Does religious belief lead to more societal dysfunction, or do beliefs flourish in a dysfunctional society?

Question

The Journal of Religion and Society http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2005/2005-11.html

This was a huge study (database of 800 million people) of the top 20 modern democratic countries. The USA overwhelmingly is the most "religious" (ie belief in god, literal truth of the bible, church attendance, belief in the paranormal etc) and is also overwhelmingly the most dysfunctional of the modern 1st world democracies.(ie highest rate of homicide, teen pregnancy, abortion, infant and teenage mortality)

Bonus points to anyone who answers without resorting to "the bible says..."

Shell: Read the question and look at the article...the study was of the top 20 modern democracies...USA, Canada, England, Sweden etc etc

DuckPhup: I didn't define "dysfunction", the study did, I'm mearly positing the question. And yes, levels of incarceration are highest in the USA as well...I just didn't mention that. Thanks.

Adamaria g: Typical christian response...ignore the data and fall back to belief. Inspite of your pre-conceived idea that religious teachings lead to more "moral" and "just" societies, the DATA actually show the opposite. You missed the entire point. -5 points to you.

Joe_on_drums: Another Xian who totally missed the point. As an aside, the largest, most comprehensive, and scientificall rigorous study ever conducted on intercessory prayer was recently published in The American Heart Journal and showed ABSOLUTELY NO EFFECT OF PRAYER ON HEALING OR RATES OF COMPLICATION. In fact, the people who were TOLD they were being prayed for had more comlications (59% vs 51%) than those who were unaware they were being prayed for.

TrippingJudy: Although DuckPhup pulled his "80% of society is clinically insane" out of his ***, I actually AGREE that the high levels of incarceration in the USA indicate dysfunction.

You are saying that high levels of homicide, suicide, teen pregnancy, abortion is not indicative of a society in trouble? Damn, glad I don't live on your street.

TrippingJudi: Again, they aren' "my" examples...these were the things that were measured in the study. Please refer to the link, there are very clear graphs of the data if you don't want to read through.

They happen to be easy things to measure,and compare in all the countries because the data is widely vailable from various sources. (crime rates, abortion rates, etc) What was measured was these rates vs the level of religious belief in the particular country. For example, Sweden...with very low rates of religious/paranormal belief and high rates of atheism/agnosticism also has among the lowest homicide, teen pregnancy, abortion, suicide and incarcertion rates in the industrialized world, whereas the USA, with very high rates of religious/paranormal beliefs has high rates of homicide, suicide, etc etc. in the 20 countries studied

Now, will someone actually answer the question instead of quibbling with the facts?

Answer 1

societal dysfunction spawns form people being people. america is not only the most religious, apparently, but the newest country. other countries have histories and a more deepset foundation of 'how things arae' and 'how things should be'. america was born of rebellion only a few hundred years ago, we're still working on our identity, who we are and who we want to be ultimately.

Answer 2

Sorry but you got your facts wrong
More die in Africa of AIDS, teen pregnancy, abortion and sickness. than anywhere in the world.
Among Muslims sucide among women is the leading cause of death. they pray 5 times a day. Most Americans never attend church and if they do it is one day a week. Other countries are much more religious. Some places like cyprus the paranormal are facts of life. Here few really believe that. Some places are really seeped in witchcraft. Very few in USA
Anyone can create a website, that is a good way to get a virus.
Go to a recognized site like Encarda Those facts are all wrong

Answer 3

I think that organized religion offers a focal point for moral behavior. It becomes easier to see the dysfunction when you have an ideal to compare it to. There are people in this country who have no morals at all, and have never been exposed to any values at all. When looking at them through the eyes of a person who has practiced christian morality all their lives, they seem very dysfunctional. The proof is in the fruit. People with religious beliefs often have happy, easy going lives. People with no religion, and no idea about any kind of morality, often suffer harder, less productive lives. Beliefs do flourish in a dysfunctional society, because people see the proof in the fruits of of the believers. Religious belief leads to more dysfunction because people want to rebel, be individual, show how smart they are.

Answer 4

I dont care about what the so called sutudy says, the fact remains that in our modren society and the disbelief of a Creator or supreme being , has downcast our chidren into the highest suicide, pornographic and all kinds of perversions that anyone gets to see in these past 40 yrs or so! What worked for us and kept us in line is BROKEN and the fatalities of this BROKEN cord you can see all around us especially so in our children. The young people who are graduating from prestigious colleges andearning mucho money ,are not fit to make decisions! When I was a small child, I knew my place in the home, at schol, in society and it worked for most of us ! Now the dysinfunctional perversion one sees has all to do with the teaching of the theory of evolution, the frredom without the responsabilities! And so on, is the truth! We are in the mist of the most unstable history, life of our world and we have brought to ourselfs our destruction.

Answer 5

"Religion" An organized system that has a personal set of religious beliefs and practises. The dysfunction comes from the many denominations that clash with each others practises and beliefs, this is why we have such a dis functional society today. Most people are blinded by Religion they pay dearly for it, God or Christ are not found in religion they are found in the hearts and minds of the individual, until the masses come to realize this we will always have a dis functional society. Religion today has one meaning "wealth" do you really believe God would allow such injustice and religious corruption in our society, NO! of course not God has nothing to do with it "man" he is the controller here,a perfect example of this is when a church leader falls from grace he is picked up and is doubled his wage, my good god people wake up and smell the roses. To really know God in your heart and mind is a beautiful thing.

Answer 6

I agree with DuckPhup on this.

And based upon your examples of the term "dysfunctional", I would have to disagree with your premise that the U.S. is "the most dysfunctional of modern 1st world democracies" (especially since you don't compare it to a specific "functional" modern democracy - or in you case, list examples of one).

I'm saying that you are using your examples as though they are exclusive indications of a "dysfunctional" society AND providing NO examples of a "functional" one. And quite frankly, I don't think that if my next door neighbor decides to get an abortion means that I live in a "dysfunctional" neighborhood.

lol, sorry about all the edits!

Answer 7

I should hope that religious "awareness" flourishes in times of a dysfunctional society. How does a society become dysfunctional?

We do it to ourselves when we "square off" with one another in makeshift arenas like heavy traffic jams, sporting events, youth events (turf rights) which are all avoidable and impractical.

Why are we fighting against one another and creating havoc in our society is a byproduct of society that is faced with too many pressures; poor leadership, poor economy, peer pressure, job instability, etc.
All these pressures cause us to think unclear and make impulsive decisions, such as those you mentioned above. When we are faced with issues that paralyze us to a point of retreat, the last resort is to pray to God. It is a bit sad that we wait that long to ask for God's help when He was here all along to help.

It may be different or uncomfortable for some, but try praying for the major things in your life before doing them. Pray for strength, wisdom and clarity to make sound decisions and see what progress that you notice in your life.
You will be amazed at how gracious He is when you come to Him first!

Answer 8

Fascinating question. My semi-educated position on this topic is that too much freedom and a flexible system of morals causes decay in a society. When there is a strong swing in one direction, there naturally occurs an equally strong opposite swing. Sex, drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll is being replaced by strict dogmatic thinking that does not allow for freedom or creativity.

Answer 9

I do not believe that it has to do with religion, I believe it has more to do with wealth in a democratic nation. We are a driven society where success and happiness is measured in the accumulation of 'stuff'. I believe that we struggle with that as a people; and as a result, many seek religion to try to find true happiness.

The irony is that religion can simply be another thing on the 'stuff' list. I believe the sign of happiness is a person's ability to be happy with what they have - friends, family, freedom, and God.

God Bless!
Doug

Answer 10

nicely, i think of there's an invaluable line. it is only because of the fact what you may evaluate a component for communicate and debate could desire to be taken as offensive and rude to a distinctive man or woman. Its thoroughly subjective so i do no longer think of there is any actual thank you to define it. individually, i do no longer suggestions human beings disagreeing with me or perhaps asserting that i'm incorrect. What I DO suggestions is whilst somebody tries to stress their faith down my throat. i'm Atheist, so I additionally despise whilst i'm advised i visit "burn in Hell" or some thing alongside those strains. well-known, i think of you will locate many distinctive solutions for this question, yet i do no longer think of you would be seen suitable over the different because of the fact it is so opinionated. Atheist Lilian

Answer 11

I think a personal belief can enrich someone's life and guide them to a life of good, moral living. It can create character and integrity in a person. It can be a comfort to people in challenging times. It can lead people to live good, honest and decent lives.

The problems come when religious people start condemning or judging OTHER people based on THEIR religious beliefs/non-beliefs, and when they start telling OTHERS how they should think and feel. Be this global or local... it creates huge problems. Especially when people make political decisions based on their religious beliefs and they expect their politicians to follow suit. Religion does NOT belong in politics.

That's when it all goes to hellina handbasket.