FI Aug-Sept 2006 Pages 6/30/06 9:14 AM Page 35 sts

Is Faith Good for Us? Phil Zuckerman

hether Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or Sikh, there is one common belief that Wall religious fundamentalists share: worship of God and obedience to his laws are essential for a peaceful, healthy society. From Orthodox rabbis in the occu- pied West Bank to Wahhabi sheiks in Saudi Arabia, from the pope in Vatican City to Mormons in Salt Lake City, the lament is the same: God and his will must be at the center of every- one’s lives in order to ensure a moral, prosperous, safe, col- lective existence. Furthermore, fundamentalists agree that, when large num- bers of people in a society reject God or fail to make him the center of their lives, societal disintegration is sure to follow. Every societal ill—whether crime, poverty, poor public educa- “In reality, the most secular countries— tion, or AIDS—is thus blamed on a lack of piety. A most dis- concerting example of this worldview was expressed in the those with the highest proportion of immediate aftermath of September 11, 2001, when Jerry atheists and agnostics—are among the Falwell blamed the terrorists attacks on America’s “throwing God out of the public square,” further adding that “when a most stable, peaceful, free, wealthy, nation deserts God and expels God from the culture . . . the result is not good.” and healthy societies.” If this often-touted religious theory were correct—that a turning away from God is at the root of all societal ills—then we would expect to find the least religious nations on earth to be unwilling population (such as in North Korea, China, Vietnam, bastions of crime, poverty, and disease and the most religious and the former Soviet states) and open, democratic nations nations to be models of societal health. A comparison of highly where is freely chosen by a well-educated population irreligious countries with highly religious countries, however, (as in Sweden, the Netherlands, or Japan). The former reveals a very different state of affairs. In reality, the most sec- nations’ nonreligion, which can be described as “coercive ular countries—those with the highest proportion of atheists atheism,” is plagued by all that comes with totalitarianism: and agnostics—are among the most stable, peaceful, free, corruption, economic stagnation, censorship, depression, and wealthy, and healthy societies. And the most religious the like. However, nearly every nation with high levels of nations—wherein worship of God is in abundance—are among “organic atheism” is a veritable model of societal health. the most unstable, violent, oppressive, poor, and destitute. The twenty-five nations characterized by organic atheism One must always be careful, of course, to distinguish with the highest proportion of nonbelievers are listed in Table between totalitarian nations where atheism is forced upon an 1. When looking at standard measures of societal health, we find that they fare remarkably well; highly religious nations Phil Zuckerman is an associate professor of sociology at fare rather poorly. The 2004 United Nations’ Human Pitzer College in . He is the author of Invitation to Development Report, which ranks 177 countries on a “Human the Sociology of (Routledge, 2003) and is currently Development Index,” measures such indicators of societal writing a book on in Scandinavia. health as life expectancy, adult literacy, per-capita income,

35 http://www.secularhumanism.org August/September 2006 FI Aug-Sept 2006 Pages 6/30/06 9:14 AM Page 36

but Vietnam were highly religious nations with statistically Table 1: Top 25 Nations with the Highest Percentage minimal or insignificant levels of atheism. of Nonbelievers Regarding homicide rates, Oablo Fajnzylber et al., in a study reported in the Journal of Law and Economics (2002), Country Estimated Percent Atheist or Agnostic looked at thirty-eight non-African nations and found that the 1. Sweden 64–85 percent ten with the highest homicide rates were highly religious, with 2. Denmark 48–80 percent minimal or statistically insignificant levels of organic atheism. 3. Norway 54–72 percent Conversely, of the ten nations with the lowest homicide rates, 4. Japan 65 percent all but Ireland were secular nations with high levels of athe- 5. Czech Republic 54–61 percent ism. James Fox and Jack Levin, in The Will to Kill, looked at 6. Finland 41–60 percent thirty-seven non-African nations and found that, of the ten 7. France 44–54 percent nations with the highest homicide rates, all but Estonia and Taiwan were highly religious, with statistically insignificant 8. South Korea 30–52 percent levels of organic atheism. Conversely, of the ten nations with 9. Estonia 49 percent the lowest homicide rates, all but Ireland and Kuwait were rel- 10. Germany 41–49 percent atively secular nations, with high levels of organic atheism. 11. Russia 30–48 percent Concerning literacy rates, according to the United Nations 12. Hungary 35–46 percent Report on the World Social Situation (2003), of the thirty- 13. Netherlands 42–44 percent five nations with the highest levels of youth-illiteracy rates 14. Great Britain 32–39 percent (percentage of population ages fifteen to twenty-four who can- 15. Belgium 43 percent not read or write), all were highly religious, with statistically 16. Bulgaria 34–40 percent insignificant levels of organic atheism. 17. Slovenia 35–38 percent In regard to rates of AIDS and HIV infection, the most reli- 18. Israel 37 percent gious nations on earth—particularly those in Africa—fared the worst. (Botswana suffers from the highest rate of HIV 19. Canada 19–30 percent infection in the world; see http://www.avert.org/aroundworld. 20. Latvia 20–29 percent htm.) Conversely, the highly irreligious nations of Western 21. Slovakia 10–28 percent Europe, such as those of Scandinavia—where public sex edu- 22. Switzerland 17–27 percent cation is supported and birth control is widely accessible— 23. Austria 18–26 percent fared the best, experiencing among the lowest rates of AIDS 24. Australia 25 percent and HIV infection in the world. 25. Taiwan 24 percent Concerning gender equality, nations marked by high degrees of organic atheism are among the most egalitarian in the world, while highly religious nations are among the most oppressive. educational attainment, and so on. According to this report, According to the 2004 Human Development Report’s “Gender the five top nations were Norway, Sweden, Australia, Canada, Empowerment Measure,” the ten nations with the highest and the Netherlands. All had notably high degrees of organic degrees of gender equality were all strongly organic-atheistic atheism. Furthermore, of the top twenty-five nations, all but nations with significantly high percentages of nonbelief. Ireland and the were top-ranking nonbelieving Conversely, the bottom ten were all highly religious nations nations with some of the highest percentages of organic athe- without any statistically significant percentages of atheists. ism on earth. Conversely, the bottom fifty countries of the According to Ronald Inglehart and ’s (2003) “Human Development Index” lacked statistically significant “Gender Equality Scale,” of the ten nations most accepting of levels of organic atheism. gender equality, all but the United States and Colombia were Irreligious countries had the lowest infant-mortality rate marked by high levels of organic atheism; of the ten least- (number of deaths per 1,000 live births), and religious coun- accepting of gender equality, all were highly religious and had tries had the highest rates. According to the 2004 CIA World statistically insignificant levels of organic atheism. According to Factbook (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook), out Inglehart et al. in Human Values and Social Change (2003), of 225 nations, the twenty-five with the lowest infant-mortali- countries such as Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands, with ty rates had significantly high levels of organic atheism. the most female members of parliament, tended to be charac- Conversely, the seventy-five nations with the highest infant- terized by high degrees of organic atheism, and countries such mortality rates were all very religious and without statistical- as Pakistan, Nigeria, and Iran, with the fewest female members ly significant levels of organic atheism. in parliament, tended to be highly religious. Concerning international poverty rates, the United Nations The acceptance of gender equality among irreligious Report on the World Social Situation (2003) found that, of nations may be linked to the relative acceptance of homosexu- the forty poorest nations on earth (measured by the percent- ality. Inglehart et al., in Human Beliefs and Values: A Cross- age of population that lives on less than one dollar a day), all Cultural Sourcebook Based on the 1999–2002 Surveys

free inquiry http://www.secularhumanism.org 36 FI Aug-Sept 2006 Pages 6/30/06 9:14 AM Page 37

(2004), found that, of the eighteen nations least likely to con- health or that low levels of organic atheism cause societal ills demn homosexuality, all were highly ranked organic-atheistic such as poverty or illiteracy. The wealth, poverty, well-being, nations. Conversely, of the eighteen nations most likely to con- and suffering in various nations are caused by numerous polit- demn homosexuality, all but Hungary were highly religious, ical, historical, economic, and sociological factors that are far with statistically insignificant levels of organic atheism. more determinant than people’s personal belief systems. A country’s suicide rate stands out as the one indicator of Rather, the conclusion to be drawn from the data provided societal health in which religious nations fare much better above is simply that high levels of irreligion do not automati- than secular nations. According to the 2003 World Health cally result in a breakdown of civilization, a rise in immoral Organization’s report on international male suicide rates behavior, or in “sick societies.” Quite the opposite seems to be (http://www.who.int/en/), the nations with the lowest rates of the case. Furthermore, religion is clearly not the simple and suicide were all highly religious, characterized by extremely single path to righteous societies that religious fundamental- high levels of theism (usually of the Muslim and Catholic vari- ists seem to think it is. This fact must be vigorously asserted eties). Of the ten nations with the highest male suicide rates, in response to the proclamations of politically active theists. five were distinctly irreligious nations ranked among the top From small-town school boards to the floor of the Senate, con- twenty-five nations listed earlier. These five are Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Russia, and Slovenia. It is interesting to note that of the nations currently experiencing the highest rates of suicide—including the five just mentioned—nearly all are for- mer Soviet/communist-dominated societies. (The nations of “Belief in God may provide comfort to the Scandinavia, where organic atheism is strongest, do not have the highest suicide rates in the world, as is widely thought to individual believer, but at the societal level, be the case.) its results do not compare at all favorably In sum, countries with high rates of organic atheism are among the most societally healthy on earth, while societies with that of the more secular societies.” with nonexistent rates of organic atheism are among the most destitute. The former nations have among the lowest homicide rates, infant mortality rates, poverty rates, and illiteracy rates and among the highest levels of wealth, life expectancy, edu- cational attainment, and gender equality in the world. The sole servative Christians are championing religion as the solution indicator of societal health in which religious countries scored to America’s societal problems. However, their pious “solu- higher than irreligious countries is suicide. tion” is highly dubious and clearly not supported by the best Where does the United States fit in all this? Americans available research of social science. are very religious. Many studies have found that only Belief in God may provide comfort to the individual believ- between 3–7 percent of Americans do not believe in God. er, but, at the societal level, its results do not compare at all Rates of prayer, belief in the divinity of Jesus, belief in the favorably with that of the more secular societies. When seek- divine origins of the Bible, and rates of church attendance ing a more civil, just, safe, humane, and healthy society, one is are remarkably robust in the United States, making it the more likely to find it among those nations ranking low in reli- most religious of all Western industrialized nations, with the gious faith—contrary to the preaching of religious folks. possible exception of Ireland. When it comes to societal health, the United States certainly fares far better than much Acknowledgment of the rest of the world. According to the United Nations’ 2004 My article is indebted to Gregory S. Paul’s important research corre- “Human Development Index” discussed earlier, the United lating rates of belief/nonbelief with various measures of societal health. States ranked eighth. However, when we compare the United States to its peer nations—i.e., developed, industrialized, Further Reading democratic nations such as Canada, Japan, and the nations Reginald Bibby, Restless Gods: The Renaissance of Religion in of Europe—its standing in terms of societal health plummets. Canada (Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Stoddart Publishing Company, The United States has far higher homicide, poverty, obesity, 2002). and homelessness rates than any of its more secular peer Grace Davie, “Europe: The Exception That Proves the Rule?” in The nations. It is also the only Western industrialized Desecularization of the World, edited by Peter Berger (Grand Rapids, Mich.:William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999). that is unwilling to provide universal health coverage to its Kim Eungi, “Religion in Contemporary Korea: Change and Continuity,” citizens. The fact is that extremely secular nations such as Korea Focus, July–August 2003. Japan and Sweden are much safer, cleaner, healthier, better Oablo Fajnzylber, Daniel Lederman, and Norman Loatza, “Inequality educated, and more humane when compared to the United and Violent Crime,” The Journal of Law and Economics, April States, despite the latter’s exceptionally strong levels of the- 2002. James Fox and Jack Levin, The Will to Kill (Boston, Mass.: Allyn and ism. Bacon, 2000). The information presented in this discussion in no way Timothy Gall, Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture and Daily Life, proves that high levels of organic atheism cause societal Vol.4: Europe (Cleveland, Ohio: Eastword Publications. 1998).

37 http://www.secularhumanism.org August/September 2006 FI Aug-Sept 2006 Pages 6/30/06 9:14 AM Page 38

George Gallup and Michael Lindsay, Surveying the Religious Peri Kedem, “Dimensions of Jewish Religiosity,” in Israeli Judaism, Landscape (Harrisburg, Pa.: Morehouse Publishing, 1999). edited by Shlomo Deshen, Charles Liebman, and Mishe Shokeid Andrew Greeley, Religion in Europe at the End of the Second (London: Transaction Publishers, 1995). Millennium (New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 2003). Gerald Marwell and N.J. Demerath, “‘Secularization’ by Any Other Goran Gustafsson and Thorleif Pettersson, Folkkyrk och religios Name,” American Sociological Review 68, no. 2 (2003). pluraism—den nordiska religiosa modellen (Stockholm: Ver- Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart, Sacred and Secular: Religion bum Forlag, 2000). and Politics Worldwide (New York: Cambridge University Press, Michael Hout and Claude Fischer, “Why More Americans Have No 2004). Religious Preference: Politics and Generations,” American Gregory Paul, “The Secular Revolution of the West: It’s Passed Sociological Review 67, no. 2 (2002). America By—So Far,” FREE INQUIRY 22, no. 3 (Summer 2002). Ronald Inglehart, Miguel Basanez, Jaime Diez-Medrano, Loek ——, “Cross National Correllations of Quantifiable Societal Health Halman, and Ruud Luijkx, Human Beliefs and Values: A Cross- with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Cultural Sourcebook Based on the 1999–2002 Value Surveys, ,” Journal of Religion and Society, vol. 7 (2005). (Beunos Aires, Argentina: Siglo Veintiuno Editores, 2004). Detlef Pollack, “The Change in Religion and Church in Eastern Ronald Inglehart and Pippa Norris, Rising Tide: Gender Equality Germany after 1989: A Research Note,” Sociology of Religion 63, and Cultural Change Around the World (New York: Cambridge no. 3 (2002). University Press, 2003). United Nations, Human Development Report (New York: Oxford Ronald Inglehart, Pippa Norris, and , “Gender University Press, 2004). Equality and Democracy,” in Human Values and Social Change, United Nations, Report on the World Social Situation (New York: edited by Ronald Inglehart (Boston, Mass.: Brill, 2003). United Nations Publications, 2003).

SOS International / Secular Organizations for Sobriety / Save Our Selves

“SOS 2006: 21 Years of Service in the 21st Century!” PRESENTS SOS INTERNET FRIENDS FACE-TO-FACE 2006 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE Saturday, November 18 — 10 AM–4:30 PM Theater, /West 4773 Hollywood Blvd., , CA 90027

REGISTRATION IS FREE!

SOS Internet Friends from around the world will meet face-to-face in Hollywood! Registration is FREE for this exciting confer- ence/workshop to be held one day only in the Steve Allen Theater, Center for Inquiry/West, home of SOS International. There is NO CHARGE for this special event, registration is FREE.

Hosted by Duaine Metevia, SOS International Webmaster (www.sossobriety.org) and Jim Christopher, Founder, SOS International, and SOS E-support Group Representatives

 YES!! Sign me up for the FREE SOS INTERNET FRIENDS International Conference 2006!  Check here to receive a list of area restaurants and area lodging suggestions.  I’d like to help. Please accept my optional donation. I prefer to pay by Mastercard Visa AMEX  Check or money order to SOS Conference (payable in U.S. funds)

Account #______Exp. Date ______Signature ______Name(s) ______Number Attending ______Address ______Daytime Phone ______City ______State ______ZIP/Postal Code ______Country ______

Return to: SOS Conference, 4773 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90027 Phone: (323) 666-4295 • Fax: (323) 666-4271 • E-mail: [email protected]

free inquiry http://www.secularhumanism.org 38