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I don't find the fairy tale that we came from goop and life is meaningless to be too comforting.
I don't know if God exists in any form or not, I certainly don't deny the possibility, but I think your post shows that there are people who cannot handle the concept of a life that ends with death and has no real eternal meaning , and so turn to the comfort of the idea of an afterlife of happily ever after with some deity to cope.
Others don't need the psychological crutch to get along in life, but enjoy THIS life for what it is, a precious and brief span of experience.
BTW, more and more people, including evangelical and conservative Christians, are realizing that there is simply too much science verifying the theory of evolution to deny it any more. The flagship university of the Southern Baptist Convention, Baylor U , now embraces and teaches evolution. You have to willingly choose tp deny multiple branches of science and remain scientifically illiterate to deny evolution anymore.
With all the negative attacks and threads against Christianity, how about some positive news for a change? A UK study conducted over 3 years has concluded that religious people are among the most happiest groups in the UK with Christianity and Jews at the top.
The other conclusion? Atheists or people with no religion report the lowest levels of happiness in society. Also revealing, older groups are more happy in life than the younger generations.
I think the evidence is pretty clear that a secular based society won't lead to a more happy tolerant culture.
The conclusion surprises me a little given that I have read that some of the "happiest countries" are largely secular. On the other hand, I think Panama, amazingly enough, is considered a fairly happy country coming in somewhere in the top 5, and I'm sure religion thrives there. It may be that the non-religious things in religion are essential to the happiness. I am referring to such things as social interactions and a sense of community. It also might be that atheists face social prejudices, which usually do not make for a lot of giddiness.
The conclusion surprises me a little given that I have read that some of the "happiest countries" are largely secular. On the other hand, I think Panama, amazingly enough, is considered a fairly happy country coming in somewhere in the top 5, and I'm sure religion thrives there. It may be that the non-religious things in religion are essential to the happiness. I am referring to such things as social interactions and a sense of community. It also might be that atheists face social prejudices, which usually do not make for a lot of giddiness.
I was just coming back to post this very thing. While the study cited limits itself to Britain, worldwide studies routinely show that the happiest countries on Earth are typically irreligious. Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland are the top of the happiest country list and are also among the countries that place the least importance on religion.
I was just coming back to post this very thing. While the study cited limits itself to Britain, worldwide studies routinely show that the happiest countries on Earth are typically irreligious. Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland are the top of the happiest country list and are also among the countries that place the least importance on religion.
With all the negative attacks and threads against Christianity, how about some positive news for a change? A UK study conducted over 3 years has concluded that religious people are among the most happiest groups in the UK with Christianity and Jews at the top.
The other conclusion? Atheists or people with no religion report the lowest levels of happiness in society. Also revealing, older groups are more happy in life than the younger generations.
I think the evidence is pretty clear that a secular based society won't lead to a more happy tolerant culture.
Actually, Hindus ranked first for happiness in that study, Christians (all denominations) ranked second, and Jews came in fifth (behind Buddhists and Sikhs). With this being the case, and by your assertion that this study makes a conclusive argument, you should really consider becoming a Hindu.
If it hasn't occurred to you, this study examined a wide range of demographic factors, and it's only by further examination of combinations of factors that any claim can be made about when religion matters very much as a contributor to an individual's overall happiness. In other words, nothing is nearly as simple as you're making it out to be.
And there is absolutely no basis in this study for your claim that a secular society would be less tolerant. Happiness and tolerance are two entirely different things. Most of the countries well-known for social tolerance (such as Denmark, The Netherlands) are some of the least religious in the world.
I'm a Christian myself (Church of England) and I can say without hesitation that my own happiness factor isn't enhanced by anyone else, other Christians included, harping on their religion.
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Originally Posted by Matadora
Funny when I look at your link from this study I find no such verbiage. In fact here is the PDF of the study.
The conclusion surprises me a little given that I have read that some of the "happiest countries" are largely secular. On the other hand, I think Panama, amazingly enough, is considered a fairly happy country coming in somewhere in the top 5, and I'm sure religion thrives there. It may be that the non-religious things in religion are essential to the happiness. I am referring to such things as social interactions and a sense of community. It also might be that atheists face social prejudices, which usually do not make for a lot of giddiness.
Minorities -whether ethnic, religious, political- are generally less happy than those in the majority. In countries where the multitude is religious, secularists are likely to be marginalized, which tends to result in unhappiness.
In mostly secular societies like the Scandinavian countries this isn't an issue. Secular persons are the majority, so they're more likely to be happy. Oh, and that Scandinavian countries are much more economically equitable, have better and more readily available education, and more comprehensive social programs also creates more happiness.
With all the negative attacks and threads against Christianity, how about some positive news for a change? A UK study conducted over 3 years has concluded that religious people are among the most happiest groups in the UK with Christianity and Jews at the top.
The other conclusion? Atheists or people with no religion report the lowest levels of happiness in society. Also revealing, older groups are more happy in life than the younger generations.
I think the evidence is pretty clear that a secular based society won't lead to a more happy tolerant culture.
Hindus are the happiest among all the religious communities/groups of United Kingdom (UK), according to a dataset of Office for National Statistics (ONS), UK’s National Statistical Institute. - http://www.city-data.com/forum/newre...ply&p=43033430
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