Religion Is Good For You
A belief in God could lead to a more contented life, research suggests.
Religious people are better able to cope with shocks such as losing a job or divorce, claims the study presented to a Royal Economic Society conference.
Data from thousands of Europeans revealed higher levels of “life satisfaction” in believers.
Of course, that’s irrespective of whether you’re right to believe or not…
And yes, I’m not going to suggest that this makes all things done in the name of religion right; but equally it’s important to remember that not all things done in the name of religion are wrong either. Religion can inspire people to do an awful lot of things. Some nice, some nasty. But generally, only the nasty ones find their way into newspaper headlines.
Also, considering the general drives to improve the health, ‘life satisfaction’ and stuff amongst the general public from various public bodies, does this mean that as well as Government sponsored initiatives to cut down on fatty food, binge drinking and the like, we’re all going to be encouraged to go to Church/ Mosque/ Synagogue more often??
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[...] also JackP at the Pickards is the only blogger broadly supportive of the findings that seems to have thought about it in any [...]
Now you see, this is what annoys me about these surveys…. I have never been asked. I don’t know anyone who has ever been asked. Do you?
For all we know they could have been hanging around near the local synagogue which was right next to the divorce courts.
Amongst my friends, the ones who deal with divorce worst are the religious ones who believe it’s a mortal sin.
Sorry, off topic, so to speak, but that line made me think of right-to-lifers blowing up an abortion clinic a number of years ago, killing several people.
They thought they were in the right.
Yes, and that’s precisely the sort of thing that made me say that not everything done in the name of religion is right. Things like “the crusades”, and burning people at the stake for being Catholic / Protestant would come under this category too. But mostly I’d class them as just being “murderers”.
I’m reminded of the Bill Hicks line: “if they’re so pro-life, how come you don’t see them blockading graveyards and not letting people in?”
But just like the crimes of Nazi Germany does not make today’s Germans guilty, because it wasn’t them, it’s wrong to tar all theists with the same brush too. If an atheist is found guilty of terrible crimes (and lets face it, I’m sure some have), I wouldn’t seek to use this to declare that all atheists are evil because of their godlessness. I’d assume that the crime is the responsibility of the individual; plenty of theists (and non-theists) are capable of disagreeing with the way other people live their lives without needing to blow anybody up.
I suspect that religious types tend not to be too ‘questioning’ of things around them. “What was that? Created in 7 days you say? - oh, ok.”
I’d also like to suggest that people who don’t question too much of what goes on around them are more likely to be contented. “What was that? My kids hanging around the street corners smoking fags and stabbing people? - oh, ok.”
Ignorance is bliss.
Mike,
I’ve got to say that’s a very simplistic — and stereotypical — view of religion that is not at all representative of the beliefs of any of the religious people I know. Including more than one ordained person. I’m not saying you won’t get anyone like that, but to pigeonhole all ‘religious types’ as having that sort of attitude is blinkered, offensive and bigoted.
If I was being uncharitable, I’d suggest that this type of view is typical of the irrational propaganda being put forward by atheist zealots. But as I’m being charitable, I’ll assume that it’s just your view, rather than one typical of atheists…!
Have you seen God is imaginary - 50 “proofs” why it’s bunkum. Some are a little too dismissive I feel, but overall a good collection of interesting points and a few amusing ones.