Religion is Stupid (part 1)
Too often, I've heard from the religious right (of various denominations) that religious education and practice helps provide a superior moral code for people to live by, allowing them to be more respectful of their fellow man, and less likley commit criminal acts. Atheists, so the theory goes, have far less in the way of moral stability and are more likely to wind up being murderers, rapists, and thieves. Being a 14-year veteran of the Catholic school system, I have heard this argument countless times, and I still hear it on the news from Priests, Ministers, Rabbis, Clerics and so forth.
I've always found the argument to be terribly short-sighted and self-serving and insulting. The idea that someone needs to have a belief in the almighty to know not to kill the postman is laughably false. Today, I came across a statistc. It's a bit old, (from 1997), but given the subject matter, the 10 year age of the statistic is irrelevant. Out of just under 75,000 prisoners in the United States were asked what religion they ascribed to, and here are some notable statistics (keep in mind I'm leaving out many other religious denominations, such as Sikh, Jain, Pentecostal, Hindu and others, but I found the ones listed below to be the most pertinent) :
Catholic 29267 39.164%
Protestant 26162 35.008%
Muslim 5435 7.273%
Jewish 1325 1.773%
Buddhist 882 1.180%
Atheist 156 0.209%
In another context, there are 187 more catholics in prison than there are atheists. 167 times more protestants, 35 times more muslims, 8 times more jews, and 5 times more buddhists in prison than the mere 156 atheists. OUT OF 75,000!!! Compare the 0.209% of american atheists in prison with the atheist population of the united states, which hovers between 8-16% (depending on the source), and you can clearly see a disproportianate number of atheists NOT in prison in 1997.
Now, I'm not so crass as to suggest that religion makes people violent, or even that violent people are drawn to religion (though history would seem to reinforce that point), but rather to at least debunk the ridiculous notion that atheism works against moralism and ethics, and Religious indoctrination fosters a strong sense of right and wrong. If I were to write a book, I would likley call it, "Religion is Stupid"
And in completley un-related news, I have the best girlfriend, and you all should be jealous.
I've always found the argument to be terribly short-sighted and self-serving and insulting. The idea that someone needs to have a belief in the almighty to know not to kill the postman is laughably false. Today, I came across a statistc. It's a bit old, (from 1997), but given the subject matter, the 10 year age of the statistic is irrelevant. Out of just under 75,000 prisoners in the United States were asked what religion they ascribed to, and here are some notable statistics (keep in mind I'm leaving out many other religious denominations, such as Sikh, Jain, Pentecostal, Hindu and others, but I found the ones listed below to be the most pertinent) :
Catholic 29267 39.164%
Protestant 26162 35.008%
Muslim 5435 7.273%
Jewish 1325 1.773%
Buddhist 882 1.180%
Atheist 156 0.209%
In another context, there are 187 more catholics in prison than there are atheists. 167 times more protestants, 35 times more muslims, 8 times more jews, and 5 times more buddhists in prison than the mere 156 atheists. OUT OF 75,000!!! Compare the 0.209% of american atheists in prison with the atheist population of the united states, which hovers between 8-16% (depending on the source), and you can clearly see a disproportianate number of atheists NOT in prison in 1997.
Now, I'm not so crass as to suggest that religion makes people violent, or even that violent people are drawn to religion (though history would seem to reinforce that point), but rather to at least debunk the ridiculous notion that atheism works against moralism and ethics, and Religious indoctrination fosters a strong sense of right and wrong. If I were to write a book, I would likley call it, "Religion is Stupid"
And in completley un-related news, I have the best girlfriend, and you all should be jealous.