Dysfunctional Faith
Study says belief in God may contribute to society’s dysfunctions
The United States is pretty much the only prosperous democracy where religion is still highly popular, with about two-thirds of the population absolutely believing in God, and creationism being very popular in among half of society.
…the United States again is the only prosperous democracy where religion is really popular and we’re the only nation among prosperous democracies to have really high murder rates.
We also have the highest juvenile mortality rates. We have pretty much the shortest life spans. We have the highest abortion rates among democracies where abortion is legal. We have the highest sexually transmitted disease infection rates. We have the highest teen pregnancy rates, pretty much across the board we have real, serious social issues that other nations don’t seem to be suffering from.
I can definitely understand the findings of the research, but I think it is a little misleading in the actual findings. I think that the actual results are very true to form, but, also, I think that the demographics must be studied as well. From what I’ve gathered, the poorer, less educated areas of America (for example’s sake) are more prone to believe in God. But is it God (a bearded man sitting on a throne in the sky) they believe in? Or is it God (an ever-present form of continuing creation) that they believe in? Studies have shown that the Bible-belt has an exponentially higher rate of divorce as well as higher rates of teen pregnancy, abortion, abusive relationships, and racism all the while being very ardent in their belief in Christianity (which is anoher complex psychological study all on its own). All of these statistics point not necessarily to a “belief in God,” but to economic status and level of education. I struggle with the notion that a belief in God makes you a rube, because it is simply not the case. However it does make you a rube to view such a complex array of ideas, stories, and morals with such unwavering simplicity. Religion is never, ever simple.
I’ve thought a little more about this. European countries that prove to be more progressive do seem to be more agnostic, atheistic, or, perhaps, just filled with non-practicing Christians. This stat seems to coinicide in America as we are viewed, rightly so, as a religious nation and, sadly, this is reflective in our very conservative social policies. On a personal level, this also reflects in a general ignorance towards people who are “not like us.” It is a fear that conservatism seems to thrive on.
The reason I thought about this is because I’ve had the opportunity to watch “Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team.” It was very interesting to watch the recap of the 1999 Women’s World Cup, when the team was swimming in a sea of positive publicity and showed immense “girl power” to the young girls and teens (not to mention boys, as well!) of our country. They seemed to be riding a wave of revolution in American sports. Then, all of a sudden, the popularity dropped markedly. I couldn’t help but make the correlation that the election of George Bush, the response to 9/11, and the rise of the conservatives in America killed the U.S. Women’s Soccer League. The men in power feared the different, new, and revolutionary idea that a women’s team, much less league, could do well. And, so, it died, as conservatism rose to power.
I know religion and soccer do not necesarily correlate on the outset. But, in ilustrating how religious conservatism, croney capitalism, and the outright nurturing of fascism affects populations at large, I think it is completely clear that the reltionship between soccer and religion, in this respect, shows how ignorance feeds on fear of the unknown. By not enlightening yourself, your family, your nation, you give birth to dysfunctional faith and families, and a nation that feeds on them.
Cas, what’s your thought on this:
For a nation that consistently proclaims itself Christian, illustrated by “God Bless America” billboards and the like, why are we so bent on personal ownership, “otherness”, and an overall purpose of “me first?”
Why aren’t we knee deep in socialism? How is it possible that Jesus’ relatively socialist message has gotten twisted into such a selfish nation?
No matter education or wealth. How can a nation not have compasion?
Just to further illustrate my point:
Study Shows the Superrich Are Not the Most Generous
Why aren’t we knee deep in socialism? That’s a good question in reference to our “Christian” nation. I’ve pondered this for some time and, while I don’t have absolute answers, I do have some hypotheses. One of them is the hypothesis of the Christian Mask. I’ve written about this a few times in the past. While a truly Christian nation would surely condone socialism while spurning capitalism, our “Christian” nation has found a way to get around this. As a capitalist democratic republic, our system is already faulty because it allows those with money to rise to power. This tilts our government into more of a fascist lean already. Now, indeed, it would/does/did take time for money to gain power again in the U.S. at the expense of the middle-class and poor. We’ve crossed these roads once again in the last half decade or so. So, the impropriety is there, but the Christian (loudly conservative, yet, at its roots, liberal) base has also grown. Now they attempt to meet and marry, right? So, we have mega-rich Christians of all types. We have rich Catholics, rich Evangelicals, rich Lutherans…you name it. But the conundrum lies in the fact that because we do live in the United States, we are allowed to be rich. But, if you are a true Christian (one that believes in what Jesus did and said…) it is not necessarily the fact that you have the money, but what you do with it. The impropriety, in Christ’s eyes, comes when the money is hoarded and not used to help your fellow man – the poor. So, here comes the mask: because all power is blinding to even the smallest of the downtrodden, the Mask is born. In other words, “Christians” who hoard wealth (while being better educated, ostensibly) put on a happy face and talk a great game.
For instance, Tom Monaghan (a well-educated man, obviously) has put all of his Dominos money into his supposed glorification of God by building what amounts to a Catholic Disneyland. I’m sure that he has also given much of his wealth to the poor. So, where does Mr. Monaghan fail? He fails in the fact that he doesn’t understand the message of Jesus Christ. In building Catholic Disneyland, already he displays a lack of the true understanding of the philosophies that someone such as St. Francis of Assisi understood so clearly. St. Francis, a rich, well educated member of the gentry let everything go and gave what wealth he held to the poor and walked as a poor man. He became closer to understanding Christ by letting it all go. In fact, St. Francis misunderstood God early on in his life when he was told to rebuild God’s Church that was being destroyed. St. Francis’ naivety led him to rebuild the church of San Damiano. It wasn’t the physical church God was talking of, it was the Church as a whole and when St. Francis understood this, then his mission became clear: he dropped absolutely everything (and looked like a nut while doing it) and lived with those he most feared – the poor, the downtrodden, and the lepers.
Not to be long-winded, but the lesson that St. Francis has to teach us all lies in anathema to much of modern American Christianity. It’s all about talking a good game while ignoring what the Jesus says about the rich, the poor, and the relationship that exists in between.
And, for the record, the greatest Christians I know are agnostics or even atheists – and that includes you, my friend.