Why Liberals and Atheists Are More Intelligent

[_Ray A]

I'll give another personal opinion on this. I don't think Noel will disagree with me that Australia is, largely, a "pagan" society. Religion and Australia mix like oil and water. And what has the result been? Drunkenness, drug abuse, violence, social chaos, and a society going downhill faster than the speed of light.

Have a look at how "intelligent pagans/atheists" behave in my city, let alone the rest of Oz.

Warning: Graphic

Yeah, this is, indeed, Australia's present and future you're watching.

It looks something like Soylent Green.

[_aussieguy55]

You should all read the book The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone by Ricard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett.

Prison population - Very high in the US and low in Japan, Norway, Sweden etc

Average of Maths and Literacy scores - High in Japan, Norway and Sweden, low in the USA.

Social Mobility - Higher in Social Democratic societies, low in USA

So the God fearing US of A, is low in many variables that make for a good life.

[_Ray A]

You should all read the book The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone by Ricard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett.

Prison population - Very high in the US and low in Japan, Norway, Sweden etc

Average of Maths and Literacy scores - High in Japan, Norway and Sweden, low in the USA.

Social Mobility - Higher in Social Democratic societies, low in USA

So the God fearing US of A, is low in many variables that make for a good life.

You may not have been given all the facts. I'll start with Norway:

Seasonal Variation of Violence in Norway.

METHOD: The monthly numbers of police reports of violent incidents in 1991–1997 were obtained for the entire Norwegian population of 4,450,000 inhabitants and separately for each of seven Norwegian cities at different latitudes. RESULTS: A total of 82,537 episodes of violence were recorded. There was a significant variation in violent incidents between months, with a minimum daily frequency of 28.7 in March and a maximum daily frequency of 35.1 in June.

In studies of seasonal variation of violence and other forms of human behavior, some authors have reported patterns of variations throughout the year, with a peak in the spring and another in the fall (16, 29, 32). Other authors have found only one peak (1, 11) or no seasonal variation at all (35).

Violence is a major problem, and the variations we observed are considerable, with the number of violent acts at peaks that were 21% higher than during the periods with the lowest frequency of violence. An understanding of the mechanisms behind these variations in violent behavior could possibly increase our understanding of human violence in general and the factors contributing to its regulation.

Okay, I fully admit I'm Googling, but what I'm Googling fully matches my views and experiences.

The increasing violence on our planet (worldwide), and especially among young people, is a dire and pressing problem for which we will have to find solutions. Or face, eventually, total ruin. I honestly don't see how an atheist view of life, one unaccountable to none but oneself, will help solve this pressing problem.

"If God does not exist, everything is permitted"

[_Ray A]

Youth Violence Has Japan Struggling for Answers.

Where have we gone wrong? And is atheism and the "do what you like lifestyle" the answer?

[_Ray A]

Right-wing violence on the rise in Sweden:

Rightwing violence in Sweden (dated but still relevant).

Farewell to the "peaceful socialist society" which believes in - nothing.

How many more "God is dead" societies will we have to go through?

[_moksha]

Yeah, this is, indeed, Australia's present and future you're watching.

It looks something like Soylent Green.

Soylent Green with a malty undertaste.

[_Milesius]

Criticisms of Satoshi Kanazawa by a statistician:

http://www.stat.columbia.edu/~cook/mova ... _unpr.html

Also, see this:

http://www.stat.columbia.edu/~cook/mova ... arama.html

I suggest peddling your favorite pseudoscience elsewhere. Also, the country with the second highest reading and mathematics scores, South Korea, has a significant and growing Christian population.

[_aussieguy55]

Asians generally do well regardless of religion, See Tiger Moms vs Soccer Moms

[_Buffalo]

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the ... servatives

[_richardMdBorn]

I think I can guess what political views Satoshi Kanazawa holds. His study asserts that people who disagree with him are not only wrong but stupid. This is a common argument on this MB. I heard Derek Bok, former president of Harvard, speak a decade ago at the American Philosophical Society about a study he'd done about the effectiveness of affirmative action. After a minute or two it was obvious that Bok was a supporter of affirmative action and, shock, his study would conclude that it is a good thing. The biases held by the people doing these types of studies render them useless to anyone whose views are not in lockstep with the conclusion.