On Feb 23, 2007, at 1:01 AM, curtisdeltablues wrote:
I think Andrew is really interesting and his "Blogger please" line
forever warmed me to him. But I think it is as impossible for him to
understand where Sam is coming from as it is for me to understand
where you are coming from, for different reasons. Anyway both these
guys are bringing this discussion out and that makes me incredibly
happy. This is an important topic for me.
Check out this quote:
"While you believe that bringing an end to religion is an impossible
goal, it is important to realize that much of the developed world has
nearly accomplished it. Norway, Iceland, Australia, Canada, Sweden,
Switzerland, Belgium, Japan, the Netherlands, Denmark and the United
Kingdom are among the least religious societies on earth. According
to the United Nations' Human Development Report (2005) they are also
the healthiest, as indicated by life expectancy, adult literacy, per
capita income, educational attainment, gender equality, homicide
rate, and infant mortality. Insofar as there is a crime problem in
Western Europe, it is largely the product of immigration. Seventy
percent of the inmates of France's jails, for instance, are Muslim.
The Muslims of Western Europe are generally not atheists. Conversely,
the fifty nations now ranked lowest in terms of the United Nations'
human development index are unwaveringly religious.
Other analyses paint the same picture: the United States is unique
among wealthy democracies in its level of religious adherence; it is
also uniquely beleaguered by high rates of homicide, abortion, teen
pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease, and infant mortality. The
same comparison holds true within the United States itself: Southern
and Midwestern states, characterized by the highest levels of
religious literalism, are especially plagued by the above indicators
of societal dysfunction, while the comparatively secular states of
the Northeast conform to European norms.
While political party affiliation in the United States is not a
perfect indicator of religiosity, it is no secret that the "red
states" are primarily red because of the overwhelming political
influence of conservative Christians. If there were a strong
correlation between Christian conservatism and societal health, we
might expect to see some sign of it in red-state America. We don't.
Of the twenty-five cities with the lowest rates of crime, 62% are in
"blue" states and 38% are in "red" states. Of the twenty-five most
dangerous cities in the United States, 76 percent are in red states,
24% in blue states. In fact, three of the five most dangerous cities
in the United States are in the pious state of Texas. The twelve
states with the highest rates of burglary are red. Twenty-four of the
twenty-nine states with the highest rates if theft are red. Of the
twenty-two states with the highest rates of murder, seventeen are red."
from _Letter to a Christian Nation_
by Sam Harris
