RELIGIOUS belief can cause damage to a society, contributing towards high murder rates, abortion, sexual promiscuity and suicide, according to research published today.
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“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.
Wow, who'd've thunk?
Actually the thing that stands out from the original article is that the US is off the charts in both variables -- far more homicides and other social dysfunction than other first-world countries, combined with far more religiosity. American exceptionalism, indeed.
3 comments:
The problem is, the data in the study doesn't show what its authors claim it shows. The scatter plots shown are star charts, with no correlation one way or another, and they didn't even bother to try to do a statistical analysis. A truly weak study.
Well yeah, but I can't resist a cheap shot.
Another weakness: the causation behind the correlation, if there is one, could run the other way. Crappy societies could drive people towards religion as a coping mechanism.
@Orac: Even if it shows no correlation, that's something to shove in the face of bible-thumpers in response to "religion makes society more moral" or the like.
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