Why are those countries with high rates of voluntary non-belief also the healthiest and wealthiest?

Question

"One reason the trend to non-belief can be welcomed is that those countries with high rates of voluntary non-belief (that is, where atheism is not forced by the regime) are also the healthiest and wealthiest countries in the world, as judged by the annual UN Human Development Reports. Cause and effect should not be confused here: it may be that people who are comfortable and secure have less need for religion, rather than that an absence of religion leads to greater happiness; but it does show that an absence of religion doesn't cause societies to break down. I don't think the Swedes are notable for their criminality."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20876,20126665-7583,00.html
Britain 44% no religion; France 48%; Canada 30%; Sweden 85%; United States 16%; compared to: Lebanon 3%; ordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iraq all less then 1%; Nigeria 0%.

Answer 1

Both are correct.

If you have security and money, you don't feel as much a need to pray to God for anything, because you can buy it at the store.

On the other hand, if you don't have the fear of being punished or being rewarded by God, then you can be a crook and make more money, and still feel good about yourself.

So..... to me that makes sense. You?

Answer 2

I dont think its related directly to the religion, but on other social and cultural aspects of governments who allow this. Its most likely 99% because of better education, higher professionalism and thus job satisfcation, and the health has to do with their healthier foods and fit and healthy lifestlyes- walking, bicycling, skating, etc. I think this is one of the WORST cases of illogical logic and faulty reasoning of correlation vs. cause and effect that i have seen in a long time. Socially, the lack of criminality would have more to do with a sense of morality, which is separate from religion, and the law code/system to back that up. So you can have morality with religion, and also without it, and you can always have a law code that works effectively no matter how un-religious people are.

And could it be that those countries have entirely different histories/foundations all together? WHat similarity could you draw between Lebanon or Iraq and the US?? Nothing besides the religion, and STILL its a DIFFERENT religion.

But check this: The US does NOT enforce religion, man!! The basic facts in the article are flawed! The US in no way imposes any kind of religion. The most you can say is that the law ode is to a degree based on a religion, but even that is fading away.

That's just a terrible deduction/connection to make, what a shame that kind of writing/thinking gets puclished! :(

Answer 3

Your answer is in your numbers! Look at the religion of the "forced religion countrires" like Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, and Nigeria--all either highly Islam or even Islamic Extremeist. This is a religion that does not teach the values of freedom or grace or love but of acting for religious reasons--sometimes in hateful and violent ways.

As for the US, I'll take 16% especially since it is largely Christian that teaches the values of grace and love and freedom.

And as for Sweden, Canada, France, and Britain--these are all countries that I respect but they are not nearly as "healthy" or "wealthY" as the US is. In fact, France, Sweden, and Britain were once world powers but their powers have dwindiled quite a bit--and Canada was once part of Britain--the largest country on the planet at one time.

So your numbers really support my belief that Christianity is the way to prosper!

Thanks!

Answer 4

In your argument you associate non-disclosure with voluntary non-belief or atheism. Just because people do not disclose their religion or claim no religious preference does not mean they are atheist. The countries you named with high percentages of "voluntary non-belief" are all countries which enjoy freedom of religious belief by separation of church and state. The countries you named with very low pecentages of "voluntary disbelief" are those with religious governments. Thomas Jefferson was a man who insisted on exercising his freedom and privacy when it came to religion, and refused to discuss it with anyone. Many citizens thought he was an atheist, however he spent many years sorting the words of Christ from gospels and writing down his religious views for his family to have after he died. He claimed to be a true Christian but in public said "Say nothing of my religion. That is known to my creator and myself. Its evidence before the world is to be sought in my life. If that has been honest and dutiful to society, then the religion which has regulated it cannot have been a bad one". The constitution was being drafted by men like this at a time when religious prosecutuion and sectarian discord were issues serious enough to fight over, so they incorporated rights to freely believe without prosecution, and felt the best way to demonstrate those rights was to simply not discuss what they believed in public, much like not asking who someone voted for in an election. It is a mistake to assume that non-disclosure equals non-belief. It does remain that the countries with religious governments are in continuous war with each other, and right now countries with religious freedom are at war with countries that don't practice it. Maybe Jefferson had a point. If we don't talk about it we can't argue about it.

Answer 5

As far as health goes everyone here is wrong!

Actually the healthiest people on earth are the Natives who
live off the land. From the research of Weston A Price the people
who had the least disease, the least crime, and the greatest
healthy life expectancies where always natives, who lived off the
land , consumed large amounts of fat soluble nutrients, and
were removed from the consumption of "civilized" foods.

Many of these societies thrived without a single cavity in their
mouths regardless of the fact the had never in-fact seen a toothbrush in thier lives. These peoples consumed 30-80% of thier
calories in animal fat sources. His research contained such
isolated tribes as the masai, the people of the gaelic hebrides,the hunzas, australian aborigenees, and the eskimos, and many many
more.

He noted that those who abandoned their diet for supposed" civilized' foods began to get cavities, cancers, heart disease, auto immune disease, bouts of violence, and depression aka the "civilization diseases ". Once they
went back to a natural diet they would regain their health.

If you doubt this research read it for yourself my friend.
DDS: Nutrition and Physical Degeneration: By Weston A Price.

also visit.

http://www.westonaprice.org/splash_2.htm

There is not a civilization to date that can compare with
a natural , native diet.

Answer 6

I think the answer is rather obvious. Religion is inherently totalitarian. When some yahoo can convince hordes of people that he's getting instructions from some god, there's not much for them to refute him. It gives its leaders more moral authority than warranted.

When you have a mostly secular society, people have to give real reasons why they think something is good or bad. It is much more difficult for someone to monopolize thought. Therefore, you have a more free market of ideas and a society that evolves and adapts better to change.

Answer 7

To put your question another way:Why are those countries with high rates of voluntary belief or freedom to practice their religion also the healthiest and wealthiest?I'm seeing "the glass half full" while your "seeing the glass half empty"!

Answer 8

The common factor is EDUCATION. Voluntary non-belief does not necessarily cause health and wealth, nor does health and wealth necessarily cause voluntary non-belief. However, a higher level of education tends to lead to both (more education usually = less extreme religious beliefs as well as greater health and wealth).

Answer 9

Well I think that these statistics speak for themselves. It would appear that the more religious coutries are the more they are held back in developing. Also how can people who live their lives according to religious laws which are thousands of years old be forward thinking and live up to the challenges and opportunities in the 21st century.

Answer 10

Religion is a tool used to keep people subjugated and docile. Their rulers make their lives miserable by ripping them off but assure them God wants it that way, and that if they are meek and docile and allow themselves to be robbed in this life, they will have a decent life once they die.