though the commercial didn't mention this scientific study.

[Kelvin Mace]

8. I've got to catch that.

This study is going to be attacked by Kristianity, Inc

[highplainsdem]

16. Keith didn't mention anything about it at the start of the program.

I don't know what happened.

[stellanoir]

3. The only solution is one of an all inclusive

tolerant, spirituality.

"God likes spiritual fruits, not religious nuts."

We don't need a born again evangelist on the supreme court.

I'm mortified by this woman.

[patrice]

4. I completely agree.

UFPJ's Interfaith gathering Sunday before last, at the foot of the Washington Monument was so completely beautiful and Inclusive. A Buddhist monk even sang Go Down Moses for everyone.

Everyone listened to every word the long, but Interesting, line of religious leaders said. People in the seats spoke of solidarity with one another.

It was Beautiful and Inspiring. Inclusion is what created the "magic".

[WritingIsMyReligion]

12. That quote

is one of my favorites.

;)

[newswolf56]

5. The impact of a religion is determined by the nature of its god:

Note in this context the god of the so-called "Abrahamic" religions is not only genocidally murderous toward non-believers (the Inquisition) and savagely unforgiving (eternity in the flames of Hell) but relentless in his war against Nature -- the mandate in Genesis to conquer (i.e., subdue and destroy) all creation, the ultimate expression of the infinite misogynism at the core of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Because of this, religion itself has gotten a bad rap as both a zero-tolerance enforcer and the opiate of the masses. But in truth the oppressive characteristics that make the Abrahamic faiths so useful to corporate oligarchs (and therefore so favored by them) are in today's world singular only to the doctrines of Yehveh or Allah: the ultimate distillate of patriarchal hostility toward woman and Nature, the ultimate expression of which is suicidal self-hatred -- whether collectively (the thermonuclear doomsday machine) or individually (the suicide bomber).

A different vision of the Deity would obviously give rise to a radically different paradigm: a point ecofeminists have been arguing for decades. In fact this is precisely why the global oligarchy is so terrified by the resurrection of the Goddess and the renaissance of Paganism and most of all -- transcending all controversy over whether the Goddess is metaphorical or real -- by the directly related development of ecosocialism as an ever-more-formalized economic alternative. Indeed the re-emergence of the very most Tyrannosauric forms of capitalism -- complete with the Christian and Islamic Fundamentalism essential to maximum oppression of the workforce -- is the oligarchy's predictable response.

That is why the threat of theocracy is so horribly real, especially here in America: it was precisely our constitutionally protected freedom that allowed for the rebirth of the Goddess (and her scientific equivalent the Gaea Hypothesis), which in turn facilitated the development of eco-consciousness. But eco-consciousness and capitalism are diametrical opposites -- and the plutocrats will thus take whatever steps they deem necessary to stamp out not just eco-consciousness itself but all the seeds from which it might grow: especially the Goddess -- from the board-room perspective, the very mother of "outside agitators" -- thus damned by the Bible-thumpers as the quintessential "abomination."

[WritingIsMyReligion]

13. Very nicely said. nt

[KittyWampus]

6. this was totally bogus. The study rests on a totally erroneous premise

that 'faith' equals belief in a creator.

The guy could have just as easily ranked societies on their adherence to materialism and how that effects their willingness to treat other humans like disposable garbage.

But he didn't.

His bias is showing.

And all those red states with high divorce rates and high infant mortality are POOR and JOBLESS.

[Kelvin Mace]

9. Many of the most

off the wall fundies I know are poor and/or jobless. They tend to be poor and jobless because they are also uneducated.

Skepticism will always serve you better than faith, especially blind faith. Skepticism helps you spot a lie. And while the truth may set you free, spotting a lie for what it is will help keep you out of bondage in the first place.

Sorry, I see any religion that places faith above fact as irrational and inherently dangerous.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

14. Absolutely

"Sorry, I see any religion that places faith above fact as irrational and inherently dangerous."

So do I.

[SoCalDem]

7. "Getting your reward in Heaven" is a standard way to survive

earthly poverty.. and God loves the poor & meek..

all ways to control the poor and help them accept their lot in life.. Every so often, some of them get a bit pissed off and kill somebody..

Cure the poverty, and you loosen the grip that fundamentalist religion has over them..

If you have to go begging to the church for food and clothes, you better show up regularly so they recognize you when you need a hand out..

It's all about power and money

[Kelvin Mace]

10. Amen, brother!

:)

[WritingIsMyReligion]

15. Part of the problem

with moral ethics here on Earth is that people are so obsessed with heaven that, instead of the threat of eternal damnation spurring them to be better citizens, it has quite the opposite effect.

"Well, I'd better look out for myself... FUCK the rest of society..."

[Kelvin Mace]

17. I am much more impressed by ethical atheists

and agnostics. They do things because it is simply right, not to curry favor or out of fear of punishment.

[Hello_Kitty]

18. Because we know that our actions have consequences

And there's no "take backs" or "do overs" because you went to a priest or prayed to Jesus.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

21. Aye.

:toast:

Now THAT's how life ought to be lived.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

11. Faith has A LOT

of dark sides... at least, blinding faith does. That's why I'm never going to a mass again. NEVER.

[Ladyhawk]

19. It certainly does.

I grew up fundy and it nearly destroyed me.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

20. You have my sympathy.

I'm just the next in a long line of Dems and progressives, so there's nothing really groundbreaking about my views...