I think I'm turning japanese...

[pasithea]

I'm sure the right-whingers will just say that violence in Japan isn't reported, and I think I might even agree with that, though certainly, fewer people are murdered in Japan (a far denser and more urbanized population than the US). Luckily, this article uses Teen Pregnancy as a second example, and it's one they'll have a tougher time explaining away.

But anyways. Here's the harsh reality for those who squeal ignorantly that religion is all that keeps people from being mass murderers. OH NOES Atheists tend to be far BETTER behaved than religious gits. Whoda thunk it?

http://www.humaniststudies.org/enews/index.html?id=219&article=7

Article stolen from someone else's LJ.

Comments

[kyhwana.livejournal.com]

Read CS Lewis's Mere Christianity. ;)
Basically, he states there is a "law of human nature" that all (well, there is the odd expcetion) human beings know about and _should_ follow, except that we don't and that's when we make up excuses.. "I know I promised to do X, but Y came up"

[sci.livejournal.com]

Thanks for that! It's allways good to have hard facts to back up the reason.
Any religion that has rules that do not conform to that of the society it exists within will inevitable fall into conflict with it.

[kyhwana.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I don't think buddhism would fall into that category. Unless there are rules in that society that you have to be a specific religion, or that you arn't allowed do to certain things that have no bearing on anyone else.

[prickvixen.livejournal.com]

I think it could also be said that a more hostile and dangerous society reinforces people's move towards religion, for lack of any other source of hope.

[paka.livejournal.com]

Buddhism and Shinto are pretty easy going as religions go. The closest Japan has ever gotten to European styled religious ugliness is when Oda Nobunaga used Christian troops to wipe out the Mt. Hiei monastaries for his own political ends.

And I'm with Ashy on this one, it all goes together; when you're poor, and you can't have faith in humanity, religion as a focus for identity and as promise of redemption looks mighty tempting. So the Republicans have a win-win situation in maintaining untenable economic conditions; their church allies benefit, and their corporate allies get cheap labor. The only people who really lose here are average Americans and actual spirituality.