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can’t we all be Japanese?
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[www.humaniststudies.org]
God would be an atheist: Why can't we all be Japanese?
Religion fosters bad behaviorCOLUMN By MARTIN FOREMAN
From God would be an atheist…
First published Nov. 12, 2005Several weeks ago, a ground-breaking study on religious belief and social well-being was published in the Journal of Religion & Society. Comparing 18 prosperous democracies from the U.S. to New Zealand, author Gregory S Paul quietly demolished the myth that faith strengthens society.
Drawing on a wide range of studies to cross-match faith – measured by belief in God and acceptance of evolution – with homicide and sexual behavior, Paul found that secular societies have lower rates of violence and teenage pregnancy than societies where many people profess belief in God.
Top of the class, in both atheism and good behavior, come the Japanese. Over eighty percent accept evolution and fewer than ten percent are certain that God exists. Despite its size – over a hundred million people – Japan is one of the least crime-prone countries in the world. It also has the lowest rates of teenage pregnancy of any developed nation.
(Teenage pregnancy has less tragic consequences than violence but it is usually unwanted, and it is frequently associated with deprivation among both mothers and children. In general, it is a Bad Thing.)
Next in line are the Norwegians, British, Germans and Dutch. At least sixty percent accept evolution as a fact and fewer than one in three are convinced that there is a deity. There is little teenage pregnancy , although the Brits, with over 40 pregnancies per 1,000 girls a year, do twice as badly as the others. Homicide rates are also low — around 1-2 victims per 100,000 people a year.
At the other end of the scale comes America. Over 50 percent of Americans believe in God, and only 40 percent accept some form of evolution (many believe it had a helping hand from the Deity). The U.S. has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy and homicide rates are at least five times greater than in Europe and ten times higher than in Japan.
All this information points to a strong correlation between faith and antisocial behavior — a correlation so strong that there is good reason to suppose that religious belief does more harm than good.
At first glance that is a preposterous suggestion, given that religions preach non-violence and sexual restraint. However, close inspection reveals a different story. Faith tends to weaken rather than strengthen people’s ability to participate in society. That makes it less likely they will respect social customs and laws.
All believers learn that God holds them responsible for their actions. So far so good, but for many, belief absolves them of all other responsibilities. Consciously or subconsciously, those who are “born again” or “chosen” have diminished respect for others who do not share their sect or their faith. Convinced that only the Bible offers “truth”, they lose their intellectual curiosity and their ability to reason. Their priority becomes not the world they live in but themselves.
The more people prioritize themselves rather than those around them, the weaker society becomes and the greater the likelihood of antisocial behavior. Hence gun laws which encourage Americans to see each other not as fellow human beings who deserve protection, but as potential aggressors who deserve to die. And hence a health care system which looks after the wealthy rather than the ill.
As for sex… Faith encourages ignorance rather than responsible behavior. In other countries, sex education includes contraception, reducing the risk of unwanted pregnancies. Such an approach recognizes that young people have the right to make their own choices and helps them make decisions that benefit society as a whole. In America faith-driven abstinence programs deny them that right — “As a Christian I will only help you if you do what I say”. The result is soaring rates of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.
Abstinence programs rest on the same weak intellectual foundation as creationism and intelligent design. Faith discourages unprejudiced analysis. Reasoning is subverted to rationalization that supports rather than questions assumptions. The result is a self-contained system that maintains an internal logic, no matter how absurd to outside observers.
The constitutional wall that theoretically separates church and state is irrelevant. Religion has overwhelmed the nation to permeate all public discussion. Look no further than Gary Bauer, a man who in any other western nation would be dismissed as a fanatic and who in America is interviewed deferentially on prime time television.
Despite all its fine words, religion has brought in its wake little more than violence, prejudice and sexual disease. True morality is found elsewhere. As UK Guardian columnist George Monbiot concluded in his review of Gregory Paul’s study, “if you want people to behave as Christians advocate, you should tell them that God does not exist.”
I might express that another way. The flip side of Monbiot's argument is that God would be an atheist…
Martin Foreman is the author of “God would be an atheist,” a syndicated print column. For information about syndicating this column, visit http://www.godwouldbeanatheist.com to contact the author.
underfoot
I'm turning Japanese I think I'm turning Japanese I really think so.
I don't see the direct correlation between religion and social decay. The US has so many other cultural factors influencing its destructive behavior. It's unfair to blame it JUST on the Christian Right…or the belief in any diety.
It's unfair to blame it JUST on the Christian Right…or the belief in any diety.
but who ever said life was fair? 😛
Kudos to the authors of this study! Of course being an atheist I agree with their findings about religion and society. Belief in religion as fact is illogical because existence of god(s) cannot be proven factually. Fine if someone still believes in god/religion based on faith as long as that person aknowledges for what it is. However, bringing that same illogical thinking of religion to other societal interactions can be disastrous as this study concludes.
I have always enjoyed interacting with Japanese and former Soviet/Soviet bloc people because they do tend to be more atheist and in my opinion much more logical thinking. Don't forget though that systems such as communism and facism can be just as equally damaging as a theocracy. Any system that requires one to give up any of their indivdual rights AND responsibilities to a “higher power” is just as destructive to society. Giving up your individuality to the “state” is no different than giving it up to church and gawd. Communist countries do discourage religious belief but that is just so the state doesn't have to compete for peoples minds. Giving oneself up to the state is just as bad.
Regarding the author of the above article…
I mostly agree with what he has written. I don't understand this paragraph though:
>>The more people prioritize themselves rather than those around them, the weaker society becomes and the greater the likelihood of antisocial >>behavior. Hence gun laws which encourage Americans to see each other not as fellow human beings who deserve protection, but as potential >>aggressors who deserve to die. And hence a health care system which looks after the wealthy rather than the ill.
I didn't think it appropriate for the author to use this study as a means to get in his own personal views regarding gun ownership and private health care. Gun ownership doesn't make one go from seeing other fellow human beings as deserving protection to seeing others as aggressors who desrve to die. I thought that was abit of a stretch to make from this study. It can also be argued in many ways why a private health care system provides greater care to a greater amount of people vs. a state run health care system.
I encourage people to prioritize around themselves first and foremost. Be honestly selfish! Outside of mental illness or defect can a human being really not prioritize around their own self interest first? Even giving a gift to someone you love is a selfish act. Would you give a gift to someone if it made you feel bad? I wouldn't want to get a gift from someone if it didn't make them happy to give it and if it wasn't in their best self interest to do so.
I have always enjoyed interacting with Japanese and former Soviet/Soviet bloc people because they do tend to be more atheist and in my opinion much more logical thinking. Don't forget though that systems such as communism and facism can be just as equally damaging as a theocracy. Any system that requires one to give up any of their indivdual rights AND responsibilities to a “higher power” is just as destructive to society. Giving up your individuality to the “state” is no different than giving it up to church and gawd. Communist countries do discourage religious belief but that is just so the state doesn't have to compete for peoples minds. Giving oneself up to the state is just as bad.
i like to lick snail butts ….
I have always enjoyed interacting with Japanese and former Soviet/Soviet bloc people because they do tend to be more atheist and in my opinion much more logical thinking. Don't forget though that systems such as communism and facism can be just as equally damaging as a theocracy. Any system that requires one to give up any of their indivdual rights AND responsibilities to a “higher power” is just as destructive to society. Giving up your individuality to the “state” is no different than giving it up to church and gawd. Communist countries do discourage religious belief but that is just so the state doesn't have to compete for peoples minds. Giving oneself up to the state is just as bad.
i like to lick snail butts….
What am I going to do with you!? ;D
I, me, Paul…provided a whole paragraph explaining my own personal opinion.
You, yourself, Damon…provided not even a whole sentence about the subject.
You got's some esplainin' to do Lucy! ;D
What am I going to do with you!? ;D
I, me, Paul…provided a whole paragraph explaining my own personal opinion.
You, yourself, Damon…provided not even a whole sentence about the subject.
You got's some esplainin' to do Lucy! ;D
1st:l Igor took too many hits of **** and freaked out and edited my posts. Fuck You Igor 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
2nd: if Yiou want to discuss comunism/religion/etc. I'm more than happy to straighten Your point of view.
3rd. No Comments.
What am I going to do with you!? ;D
I, me, Paul…provided a whole paragraph explaining my own personal opinion.
You, yourself, Damon…provided not even a whole sentence about the subject.
You got's some esplainin' to do Lucy! ;D
1st:l Igor took too many hits of **** and freaked out and edited my posts. Fuck You Igor 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
2nd: if Yiou want to discuss comunism/religion/etc. I'm more than happy to straighten Your point of view.
3rd. No Comments.
LOL…leave those snails alone you pervo!
I look forward to that religion/communism conversation someday.
I look forward to that religion/communism conversation someday.
Bring beer ;D
1st:l Igor took too many hits of **** and freaked out and edited my posts. Fuck You Igor 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
All the Chilluminati Crew have moderator abilities now, plus there are 4 MORE, so you can no longer blame me for chillumifascisti tendencies. As a former Soviet drone Igor is making up for lost time. You know he has a poster of Stalin hanging up in his bedroom next to a Sailor Moon?
All the Chilluminati Crew have moderator abilities now, plus there are 4 MORE, so you can no longer blame me for chillumifascisti tendencies.
::)
Jeff is right. I have little regard for failed “democracies” and other illusions of percieved freedoms. You are wrong to assume that this is an “open” forum. You are also wrong to assume that this forum is your personal sounding board for every half-witted attempt to hijack threads. The sooner you realize that trolling on the forum with irrelovant one liners will get you exactly what you deserve the better off we'll all be. 🙂 cherrio.
Jeff is right. I have little regard for failed “democracies” and other illusions of percieved freedoms. You are wrong to assume that this is an “open” forum. You are also wrong to assume that this forum is your personal sounding board for every half-witted attempt to hijack threads. The sooner you realize that trolling on the forum with irrelovant one liners will get you exactly what you deserve the better off we'll all be. 🙂 cherrio.
Good to see more mods being involved.
Igor is making up for lost time. You know he has a poster of Stalin hanging up in his bedroom next to a Sailor Moon?
if you like those, you should see his notebook full of illustrations of Stalin as Sailor Moon… 😮 😮 😮
Japanese … of all the travellers that have landed in Goa over the decades theyve always had the biggest smiles, the fastest moves and the most respect for the land.
Funny incident from last weekend too… It was around 5:30 am, I was getting tired after stomping for 6-7 hrs without a break and was ready to call it quits for a while when these 2 Japanese guys and one girl make a circle around me and start doing this weird tribal screaming dance… dont know how they did it but it took me back to the beginning… was dancing for another hour before I took that much needed break. Full Power people… love em.
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