This Week in God

[one...two...tree 2,762]

...a fascinating study from the Pew Global Attitudes Project, which drew some interesting correlations between a nation’s wealth and its religiosity.

Global publics are sharply divided over the relationship between religion and morality. In much of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, there is a strong consensus that belief in God is necessary for morality and good values. Throughout much of Europe, however, majorities think morality is achievable without faith. Meanwhile, opinions are more mixed in the Americas, including in the United States, where 57% say that one must believe in God to have good values and be moral, while 41% disagree.

The survey finds a strong relationship between a country’s religiosity and its economic status. In poorer nations, religion remains central to the lives of individuals, while secular perspectives are more common in richer nations. This relationship generally is consistent across regions and countries, although there are some exceptions, including most notably the United States, which is a much more religious country than its level of prosperity would indicate. Other nations deviate from the pattern as well, including the oil-rich, predominantly Muslim — and very religious — kingdom of Kuwait.

You can check out the really interesting accompanying chart, which shows Africa as having a lot of religiosity, but very little money; Eastern Europe having low religiosity but slightly more money, and Western Europe having very low religiosity but quite a bit of money. It’s hard to know exactly what to make of this, though Kevin Drum’s description sounded about right: “As people get less religious, they get wealthier. Or perhaps the other way around. Or perhaps there’s something else behind both trends.”

And then there’s the United States, which is, of course, the outlier, with lots of money and fairly high religiosity rates. As an interesting added twist, Kevin notes another study that shows, within the U.S., states with greater wealth tend to have fewer per capita churches.

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/

[Scott & Lai 12]

So, what do you think this means, Steven?

[Dan J 277]

The US being a bit deviant from the pattern is not too surprising. Our economic system keeps most of the wealth in the hands of a few. While Europe has a much better distribution of wealth across all classes. So relative to the economies, many people are poorer in the US than they might be in Europe.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

So, what do you think this means, Steven?

Jesus was right.

....LOL....I don't know if we can really draw any definite conclusions on it, actually. But Jesus was right.

Edited October 28, 2007 by Mister Fancypants

[JVKn'CVO 11]

Interesting, although I can't draw a conclusion either

maybe it's because people tend to turn to God with more strenght in their time of need?

Saludos,

Caro

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Interesting, although I can't draw a conclusion either

maybe it's because people tend to turn to God with more strenght in their time of need?

Saludos,

Caro

I was thinking that too...and also less material distractions.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

They're praying to God for money.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

They're praying to God for money.

That sort of reminds me of this thread:

Anybody done anything really dumb lately

[Drew and Tik 0]

Look at it this way in regards to the apparent deviation from the norm in America. There are certain areas that are much more religious than others (the deep south), while other areas are quite a bit more secular (the west coast and northeast). While people in the more secular areas may claim a religion, I believe they would hold the belief (the majority) that morality can exist without religion, much in the same way that Western Europeans believe. The deep south is less affluent than the west and northeast, you can see extensive statistics to prove this is true on many fronts. Coincidence? Or something related to this international study?

Edited October 28, 2007 by Drew and Tik

[Drew and Tik 0]

Opps, should have paid more attention to the last sentence, the study even alluded to this

[JODO 2]

They're praying to God for money.

That sort of reminds me of this thread:

Anybody done anything really dumb lately

[Nagishkaw 510]

They're praying to God for money.

That sort of reminds me of this thread:

Anybody done anything really dumb lately

[Scott & Lai 12]

So, what do you think this means, Steven?

Jesus was right.

....LOL....I don't know if we can really draw any definite conclusions on it, actually. But Jesus was right.

Well, yes he was, but about what specifically in this context?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

So, what do you think this means, Steven?

Jesus was right.

....LOL....I don't know if we can really draw any definite conclusions on it, actually. But Jesus was right.

Well, yes he was, but about what specifically in this context?

Material distractions can and do interfere with our relationship with God.

Sir 35:12-14, 16-18

Ps 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23

[ace13 0]

So, what do you think this means, Steven?

Jesus was right.

....LOL....I don't know if we can really draw any definite conclusions on it, actually. But Jesus was right.

Well, yes he was, but about what specifically in this context?

Material distractions can and do interfere with our relationship with God.

Sir 35:12-14, 16-18

Ps 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23

That is very true. When people have money, they tend to become more greedy and focus on power and creating more wealth. They lose sight of the big picture and think that they can do it all on their own and that everyone else should be able to as well and are very self centered. I would like to see how this relationship relates with depression rates. I have found that the wealthier a person is, the more empty and alone they feel and they just buy things to fill that void. Has anyone else ever noticed this?