C'mon, you already knew it deep down

[miriam_e]

A new study which checks out a whole range of indicators in about 20 western countries proves that religion damages society, and not just slightly -- it directly correlates with everything from murder and shorter lifespan to teen pregnancy, abortion, and broken marriages. All the things religion says it helps, it actually worsens. The more religious a society is, the more socially dysfunctional it is.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/lnl/

Gregory Paul, who presents his findings, says that he is surprised that nobody had put the figures together before. They are all there, readily available, for anybody to see.

The good news is that religion is declining worldwide. This has been evident for some time. As people become smarter and more knowledgeable it becomes more difficult to use superstition to control them.

Religion masquerades extremely effectively as good morality, but it is clearly a very bad thing. Let's hope its claws are extracted from humanity's psyche soon enough to avoid the next round of religious wars.

[additional: link to a short piece about it in the Times in UK: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1798944,00.html ]

Comments

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

I should add that it really makes little difference if religious groups do some good. The result of the study is to clearly show that effect of religion on society is a damaging one. The more religious a society is, the more dysfunctional it becomes.

If a person is walking backwards and takes an occasional step forwards they can't claim to be moving ahead.

By the way, one of my best childhood friends went to a catholic school. His parents, though not rich, paid enormous amounts for his education. I went to a free public school. I think I probably got a better education than he did and avoided most of the propaganda too.