Frasch Ideas—Examine, Inquire, Explore

Religion Does Not Lead to a Healthier Society

• Posted by Theresa on July 11th, 2006 filed in Believe It or Not

One of the things I ponder is, “Is religion harmless?” On one hand you can talk about all the good religion and the religious do. And on the other hand there are the religious fanatics (all religions included here) that definitely do harm.

I don’t think one can make a blanket statement about all religions being harmful or harmless. But there are certainly some things to consider as outlined below, thoughts which were taken from the article: Religious Belief & Societal Health New Study Reveals that Religion Does Not Lead to a Healthier Society by Matthew Provonsha.

When I went through my divorce years ago, one of the things I had to consider was the fact that if I went through with it, my pastor/husband would lose his church. Did I want that hanging over my head? When I took a good look at what was at stake, I came to the conclusion that he was doing more harm than good to his church. Not intentionally, of course, but he was off track. My conclusion for that church at that time was that it was doing more harm than good.

Read the experts below and if you want further information read the whole article. Tell me what you think.

It is commonly held that religion makes people more just, compassionate, and moral, but a new study suggests that the data belie that assumption. In fact, at first glance it would seem, religion has the opposite effect.

The extensive study examines statistics from eighteen of the most developed democratic nations. It reveals clear correlations between various indicators of social strife and religiosity, showing that whether religion causes social strife or not, it certainly does not prevent it.

Whether religion leads directly to dysfunctionality, or religions merely flourish in dysfunctional societies, neither conclusion from this study flatters religion. The first tells us that religion is a hindrance to the development of moral character, and the second that religion hinders progress by distracting us from our troubles (with imaginary solutions to real problems).

This study is complicated enough that I do not think that we can draw definitive negative conclusions about religion. But we can at least conclude, contrary to popular belief in this country, that it is not a given that religious societies are better, healthier, or more moral. What we can be clear about from this study is that highly religious societies can be dysfunctional, whereas by comparison secular societies in which evolution is largely accepted display real social cohesion and societal well-being. As is always the case in science, more data and additional research will help clarify our conclusions.

Religious Belief & Societal Health New Study Reveals that Religion Does Not Lead to a Healthier Society by Matthew Provonsha.

Technorati : beliefs, christianity, church
Del.icio.us : beliefs, christianity, church
Ice Rocket : beliefs, christianity, church