Name three good things about religion.

[Tero]

This is derailing to real religion. It was supposed to be a fun topic.

There was fun stuff in the old testament. The big dude said not to kill. But then there were all these bad deeds that needed stoning. So I figure if you can talk two people into joining, you could eliminate all your problems legally, as long as they broke some commandment such as eating a shellfish animal on sabbath with two or three hoofs.

[apophenia]

"Atheism, Secularity, and Well-Being: How the Findings of Social Science Counter Negative Stereotypes and Assumptions" — Phil Zuckerman


You want a real derail? Here it is. I've broken this off into a separate thread as it will likely result in massive derails. Please see that thread for a link to the whole paper.

Abstract
What do we currently know about atheists and secular people? In what ways are atheism and secularity correlated with positive societal outcomes? This article offers a rough presentation and discussion of the latest social scientific research concerning the identities, values, and behaviors of people who don’t believe in God or are non-religious, and addresses the ways in which atheism and secularity are positively correlated with societal well-being.

While acknowledging the many disagreements and discrepancies above, the fact still remains that a preponderance of studies do indicate that secular people don’t seem to fare as well as their religious peers when it comes to selected aspects of psychological well-being (Hackney and Sanders 2003; Pargament 2002; Schnittker 2001; Hood et al. 1996; Idler and Stanislav 1992; Petersen and Roy 1985). For instance, Ellison (1991), Jones (1993), and Pollner (1989) found that religious beliefs correlate with a sense of life-satisfaction and well-being, and Myers (1992) found that religious faith is correlated with hope and optimism. McIntosh et al. (1993) report that religious people have a better time adjusting to and coping with sad or difficult life events than secular people; Mattlin et al. (1990) and Palmer and Noble (1986) report that religion is beneficial for people dealing with chronic illness or the death of a loved one. Based on a systematic examination of over 100 studies – and drawing heavily from the work of Koenig et al. (2001) – McCullough and Smith (2003, 191–192) conclude that ‘‘people who are religious devout, but not extremists, tend to report greater subjective well-being and life satisfaction…more ability to cope with stress and crises…and fewer symptoms of depression’’ than secular people...

The paper includes sections on demographics, criminality, morality, well-being and other things.

[And no, I haven’t had time to read and digest the paper; it struck me as a quality overview with plenty of references to the primary literature. Food for thought, grist for the mill.]

[maiforpeace]

Between the above post and this, I'm sure someone will comment, AP...

[Seth]

"Atheism, Secularity, and Well-Being: How the Findings of Social Science Counter Negative Stereotypes and Assumptions" — Phil Zuckerman


You want a real derail? Here it is. I've broken this off into a separate thread as it will likely result in massive derails. Please see that thread for a link to the whole paper.

Abstract
What do we currently know about atheists and secular people? In what ways are atheism and secularity correlated with positive societal outcomes? This article offers a rough presentation and discussion of the latest social scientific research concerning the identities, values, and behaviors of people who don’t believe in God or are non-religious, and addresses the ways in which atheism and secularity are positively correlated with societal well-being.

While acknowledging the many disagreements and discrepancies above, the fact still remains that a preponderance of studies do indicate that secular people don’t seem to fare as well as their religious peers when it comes to selected aspects of psychological well-being (Hackney and Sanders 2003; Pargament 2002; Schnittker 2001; Hood et al. 1996; Idler and Stanislav 1992; Petersen and Roy 1985). For instance, Ellison (1991), Jones (1993), and Pollner (1989) found that religious beliefs correlate with a sense of life-satisfaction and well-being, and Myers (1992) found that religious faith is correlated with hope and optimism. McIntosh et al. (1993) report that religious people have a better time adjusting to and coping with sad or difficult life events than secular people; Mattlin et al. (1990) and Palmer and Noble (1986) report that religion is beneficial for people dealing with chronic illness or the death of a loved one. Based on a systematic examination of over 100 studies – and drawing heavily from the work of Koenig et al. (2001) – McCullough and Smith (2003, 191–192) conclude that ‘‘people who are religious devout, but not extremists, tend to report greater subjective well-being and life satisfaction…more ability to cope with stress and crises…and fewer symptoms of depression’’ than secular people...

The paper includes sections on demographics, criminality, morality, well-being and other things.

[And no, I haven’t had time to read and digest the paper; it struck me as a quality overview with plenty of references to the primary literature. Food for thought, grist for the mill.]

Thank you so much for your effort, it's deeply appreciated.

[Eddie]

1. best thing about it is that it isn't true
2. I guess Jesus was cool in a way...
3. music

[hackenslash]

Err, well there's... oh wait, there's...

Nope. It's all bad, and I can't wait to be rid of it. It has absolutely nothing to recommend it.

[apophenia]

In recent years, Muslims from North America have used two rules to determine the direction of the Qiblah [the point one faces when praying, currently toward the Kaaba in Mecca]. According to spherical calculations, a Muslim praying from Anchorage, Alaska would pray almost due north if determining the Qiblah. However, when one looks at the world on most Mercator map projections, Mecca appears to be southeast of Anchorage. The shortest rhumb line (line of constant bearing) from most points in North America to Mecca will point toward the southeast, but the distance to Mecca along this route on the actual surface of the earth is longer than the great circle route.

The vast majority of Muslim communities in North America face toward the northeast, following the great circle route. A minority faces towards the southeast according to traditional early Islamic methods including sighting the stars, sun, wind, etc.

Most Qiblah-calculating programs (see list below) use the great circle method and place the Qiblah northeast from most points in North America.

That damnable globe theory!

[Pappa]

John_fi_Skye, this is a reminder that personal attacks are against the rules.

http://rationalia.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... 4#p1081804
http://rationalia.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... 8#p1081818

[Tyrannical]

True
False
Useful




So accurate that those three terms top Google to the right articles.

“Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.”

[John_fi_Skye]

John_fi_Skye, this is a reminder that personal attacks are against the rules.

http://rationalia.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... 4#p1081804
http://rationalia.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... 8#p1081818

OK. Sorry.