Religion=Higher Abortion Rate?
Trance Gemini
<trancegemini7@gmail.com>U.S. researcher sees a link; U.S. 'most dysfunctional' nation By Leslie Scrivener
Can it be true that very religious countries like the United States have higher murder, syphilis, teen pregnancy and abortion rates than countries where belief in God is much lower?
Gregory Paul turned from his primary interest, palaeontology, to find a strong correlation between high religious belief and societal dysfunction.
His research appears in the Journal of Religion and Society, an on-line publication of the Jesuit-run Creighton University, in Omaha, Neb.
Paul's area of expertise is dinosaurs and evolutionary science. But he was troubled by the rise of increasingly vocal and influential conservative Christian politicians and educators who discount the science of evolution.
"I got tired of creationists and the claims of religious people in general that popular religion and belief in God is very important to have a well run society," he said in an interview from Baltimore, Md.
"I had the sense that this was not true in Europe. They are more secular societies but they're not going around having sex in the streets.
"They seem to be doing pretty good and they're not going to church any more."
Paul gathered data on 18 prosperous, developed democracies from the International Social Survey Program, the UN Development Program, WHO and other sources.
Then he laid it out in a series of graphs.
He plotted frequency of prayer, absolute belief in God, attendance at religious services, and literal acceptance of the Bible against homicide, child mortality, STD infection, teen pregnancy and abortion rates.
"This is not an attempt to present a definitive study that establishes cause versus effect between religiosity, secularism and societal health," Paul wrote in his study.
Still, he was startled by his findings.
"The trends were stronger than I thought they would be," he said.
He found that the U.S., the most religious of the countries surveyed, had the highest rates of homicide, abortion, STD infection and teen pregnancy. "The United States is almost always the most dysfunctional of the developing democracies, sometimes spectacularly so, and almost always scores poorly."
Portugal, a highly religious country, also showed a homicide rate above that of the secular norm.
These social problems are more disturbing because of the exceptional prosperity the U.S. enjoys, he wrote.
Paul also noted a disparity in beliefs in different regions of the U.S. There are higher rates of homicide, STD, and teen pregnancy in the "theistic, anti-evolution south and Midwest" than in the northeast, he said.
Japan, Scandinavia and France were the most secular nations. These "least theistic" nations were usually the least dysfunctional, he wrote, and defy the dictum "that society cannot enjoy good conditions unless most citizens ardently believe in a moral creator."
Numerous surveys have demonstrated that religion is much more important to Americans than to others living in developed western countries. The Pew Research Centre in the U.S. showed in 2002 that nearly 60 per cent of Americans said religion was very important to them - compared to 30 per cent in Canada, 11 per cent in France and 21 per cent in Germany. Recent surveys also show that Americans are almost evenly divided in their belief in evolution versus creationism.
But Michael Bourgeois, a professor of theology at Emmanuel College at the University of Toronto, urges caution in reading Paul's study, because not all people of faith hold absolute beliefs or conservative views. "It does seem that he is talking about conservative religious beliefs, not religious belief across the board," says Bourgeois. "It should not be read that religion as a whole correlates with dysfunctional behaviour." Many people of faith are open to scientific inquiry, he said. "Lots of people don't have trouble reconciling belief in evolution with their faith." Paul doesn't attempt to explain the correlations he found, saying that's up to further research by social scientists. (One blogger commenting on the study said the actual correlation may be between religious belief and poverty.) However, Paul said, the lack of a universal health care system in the U.S. is a contributing factor to some of the problems, such as teen pregnancy and STDs.
Rosa Brooks, writing on the op-ed page of the Los Angeles Times on Oct. 1, said, "This conclusion will come as no surprise to those who have long gnashed their teeth in frustration while listening to right-wing evangelical claims that secular liberals are weak on 'values.' Paul's study confirms globally what is already evident in the U.S.: When it comes to 'values,' if you look at facts rather than mere rhetoric, the substantially more secular blue states routinely leave the Bible Belt red states in the dust."
<< Toronto Star -- 10/9/05 >>
Source: http://www.religiousconsultation.org/News_Tracker/religion_equals_higher_abortion_rates.htm--
"The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready he is to claim all excellence for his nation, his religion, his race or his holy cause...." --Eric Hoffer.
LL
<llpens@aol.com>On Aug 6, 7:45 pm, Trance Gemini <trancegemi...@gmail.com> wrote:
an it be true that very religious countries like the United States
have
higher murder, syphilis, teen pregnancy and abortion rates than
countries
where belief in God is much lower?
hand.
*******************************************
Jean Briscoe
<jean.snowwhite.briscoe271@gmail.com>
Answer_42
<ipu.believer@gmail.com>> From the first where did as far as sickness come from that entered the US
> and if you look up where most of the sickness came from it sure was not from
> US..such as Aids first reported case was over in the congo in Kinshasa
> Democratic Republic of Congo..(How he became infected is not kown) Genetic
> analysis of this blood sample suggested that HIV-1 may have stemmed from a
> single virus in the late 1940's...This virus has existed in the US since at
> least the mid-to-late 1970's...Abortion was not created in the US it was
> created over in other country in the 1700's and what was this country so it
> is like pulling a tooth you must pull it by the root in order to get it
> out..is that most sickness did not come from US it was brought over
> here...and so was abortion...and it was not a christian that had one of the
> first reported abortion's...so where did all this come from?????and who
> taught who and gave what to whom....
kidneys.
______________________________________________
The difference between the people of Israel and the nations of the
world is an essential one. The Jew by his source and in his very
essence is entirely good. The goy, by his source and in his very
essence is completely evil. This is not simply a matter of religious
distinction, but rather of two completely different species.
-- Rabbi Saadya Grama
Kilmir
<kilmir@gmail.com>wrote:
> and if you look up where most of the sickness came from it sure was not from
> US..such as Aids first reported case was over in the congo in Kinshasa
> Democratic Republic of Congo..(How he became infected is not kown) Genetic
> analysis of this blood sample suggested that HIV-1 may have stemmed from a
> single virus in the late 1940's...This virus has existed in the US since at
> least the mid-to-late 1970's...
implement the correct procedures to stem the spread of diseases like
this. The "advice" from religious figures has been exactly the
opposite of what they should have been saying and are a major cause of
the wild spreading of the diseases.
In the case of the US it's religious nuts that keep proper education
away from children and teens that's helping spread STD's.
Talking about diseases, the first europeans in the americas brought,
among others, smallpox to the natives. That killed off a good portion
of the then population.
> Abortion was not created in the US it was
> created over in other country in the 1700's
backtrack. It was done in ancient egypt and later on in rome and
greece.
It's true that the first settlers in the US were probably very
disinclined to have abortions, due to very low population and the
settler attitude, but as soon as cities arise induced abortions would
have happened for whatever reasons.
> and what was this country so it
> is like pulling a tooth you must pull it by the root in order to get it
> out..
honest. Very naive.
> is that most sickness did not come from US it was brought over
> here...and so was abortion...and it was not a christian that had one of the
> first reported abortion's...so where did all this come from?????
It's how you deal with it, and that's pretty bad at the moment.