More Scientific Proof: Colombia is Happiest Country

Blue says on Aug 16, 2005, 14:44:

Wait a minute.. There's nothing scientific about "social science". These bogus "sciences" are based on correlations and not cause and effect. Showing correlations can be interesting but oftentimes irrelevant in any rigorous classification of observations. It may be that Colombia is the happiest country but I don't believe this research shows this. What this research does show is that people in certain groups and with certain characteristics often consider themselves happy and are perceived by others to be happy. But generalizing to a country as a whole is a gigantic leap. Besides, happiness is a subjective phenomenon to begin with. It doesn't exist independent of a cultural context and would never be subject to objective analysis.

Blue

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Islander says on Aug 16, 2005, 14:53:

Whatever blue says, I'm really Happy true or not, i'm Completely Happy!

I Love my country

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Crazy Eagle says on Aug 16, 2005, 15:53:

social science is still science The nature of science is poorly understood, even by many working scientists. The best exposition of philosophy of science is by Karl Popper, and his work has been endorsed over and over again by many brilliant scientists, Einstein and Nobel prize winner John Eccles being just a few.

A couple points: first off, no theory is ever "proved" in science. Theories are only held as tentative approximations to the truth, until they are disproved and a new, more accurate theory replaces it. Newotonian physics was once thought to be absolutely correct, until it was replaced by relativity on the large scale and quantum mechanics on the very small. It is now recognized as only a good approximation to the truth at the level humans usually deal with. But it is not true: it fails to predict the orbit of Mercury with complete accuracy, for example.

Statistics do not "prove" anything: they indicate the likelhood of something being true. The p-value is the probability that the conclussion is mistaken. Statistics are used everywhere, including physics, and are very useful in evaluating evidence.

Blue, social science is still science. The subject matter is irrelevant. Scientific theories are distinguished from philosophical or ideological theories by the criterion of testability. That is, scientific theories are capable of being tested (statistically or otherwise) while philosophical or ideological theories are not.

The hypothesis in the study Platano mentioned (money correlated with happiness, but not as much as other non-monetary factors) is capable of being tested. Hence, it is a scientific theory.

Note that testability is a matter of degree. Hence, a theory or subject is scientific to the extent that it is capable of being tested.


"Let there be spaces in your togetherness" Kahil Gibran

"The natural rhythm of life is routine punctuated by orgy" Aldous Huxley

0 funny, 0 helpful.

platano says on Aug 16, 2005, 16:29:

Actually, my anecdotal experience is a bit at odds with... the idea that there is a correlation between happiness and money. In twelve years travelling all over Colombia, living in Medellin and Cali and visiting with people (urban and rural) of all different socioeconomic strata I would have said that (compared to the other 17 countries I have visited).... Colombians are the happiest in ALL economic levels. In "tugurios" or poor rural "chozas" or wherever ... with a bag of chips and 2-liter bottles of soda we would dance all night (cumbia, vallenato, guasca, salsa, chuco chuco, paso doble, waltz, tango, it didn't matter. We danced to freaking Bach and Mozart!) In Cali we would pile into somebody's broken down Renault 4, cross the bridge at 3:00 a.m., and continue to dance in Juanchito until 6:00 a.m. (only salsa and timba of course)

These scientific studies are only icing on the cake, confirming what I already knew. I second what Islander said. Siendo colombiano de corazón... I am completely happy!

Plátano, el bobo residente de PBH
Oxigeno Verde ¡Libertad por Ingrid y los demás!

plátano

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Crazy Eagle says on Aug 16, 2005, 16:47:

what about gringos in Colombia? So, any evidence, anecdotal or otherwise, that gringos in Colombia are happier than gringos in thier natural habitat?

"Let there be spaces in your togetherness" Kahil Gibran

"The natural rhythm of life is routine punctuated by orgy" Aldous Huxley

0 funny, 0 helpful.

platano says on Aug 16, 2005, 16:57:

No, here's one anecdote that says non-Colombians are not.... always happier. A German woman came to visit me in Medellin after giving a lecture in Bogota at some university. She complained that her human rights were being violated in Colombia. When I asked how she explained that she would wait at bus stops and not know when the bus would arrive and there were no posted timetables, which in her eyes was a violation of her human rights!

Later I visited her in Germany and sure enough... she had a thick book with all the train schedules from the whole freaking country and could plan a trip to the minute: arrive in Train A at 12:07 transfer to Train B at 12:13, etc..... INCREIBLEMENTE RIGIDO! I went back to Colombia and enjoyed the bus stop. The buses arrive when they arrive... meanwhile life continues and there is really no need to get your blood pressure up about it. "Caben 100... 50 sentados, 50 parados" and sometimes I would be sticking out the freaking door, hanging on for my life... and enjoying every minute of it... HAPPY!

Plátano, el bobo simplón
Oxigeno Verde ¡Libertad por Ingrid y los demás!

plátano

0 funny, 0 helpful.

platano says on Aug 16, 2005, 17:24:

You know, I gotta wonder here if some people have trouble... accepting a list like this: Colombia, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland, in which Colombia comes out superior to the most developed of Scandanvian and European countries. And so the science is questioned. I have devoted a lot of time to presenting the evidence, defending the soundness of the methodological approaches to the data PROVING THAT COLOMBIA IS THE BEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD and the science just keeps piling up to substantiate my claims. If that goes against your conception that Finland, Sweden and Switzerland should be ahead of Colombia... well, be a little more open-minded about it. Colombia is the best! Period.

Colombia has some things those "developed" countries don't have: millions of Colombians who are rumberos, lots of sunshine, and lots of out-of-sight music, "¡SABOR!" in a people of the heart who ooze hospitality... while at the same time being just as hardworking, intelligent, and creative as anybody anywhere else in the world. Colombia rocks! ¡Colombia es la Berraquera!

Shit, you put the FARC in Switzerland shootin' off pipe bombs, knocking down electrical towers, kidnapping people right and left, terrorizing the civilian population, forcing kids to carrry arms, etc. See how happy the Swiss would be living in those conditions. Those Europeans get bent out of shape if a car is parked too far from the sidewalk or the train is thirty seconds late. Poor babies!

Colombia is the happiest country in the world IN SPITE OF its social and economic problems.

You can trust the babblings of a "bobo simplón"!

Plátano, el bobo simplón
Oxigeno Verde ¡Libertad por Ingrid y los demás!

plátano

0 funny, 0 helpful.

platano says on Aug 16, 2005, 17:59:

I dedicate my above posts to... the absent and missed ColX.

Plátano, el bobo simplón
Oxigeno Verde ¡Libertad por Ingrid y los demás!

plátano

0 funny, 0 helpful.

YANI-34 says on Aug 16, 2005, 18:14:

i dont believe it........ I dont believe that this info is true. Half of the country is living in poverty and most of the other half is barely getting by. Maybe the people are happy but how happy can we be if we cant even afford to live our lives without worrying about money all the time.
Can anybody even understand that scientific crap anyway?

0 funny, 0 helpful.

platano says on Aug 16, 2005, 18:25:

Of course you are free to disbelieve scientific evidence... but unless you can point to another equally valid scientific study that comes up with a different conclusion your beliefs are irrelevant.

Oh, and ever stop to consider maybe money is not the most important thing in life?

My experience is that those living in poverty and those living in war zones are also happy. Even the guerrillas who kidapped me were happy. We had a joke festival in the "mountains of Colombia" one night. Shit, even I managed some happiness in the midst of a kidnapping... it's freakin' contagious!

The fiestas, the dancing, the smiles, the laughter, the passion for life, the happiness.... ¡CARAJO! ¡MI BELLA COLOMBIA TE AMO!

Plátano, el bobo simplón
Oxigeno Verde ¡Libertad por Ingrid y los demás!

plátano

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Blue says on Aug 16, 2005, 18:44:

OK Crazy Eagle You accept the legitimacy of social science. Which country in the world is the happiest?

Blue

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Dan says on Aug 16, 2005, 19:16:

I know I would be happier if I was in Colombia. Then I can be with my family and just relax by a pool in Melgar or kicking back in a little tavern in La Candelaria.

I WANNA GO BACK!

I lOvE cOlOmBiA, aNd I wOuLd LoVe To Go BaCk As SoOn As PoSsIbLe.

God Bless America!

0 funny, 0 helpful.

poco says on Aug 16, 2005, 20:56:

True but I've never been around happier people in my Rural Farming town. Then again I have not visted the other mentioned countries. I'd venture to guess the bottom 60% in Colombia are happier on the average than the top 10% in the United States. Being happy does not mean you need "stuff".

You have got to live there to appreciate the attitude of the residents. Hopefully no will tell them they shouldn't be REALLY happy.

"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy." Quote - General Tommy Franks

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Dolfi says on Aug 17, 2005, 00:48:

Platano, whats´the celebrated Transmilenio in Bogotá? It´s a bus running accord to schedule, just like all buses do in Germany, and people are proud of it. And of course it´s much faster than those buses that stop every minute to let someone get on or off.

On the other side it´s not important enough to complain when you´re in a foreign country, I agree.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

juanalejo says on Aug 17, 2005, 06:18:

Dolfi Transmilenio is not a bus that runs on time. It is a mass transport system.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

sonagul says on Aug 17, 2005, 10:06:

since when Economics has anthing to do with Science Just like it bugs me when they call politics a Political Science, I get annoyed when Economics becomes a matter of a scientific approach. Your Rsq can be stretched in any direction and that alone does not make it a science any longer. Most important, can Economists spend their grant money on a more material subjects on poverty than measuring happyness index? Or just giving the money where it has high value.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Andy-NY says on Aug 17, 2005, 11:13:

From a recent article............ The latest buzz in the field of economics points to a myriad of studies examining the link between happiness and wealth. These studies all seek to answer the question: Are richer people happier? Prevailing research suggests no. Obviously if you’re living in poverty, more money probably will increase your level of happiness.

People with money have lots of problems: With added wealth often comes added stress and increased responsibility. There’s a reason surgeons and stockbrokers make a lot of money, because there is a lot riding on their performance and decisions. And usually the higher your rung on the corporate ladder, the longer your workday and the more stressful your position. So although we have become wealthier as a country, we have not necessarily become happier.

Andrew-NY

0 funny, 0 helpful.

sonagul says on Aug 17, 2005, 11:33:

wealthy vs happy how do we appear to be wealthy in the west...
there is a commercial lately where a guy boasts having it all- house with a pool, boat, car, 3 kids, gadgets and cars and asking himself a rethoric questions: "How do I do this? Because I am up to my eyeballs in debt!"
you can make loads and loads of money yet never be happy because you standards of living go up as well. you can also still be in america be happy too if you do not fall into consumerism.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

platano says on Aug 17, 2005, 11:53:

What makes it a science (either physical or social) is... 1) An instrumental injunction
2) Data apprehension
3) Communal confirmation

So far all the research communities who have done investigations have replicated the same results: COLOMBIA WINS IN THE HAPPINESS DEPARTMENT!

Plátano, el bobo simplón
Oxigeno Verde ¡Libertad por Ingrid y los demás!

plátano

0 funny, 0 helpful.

paisa29 says on Aug 17, 2005, 12:59:

I think the Money can`t provide happiness, definitively it helps to increase the level. I know some wealthy people who are complained all the time because the are alone and also know some people who has only the primary things for living and are happy

"Fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality" Conrad Hilton

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Colombiche says on Aug 17, 2005, 13:07:

Money doesn't buy happiness..... But then again, neither does the lack of it.


Perhaps it is just a cultural thing.

No me den trago extranjero, que es caro y no sabe a bueno.... (Rafael Godoy)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

poco says on Aug 17, 2005, 13:08:

Money is NOT everything There is no doubt a correlation between the countries with lower levels and the FACT they SHOULD NOT be happy. Colombia and Nigeria do rank high if you DO NOT ADJUST the numbers, the countries with the highest wealth come out on top. Nigeria was 19th on the “subjective��? list I saw a few months ago. Can’t remember Colombias ranking but I remember thinking if “adjusted��? for GDP per capita they would rank number one. I’ve NEVER seen Venezuela on ANY listing and the big difference is a border painted on a map. Numbers I’ve found. CIA fact book Poverty Threshold 47 Ven. And 55 Col. About 2 to 3 years old. Latest Figures (2005) from DIFFERENT sources. The figures, on Page 5 of the Venezuelan Institute’s Social Report, show that poverty in Venezuela rose from 43 percent to 54 percent of the population during Chávez’s first four years in office. And extreme poverty — the percentage of the population that lives on less than $1 a day — grew from 17 percent to 25 percent during the same period, the figures show. PS: Saw a HIGH number of over 70%. The situation in Colombia appears the opposite. The poverty threshold levels are reported to have DECREASED from 55% to 45%. I’ve seen this trend noted on several sites. I have personally seen a marked improvement in the Rural Area over the last three years. Colombia seems to have a plan. Colombia – Next 15 Years Let’s hope it does not make them unhappy.

"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy." Quote - General Tommy Franks

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Desideria (Moderator) says on Aug 17, 2005, 13:10:

from the same web page: Path To Happiness

"Genetic propensity to happiness
Marriage
Make friends and value them
Desire less
Do someone a good turn
Have faith (religious or not)
Stop comparing your looks with others
Earn more money
Grow old gracefully
Don't worry if you're not a genius "

I think that we people who live in First World Countries have been quite spoiled and cannot appreciate the small things in life that bring happiness to many people in poorer countries. "Desire less" sounds pretty much like the right answer to me.

Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

poco says on Aug 17, 2005, 13:20:

Ahhhh Ha,, correcto Stop comparing your looks with others

The vanity of the Colombian woman and her shoes.

The list is quite true. Personally I am aware of being spoiled, felt that was one reason why people are unhappy in wealthier countries. Not having ANYTHING is NOT NEARLY as bad a loosing something you've had.

I know people who would NEVER move to Colombia if they couldn't have some material item they felt "critical" to their well being.

Me,,, An electric coffee maker, microwave and clothes washer, the rest,, who cares. Oh,, nice to have a kid go stand in line to pay the bills,, 1,000 pesos and well worth it.

"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy." Quote - General Tommy Franks

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Blue says on Aug 17, 2005, 13:26:

Platano Has social science research ever taught you anything you didn't already know?

Blue

0 funny, 0 helpful.

sonagul says on Aug 17, 2005, 13:33:

social science most of the social science assinine is a result of "publish or perish" phenomena as opposed to the common thought that it is driven by new ideas. in fact, there is rarely anything new after pages and pages of calculations, we end up with a common sense knowledge.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Blue says on Aug 17, 2005, 13:39:

Many in the U.S.A. hop on the consumerism train and never get off living their lives constantly wanting more, better and newer things. We're taught from our first day in school to be obedient and conform so we can eventually get a job and get on this train. Lives spent this way give us material comfort but maybe not other things which contribute to overall happiness. Work preoccupies most americans and defines our self-image. I can see why many other countries may have more overall satisfied people.

Blue

0 funny, 0 helpful.

poco says on Aug 17, 2005, 14:10:

There is a phrase A great many Americans, probably more than half are best described as:

ECONOMIC SLAVES – The worst kind of slavery. The U.S. allows a choice but few make a decision based on long range plans,, tomorrow is the goal. Investments for many are a car, clothes, 60” TV, Vacation in Disneyland and $100.00 dinners for two, all purchased with "plastic money".

Borrow money or pay interest on purchases and SLAVE to pay. Loose your "stuff" at some later date and you are UNHAPPY and more than likely become UNHAPPY SLAVING to pay the bills.

Put you kids through College, Health Insurance, House and car payment,, you name it. Necessary in most cases,,, but,, EXPENSIVE House, TWO NEW CARS with a POOL !!!

Sadly, this seems to be rampant in the lower income groups. Self Image,, that post was as good a reason as any. Why else have an income of 30,000 per year and buy a 30,000 truck on time payments? I think it must be because it makes a person feel good NOW. No need to think or save, sign on the dotted line.

Pay for health insurance,, of course not !!! 45 Million Americans have no health insurance BUT 15% are earning 50,000 per year or more, about 5% of the 15% earn 75,000. (Blue Cross Blue Shield Data).

Loose your job, car, house and wife. YOU WILL NOT BE A HAPPY CAMPER.
Damn, I hope the Colombian people NEVER get an “opportunity” to get caught in this trap. Credit Cards sent in the mail,, scary.

"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy." Quote - General Tommy Franks

0 funny, 0 helpful.

platano says on Aug 17, 2005, 18:25:

Blue, you ask... Has social science research ever taught you anything you didn't already know?

Well, there is an interesting bit of social science research done in 2004 on the countries of the world and among Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Colombia it turns out the people are happiest in Colombia. I knew they were happy but had no idea they were happier than all those people in the First World countries with their wealth, addictions, and suicide rates. Social science research made it clear that Colombia is number one.

Tinto, the article you cite is based on a study carried out in 1999-2001. Evidently Colombians have become so much happier with the ascendence of Uribe. Ask Colombiche!

Plátano, el bobo simplón
Oxigeno Verde ¡Libertad por Ingrid y los demás!

plátano

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Colombiche says on Aug 17, 2005, 20:04:

Yeah Baby! I don't know whether Colombians have become happier per se because of Uribe, but we have definitely become more hopeful. Hope I think is one of the main elements of happiness. When people are hopeless, optimism wanes.

I get a warm feeling inside everytime a paramilitary front gives up their weapons or a group of FARC guerrillas become deserters. Maybe I am just another simpleton, but it really makes my day brighter, it makes me feel like much better days are coming for the people of our country.

This is a good thread, thanks Platano.

No me den trago extranjero, que es caro y no sabe a bueno.... (Rafael Godoy)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Colombiche says on Aug 17, 2005, 20:17:

Oh no... oh no... trip down memory lane (run!) I remember growing up in Manizales I never felt cold. People talked about the city being cold, but I never felt cold. The sky was usually blue and we could always see El Volcan Del Ruiz in the distance. The same volcano that almost wiped us off the map that fateful day in 1985.

As kids in Colombia, we almost never played indoors. We had tons of cousins and friends, and we loved to go to the backyard and make mudpies, climb trees... we were little tomboys. I had a pair of old rollerskates, which I would ride almost everyday around the block. If we fell, we got up. We never thought of suing anybody, we were always responsible for our actions. We would spit on our scraped knees and keep playing. We watched very little TV except for some cartoons on Saturday mornings and Heidi at 6:00 pm. Our TV was this clunky, old antique black and white thing, but back then I didn't feel the need for a color tv. We ate whatever (even the mudpies), drank the tap water... never got sick, never got a darn parasite. We were bulletproof!

We were by no means rich. I did not care. I would get hand me down clothes from my older cousins (why should good clothes be thrown out?). I didn't care for style either like today's kids do. My mother could dress me up in argyle bell bottoms, I really could care less. All we cared about was playing outside and making friends. My toys were all those stiff baby dolls with drawn-on hair, I didn't care. I never even had a Barbie, which I am happy about.

I don't remember being afraid, feeling like I was restricted from being outside. Back then I didn't even have a clue that I lived in one of the most dangerous countries in the world. It felt pretty safe to me. I felt safer there than I ever did anywhere else in the world. Come to think of it, I don't think I will ever feel that safe again.

No me den trago extranjero, que es caro y no sabe a bueno.... (Rafael Godoy)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Elbigie says on Aug 18, 2005, 19:15:

Not that Happy How do you explain that thousands of people leave the "happiest" country?. That doesn't make sense to me. I have the feeling we're not the happiest people after all.

How do you define happiness?. How do you measure happiness?.
Does Iraq rank second as the happiest country?

0 funny, 0 helpful.

platano says on Aug 18, 2005, 19:33:

There is a whole field of happiness studies and I am not... even going to try to summarize it here.

As to your other question: why are people leaving the "happiest" country? I think it is good people leave Colombia. I just spoke with a friend in Miami today. She left Colombia several years ago. Next week she is going back. When you leave a place and find out things are not so rosy elsewhere, then you can appreciate that Colombia is the best country in the world.

It works the other way around too. I was raised in the USA and was continually told the USA was the world's best country. But when I left and discovered how superior Colombia is I knew the whole patriotic effort I suffered through in the USA was just propaganda.

One more thing, some people leave Colombia due to death threats. But you know what? You get two or three of those Colombians together in "el exterior" and you find they have that "alegria" in their hearts and take their internal Colombian happiness with them wherever they go.

Once in Mazatlan I was in a restaurant which had a dance floor. When a Carlos Vives song started a guy jumped up from his table and started clapping his hands over his head as he danced his way to the dance floor while shouting something like "¡juepa!" with a broad smile on his face. I thought: "this guy's got to be Colombian" so I got close enough to ask and sure enough... and the most surprising thing to me was he was from Bogota!

I'm just going to repeat it again for fun: Colombia is the best country in the world--in spite of its internal political and economic problems, which I believe Uribe is fixing--and Colombians are the happiest people in the world. Avivados, alegres, y cheveres, sí señor.

I dedicate this post to the absent and missed ColX.

Plátano, el bobo simplón
Oxigeno Verde ¡Libertad por Ingrid y los demás!

plátano

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Elbigie says on Aug 18, 2005, 23:49:

I know most people always look for greener pastures, and yes that could be a good thing, I agree with you. But the actual question still remains: if the country is so happy why the Diaspora?. It's ok. to leave a country to see other cultures, study abroad, etc. But, it gets a bit tricky when you have to leave your country, not by choice ,but because you are threatened by the right or the left -or by those in the middle too- or because you're in your early 30s and no one is going to give you a job. Those that have the chance to migrate legally are the unhappy lucky ones. Those that stay behind in the same circumstances are the unhappy unlucky people.
A large number of Colombians living abroad come during the Christmas season and get a feeling that everything is a lot better, you know "Diciembre mes de parranda y animacion" but outside that small window things are quite different. I honestly do not believe in the 'sigamos de rumba mientras Colombia se derrumba". Perhaps we Colombians express our sadness by making jokes, dancing and all that; -al mal tiempo buena cara- kind of thing- but still I’m not convinced we’re the happiest people on earth.
I could add “la prosecion va por dentro” ?

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Dolfi says on Aug 19, 2005, 01:54:

There are two aspects to it. One is being happy in every day life, enjoying simple things like having a drink with friends, a walk in the sunshine etc. And as far as this kind of happiness is concerned, you latinos beat everyone else, according to my experience. But to be able to live a really happy life you need more: a certain level of security, an outlook for the future, economic stability etc. And as far as this is concerned, most europeans are probably happier than colombians. This on the other hand means that many people in Europe have lost the feeling for happiness in everyday life and are obsessed with high level consuming and so on.

It might also explain why so many colombians leave their country, though they are happy people.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

poco says on Aug 19, 2005, 01:55:

Whaddya Know I knew the whole patriotic effort I suffered through in the USA was just propaganda. You’re not alone. Just a little more pacifistic. No, I'm not an American. I'm one of the 22 million black people who are the victims of Americanism. One of the 22 million black people who are the victims of democracy, nothing but disguised hypocrisy. So, I'm not standing here speaking to you as an American, or a patriot, or a flag-saluter, or a flag- waver-no, not I. I'm speaking as a victim of this American system. And I see America through the eyes of the victim. I don't see any American dream; I see an American nightmare.... Malcolm “X��? - 1964

"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy." Quote - General Tommy Franks

0 funny, 0 helpful.

platano says on Oct 8, 2005, 20:39:

Blue asks, "Platano, has social science research ever taught you anything you didn't already know?"

Well, today I came across a social science study on religion and societal health indicators. Conventional wisdom seems to be that religious belief does not harm society. This study shows that religion can be a dangerous thing and societies with more atheists and agnostics have fewer social problems. Those with more true believers have more social problems.

18 countries were studied. Of the nations studied, the U.S. — which has by far the largest percentage of people who take the Bible literally and express absolute belief in God (and the lowest percentage of atheists and agnostics) — also has by far the highest levels of homicide, abortion, teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

Arguably, Paul's study invites us to conclude that the most serious threat humanity faces today is religious extremism: nonrational, absolutist belief systems that refuse to tolerate difference and dissent.

Kind of goes against the popularly held belief that religion promotes values and morality and is a good thing for society. Wrong!

The study, reported in the current issue of the Journal of Religion and Society, a publication of Creighton University's Center for the Study of Religion, finds a correlation between levels of "popular religiosity" and various "quantifiable societal health" indicators in 18 prosperous democracies, including the United States....

Plátano X
Oxigeno Verde ¡Libertad por Ingrid y los demás!

plátano

0 funny, 0 helpful.

utopiacowboy says on Oct 9, 2005, 12:37:

The religous fanaticism in the US explains why we have more in common with the Middle Eastern countries than we do with Europe and Canada. Personally I like the fanaticism. All that liberal moderation makes me puke.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

poco says on Oct 9, 2005, 13:02:

Cosmic Joke

"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy." Quote - General Tommy Franks

0 funny, 0 helpful.