I really dug that book. Nice quote. It seems to me that most modern people in the West have diminished the role of their faith as something they pull out at special occasions out of cultural habit rather than a profound faith.
--- In [email protected], Vaj <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > 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 >
