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Karen, The correlation isn’t with
religion. It’s with immigration – legal and illegal. We have vastly more immigration than
those European countries and that’s why we have more violence. Actually, I don’t believe that at
all – but I could easily relate homicides to the number of Scottish-Irish
in our country – a la Chris’ post. As we have heard from Then there is the fact that violence and
homicides is found mostly in the black urban centers. My 80% stat of violence initiated
by blacks is probably out-of-date by now – but the fact that more than half
the homicides in the Some black leaders who are more leaders
than politicians have condemned this killed and hurting of blacks by blacks. If
anyone has looked up the Federal figures, I would like to know what the latest
figures are. (Unless they’ve stopped analyzing them by
ethnicity because of ‘racism’.) If you ascribe less than half the
homicides and the 20% of violence to the non-black population, I wonder how we
would compare to the mostly white population of Interesting thought? Harry ******************************** of 818 352-4141 ******************************** From:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
Behalf Of Karen Watters Cole I don’t mean to take offense at the
suggestion that the worst American characteristics are attributed to Scottish
Irish ancestry, of which I am primarily Scottish. Many tribal societies were
fierce warriors and most raided others property, as well as carry off captives
for trade or other, especially if their geographical boundaries were not plentiful
and conducive to self-sufficiency. Most of the general public is aware of the
historical role of tribal culture, but many are unaware of how tribal culture
still affects socialization and perceptions. On FW, My own focus is the role that religion and/or
community plays in society and politics. Although some of the violence in the
industrialized West may be booze-driven, it is also tangled in religious
imagery and group identification. There is a paucity of nurturing individual
self-awareness, rather than fostering individuality. For several generations In my opinion, the most revealing aspect
about Scottish violence was the “embrace of Calvinism”, itself a
fierce and unyielding worldview. For all the “good” in so-called
modern western life, there is too often a loss of community and sense of
belonging and purpose. Besides the spiritual quest many realize, western
religion too often becomes the structural replacement for the loss of tribal
identification and ancestral heritage. Unfortunately, many misuse religion as a
weapon, to reinforce primal needs for survival and superiority. It leads to localized and nationalized
Manifest Destiny, writ small and large, another excellent reason to separate
church and state. I do not know if we will ever overcome this problem. It has
been the seed of much tragedy and downfall of many. This study doesn’t agree with the
statistical evidence cited in the UN study, but it does discuss the
socio-psychological dimensions. kwc Report: Societies
are worse off when they have “God on their side” Religious belief can cause damage to a
society, contributing towards high murder rates, abortion, sexual promiscuity
and suicide, according to research published today. According to the study, published in the
Journal of Religion and Society,
a US academic journal, belief in and worship of God are not only unnecessary
for a healthy society but may actually contribute to social problems. The study counters the view of believers that
religion is necessary to provide the moral and ethical foundations of a healthy
society. It compares the social performance of relatively secular countries, such as Many liberal Christians and believers of
other faiths hold that religious belief is socially beneficial, believing that
it helps to lower rates of violent crime, murder, suicide, sexual promiscuity
and abortion. The
benefits of religious belief to a society have been described as its “spiritual capital”. But the study claims that the devotion
of many in the http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1798944,00.html |
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