But this would be more convincing if the high rates of murder/STDs/ etc were measured in the devout population rather than in the pop as a whole, since the devout could argue that the rates are high because the nonbelievers are especially sinful.
Joanna
Doug Henwood wrote:
> [original paper at <http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2005/2005-11.html>]
>
> Times (London) - eptember 27, 2005
>
> 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.
>
> 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."
>
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