While searching on Google for something completely unrelated, I casually came upon this article:
Societies worse off ‘when they have God on their side’
RELIGIOUS belief can cause damage to a society, contributing towards high murder rates, abortion, sexual promiscuity and suicide, according to research published today.
I’m not particularly religious, but I never thought religious – and particularly Christian belief – could lead to high murder and abortion. Just how the researcher (a certain Gregory Paul) arrived at this conclusion?
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.
So, basically, casting aside all possible explanations, all other differences between the US and the UK, ignoring other religions such as Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Bhuddism, and lumping together religious and non-religious people in each country, the researcher comes to the conclusion that religion is the root of all evil. Seems sloppy research to me.
Mr Paul delayed releasing the study until now because of Hurricane Katrina.
Why? He lives in Baltimore!
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 existence of God scientifically proven? Tough chance. Well, there’s Gödel’s argument.
