God Made Me Do It!

Over at the Progressive Review's blog, UnderNews, comes a study that indicates that religion may be the CAUSE of a lot of the world's problems.

Religious belief can cause damage to a society, contributing towards high murder rates, abortion, sexual promiscuity and suicide, according to research. According to the study, belief in and worship of God are not only unnecessary for a healthy society but may actually contribute to social problems.

The study counters the view of believers that religion is necessary to provide the moral and ethical foundations of a healthy society. It compares the social performance of relatively secular countries, such as Britain, with the US, where the majority believes in a creator rather than the theory of evolution.

Of course, this finding doesn't shock me in the least because religion tends to divide the world into us (the TRUE believers) versus them (anyone who doesn't agree with us). Nationalism shares this same trait, but misses the most important variable of all -- God is on OUR side and so any action we undertake is blessed from above.

How else can one explain so-called devout nations that sanction murder, rape, slavery, homophobia, repression and subjugation?