A new study published in Creighton’s Journal of Religion and Society provides strong evidence that high religiosity is not necessarily a good thing, at least on a large scale.
One would have a hard time arguing that there was no bias involved. The study was conducted by paleontologist Gregory S. Paul–a major proponent of the feathered dinosaur theory, after whom the Cryptovolans pauli was named–and his frustration with the growing influence of the U.S. religious right is very clear. But there’s no arguing with the data.
My first assumption, when I ran across an article summarizing this story, was that the author had included dysfunctional nations in sub-Saharan Africa and in the Arab world. Surprise: Paul’s sample group includes only stable, post-industrialized nations with non-theocratic governments–essentially western democracies (though he does include Japan).
The study is well worth reading. What Paul has found, without poisoning the well, is an inverse correlation between measurable religiosity and measurable societal health. That’s pretty surprising–and probably worth thinking about.
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The Mississippi Free Press produced this story through the MFP Solutions Lab, supported by the Solutions Journalism Network. This series digs into Mississippi’s systemic issues and sheds light on responses to them in other communities. Beyond just reporting on problems, these stories interrogate their causes and inspect potential solutions.