This is at the least, interesting:
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.
This is a fairly typical media (mis)interpretation of statistical research. The first sentence of the Times article states, "RELIGIOUS belief can cause damage to a society, contributing towards high murder rates, abortion, sexual promiscuity and suicide, according to research published today." While the study does show a correlation, it does not necessarily imply causation. The journalist jumps to his own conclusion. For example, although global warming has increased as the number of pirates had decreased, it would be irresponsible to imply that one has caused the other. (In addition to shoddy journalism, the actual research paper is not much better and equally full of assumptions).
Keeping the criticisms of this research in mind, it does raise (without answering) some interesting questions. There does seem to be a correlation between the religiousity of a developed nation and certain social ills.
"A few hundred years ago rates of homicide were astronomical in Christian Europe and the American colonies. In all secular developing democracies a centuries long-term trend has seen homicide rates drop to historical lows (Figure 2). Despite a significant decline from a recent peak in the 1980s, the U.S. is the only prosperous democracy that retains high homicide rates, making it a strong outlier in this regard. Similarly, theistic Portugal also has rates of homicides well above the secular developing democracy norm."
While the article assumes that the high crime rate is directly caused by the United States' religiosity, you could also hypothesize that the U.S. is more religious in an attempt to deal with its prevelant social ills. Both are just theories. But the question remains. Why DOES the U.S. have such high crime rates compared to other developed nations? We are not only more religious than these nations, but we also have higher income disparities and (I think) more diversity. There are a slew of other variables that could produce a similar correlation.
I can see how the higher rate of STDs might be attributed to cultural religion. A scientific approach to sexual education seems more effective than an abstinence-only approach based on religion. But to assume that a whole host of social ills is attributable to this one variable is irresponsible on the part of the researcher.
As I go back and look at the paper again, I am surprised this was even published. If I had submitted this in a Statistical Research Methods class, it would have gotten a C at best. And while the paper doesn't PROVE anything, it at least rules out the hypothesis that the more religious a society it is the better it functions.
But common sense can tell you that much.
 | A = Australia C = Canada D = Denmark E = Great Britain F = France G = Germany H = Holland I = Ireland J = Japan L = Switzerland N = Norway P = Portugal R = Austria S = Spain T = Italy U = United States W = Sweden Z = New Zealand |
Related: Pharyngula, Omniorthogonal, To the Point, Don't Go Into the Light
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