Religion: Murder, aids, abortion

[Sgt. Boomer]

Well, even if we accept the conclusions of the study as accurate and unbiased (which of course they may be), I do think the many differences, culturally, historically, and in (possibly genetic) personality traits, have to be factored in. Secondly, the US really hasn’t had a truly Christian culture for some time. A higher than average number of Jesus loves you bumper stickers doesn’t make the culture Christian.

I think a more relevant study would be to compare 1950’s America with 1970’s America, where the greatest change was the large scale rejection of Christian values in the 1960’s. In the 1950’s, abstinence only worked because peer pressure and the popular culture was largely in agreement. The same was true of sobriety, crime, etc. I would imagine abstinence only sex ed has a higher success rate for Islamic families in Iran than in California. Sadly, peer pressure and pop culture have a greater influence on most kids than their parents.

=D.C.L.I=Everest Wrote:The most democratic countries in the world are outspokenly secular

The least democratic are(were) certainly outspokenly secular - China, North Korea, USSR. I’m not sure the “most democratic” countries are. I think the US has the strongest checks and balances to prevent tyranny – particularly compared with the more “outspokenly secular” Canada. Governments with tyrannical bents tend to dislike the competition for authority that churches provide.