Let's compare the 20 most religious countries to the 20 least religious countries... (America, churches)
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Interesting article which shows just how much better off the citizens of the least religious countries in the world are compared to the citizens of the most religious countries.
For instance:
"Altogether, the approximately 600,000,000 people living in the 20 Most Religious Countries on the planet earn approximately $1.7 Trillion dollars. This averages out to approximately $1,200 per person per year. While approximately the same number of people (604,555,000) live in the top 20 Least Religious Countries on the planet, their living conditions could not be more different.
The estimated per capita income of the 20 Least Religious Countries ranges from a high of $58,141 in Norway to a low of $2,785 in Vietnam. Altogether the approximatelyy 605,000,000 people living in the 20 Lease Religious countries on the planet earn approximately $14.4 Trillion. This averages out to approximately $23,956 per person per year. In other words, those individuals living in the 20 Least Religious Countries on the planet earn almost TWENTY TIMES MORE per year than their counterparts in the 20 Most Religious Countries on the planet."
Interesting link (coudn't +1 - I need to spread the love) . A problem is that religion is not the only variable that impacts income and where nations end up at. There are too many other influences. Where nations currently are is a function of history, education, capital, government type, etc. Notice that one side of the article list has largely third world countries and the other is 1st / 2nd world - so the income disparity is expected regardless of religion.
Also the PPP (purchasing power parity) can be quite different - a $1 in the US is worth a lot more in a third world country. Better rankings include PPP, not just the US dollar.
The article would have been more interesting if it surveyed say just the developed world and then tried to correlate the per capita gdp or income within that set of nations. I think the article would still prove its overall point. As an extreme example, just look at the useful (pathetic) GDP produced by Vatican city if you exclude tourism.
Because what the unmitigated success of godless societies indicates is that society does not need God. Society doesn't require God. Not for material well being. Not for health. Not for wealth. Not for literacy or education. Not to maintain social cohesion. Not to minimize crime. Not to minimize violence. What the incredible success of godless societies proves is that God is NOT necessary. That when we are accountable to one another, we are just as capable of functioning as a society as we are when we pretend that we are beholden to some manner of divinity.
Thats weird because The United States of America is the most powerful Nation that has EVER existed on the planet. (and is predominetly Christian)
Kind of blows your little hippie theory out of the water
The U.S.A. didn't get where it is because of Christianity or religion - more like in spite of it. It was founded by freethinkers and Deists as a secular republic. Still, it lags well behind nations which have a majority secular population in terms of quality of life, healthcare, education and other areas.
People in poor and more unstable situations likely do go more for religion. It provides stability and social services in a difficult situation. When things are stable and affluent people may feel they have more options and those options will include irreligion. It doesn't really mean irreligion is good for a society though. Being wealthy and free enough you can choose irreligion is probably good, in the general sense, but irreligious societies on that list that traditionally pressed for irreligion (like Cuba or Belarus in times past) are not all that great to live in. Judging from what I remember the people of Belarus are probably more unhappy than Indonesians.
Another issue is that many of the most irreligious societies either had established churches that ended up compromising themselves into incoherence, or encouraged apathy by being established, or had secular regimes that discouraged religion. Modernity can happen in societies that are more religious. We see it in Cyprus, Malta, Singapore, the US, and a few others have arguably managed it.
However I definitely agree religion is not necessary for material well-being and can even be counterproductive in one's search for money and power. A society can certainly be happy and developed without religion. From the secular perspective religions advantages have to do with charity, reducing anxiety, and providing community. In an economically Left-leaning country like Sweden personal charity might seem less necessary and community can probably be provided by sports or political programs. Anxiety I guess can be dealt with by pills, although Scandinavians do have higher suicide rates than Americans (Although Scandinavian suicide rates are traditionally much lower than the also irreligious Estonians or Japanese) so possibly they can't entirely be dealt with that way. Although Sri Lanka is quite religious and also quite suicidal, while irreligious Britain is low in suicide, so possibly religion itself is not necessarily sufficient there either.
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