“Drawing on a wide range of studies to cross-match faith â�� measured by belief in God and acceptance of evolution â�� with homicide and sexual behavior, Paul found that secular societies have lower rates of violence and teenage pregnancy than societies where many people profess belief in God.”
This article subtitled “Religion fosters bad behavior” by Martin Foreman about a “study” on the topic of religion as a cause of crime is incredibly flawed. Let’s examine the opinion piece while keeping in mind that the study it references is predicated on the acknowledgement of an antithetical point.
I’ll start off by pointing out that trying to apply scientific rationale to the cultural artifacts or individual behavior surrounding matters of faith is as rational as an arm amputee trying to scratch an itch on his missing hand. But the Secular Humanist always seems to demand we scratch that itch, usually because he believes it would be to our benefit to wiggle our fingers in the air. So I’m not going to cast doubt on the sincerity of the Secular Humanist Faith Denominations, at least not in this post.
I’m pressed for time, so a full Fisk won’t work. I’ll first condense the study to its basic point (those who wish for more, please read the whole study), then I’ll point out some absurdities in the opinion piece to which this post is linked.
The Study
This is not an attempt to present a definitive study that establishes cause versus effect between religiosity, secularism and societal health. It is hoped that these original correlations and results will spark future research and debate on the issue.
This is all you need to know about the contents of the study. Just remember this line if you bother to read the opinion piece.
The Opinion Piece
Despite the obvious caveat in the study, our intrepid opinionater forges forth predeterminedly with a great deal of faith.
Top of the class, in both atheism and good behavior, come the Japanese. Over eighty percent accept evolution and fewer than ten percent are certain that God exists. Despite its size – over a hundred million people – Japan is one of the least crime-prone countries in the world. It also has the lowest rates of teenage pregnancy of any developed nation.
(Teenage pregnancy has less tragic consequences than violence but it is usually unwanted, and it is frequently associated with deprivation among both mothers and children. In general, it is a Bad Thing.)
Statistics 101: Correlation does not indicate causation.
The primary faith in Japan is Shinto, an animist religion that does not fit in well with any sort of study approached by someone with a Westernized intellectual frame of reference. According to the CIA Fact Book, 84% of the Japanese population is of the Shinto faith, and most still practice its rituals. Their belief in a “God Concept” might actually exist in great numbers, but polling them with Western-framed questions will lead to a conclusion they are primarily athiests. Shinto is so distinct from other faiths of the first world, it really makes no sense to impose our culture’s comparisons upon it.
It is true that Japan is one of the least crime prone countries, but one correlation more likely to play a role in criminal behavior causation is it’s median age, 43. In the US, the median age is 36.5. In the UK, it’s 39. Japan has an exceptionally small percentage of youth under age 15. It also has the lowest rate of immigration in the first world, is the most homogeneous culturally and is well below replacement rate in birth, all of which make criminal ideation much less likely.
Also, to look at teen pregnancy rates and blame/credit them on faith with no consideration of demographics and other factors is absurd.
At the other end of the scale comes America. Over 50 percent of Americans believe in God, and only 40 percent accept some form of evolution (many believe it had a helping hand from the Deity). The U.S. has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy and homicide rates are at least five times greater than in Europe and ten times higher than in Japan.
All this information points to a strong correlation between faith and antisocial behavior — a correlation so strong that there is good reason to suppose that religious belief does more harm than good.
At first glance that is a preposterous suggestion, given that religions preach non-violence and sexual restraint. However, close inspection reveals a different story. Faith tends to weaken rather than strengthen people’s ability to participate in society. That makes it less likely they will respect social customs and laws.
“Faith tends to weaken…?” Actually, from what I’ve read on the issue (I’ll try to post some links later) the level of interactive participation in society varies from culture to culture, with the strength and type of paternalistic mores that prevail having a lot to do with a person’s being engaged in community activities. As a former communications professional in a state Department of Juvenile Justice, his line about what makes people less likely to respect social customs and laws made me laugh and pissed me off at the same time. There’s a very good argument that the secularization of public schools since the 1950’s has had a lot to do with our abysmal crime rate, as has the creation of the nanny state and ACLU interventions in moral issues. People like the fellow who wrote the opinion piece I’m dissecting have had a lot more to do with tearing the social fabric of this and other nations than any thing such self-appointed high priests of Secular Humanism might have in mind. There are those who realize what they are doing , but they will not admit it. The faith in their non-God universe is to important to their very being to stop, even as it eats away the lives of their neighbors.
All believers learn that God holds them responsible for their actions. So far so good, but for many, belief absolves them of all other responsibilities. Consciously or subconsciously, those who are “born again” or “chosen” have diminished respect for others who do not share their sect or their faith. Convinced that only the Bible offers “truth”, they lose their intellectual curiosity and their ability to reason. Their priority becomes not the world they live in but themselves.
Retort: All Secular Humanists learn that there is nothing that holds them responsible for their actions. So far, so good, but for many this lack of faith in anything absolves them of other responsibilitites. Consciously or subconsciously, those who reject any notion of “first cause” or “eternal life” have diminished respect for those who have faith in things metaphysical. Convinced that their fervent faith in non-faith offers the only “truth,” they lose their intellectual curiosity and their ability to reason. Their priority becomes not the world in which they live, but themselves.
You decide. Which of these versions of the same paragraph make the most sense?
As for sex… Faith encourages ignorance rather than responsible behavior. In other countries, sex education includes contraception, reducing the risk of unwanted pregnancies. Such an approach recognizes that young people have the right to make their own choices and helps them make decisions that benefit society as a whole. In America faith-driven abstinence programs deny them that right — “As a Christian I will only help you if you do what I say”. The result is soaring rates of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.
Hell, television, mass media and the bastardization of Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptists have done more to encourage irresponsibile sexual behavior and disease than a religion based on orgiasticism (if there were such a thing) ever could. And, by the way, teen pregnacy rates have been falling consistently for years, and not due to any particular thing social engineers and secularlists have done. There are simply fewer teens per capita and, thanks to the 1996 welfare reforms, fewer incentives for children to beget children. The crime rate will continue to drop as a result.
Despite all its fine words, religion has brought in its wake little more than violence, prejudice and sexual disease. True morality is found elsewhere.
And where might that be, Martin? Let’s set aside the fact that it was Protestantism that led to the first settlement of the United States. Let’s ignore that the first US citizens put their lives on the line to keep the freedom they had created under the morality that guided them. Let’s ignore that without Christianity, modern civilization might still be more tribal than modern. Let’s deny that, in fact, it is human nature, not the Christian religion, that brings us violence, prejudice and a whole host of evils that you would also blame on Christ if it made your unfounded arguments seem more plausible.
Where might your “true morality be?”
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