Title:
Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment.
Author:
Phil Zuckerman, Professor of Sociology at Pitzer College
Publisher:
New York University Press.
Phil Zuckerman does a good job in dismantling the common mis-perception that religion is essential for society. Focusing on Denmark and Sweden, two countries notably lacking in religious affiliation and influence, the author demonstrates how in these countries the lack of religiosity has not turned them into hell holes of depravity and chaos but rather are outstanding examples of peaceful societies where individuals can enjoy their environment without fear of being mugged or murdered.
The author cites two prominent USA evangelical conservatives who assert that when the people abandon God the country descends into chaos. Coulter also asserts that acceptance of evolutionary theory will also drive the society into a hellish abyss. There is no empirical support for these findings and the author provides many data points to illustrate that there is nothing to support these ideas.
The author points out that the so called godless countries the likes of O'Reilly and Coulter refer too are typically countries where atheism was imposed by vicious dictators and that religion did continue to be an important part of peoples' lives but it went underground.
The claims of Coulter and O'Reilly remind me of recent blog discussions concerning the legalisation of homosexual marriage. People argue that this will "destroy the institution of marriage" and so irreparably damage our society. Denmark was the first country to legalise homosexual marriage, has a remarkably peaceful society, with low incarceration rates and short prison sentences. The country with the highest rate of divorce is the the most god fearing country, the USA. I did check the data but various sources provide differing results yet the USA is always high on the list, if not the highest. What I find very puzzling about the opposition to same sex marriage is that same sex marriage will diminish promiscuity, a leading factor in the transmission of STDs.
The other absurdity about the purported dangers of same sex marriage is that adultery is far more widespread. Given their arguments adultery by now should have destroyed many nations. In the eyes of those opposed to same sex marriage they must believe that homosexual sex is far more evil than adultery. This is consistent with the biblical position but is not consistent with the available evidence.
Deductive logic, arguing from principles, has its place but let us be clear about this: in the absence of empirical support for such arguments we must be extremely careful about embracing the conclusions of deductive logic.
One of the surprising findings of the author is that in Denmark and Sweden the fear of death holds relatively little import with the majority. They accept death as inevitable and do not seem nearly as preoccupied with it as more religious countries. Strikingly, one hospice worker stated that in her experience the people who have the greatest turmoil confronting death are the religious people whilst atheists accept death with a much more stoical spirit.
When the author first arrived in Denmark he was struck by the lack of police presence. Denmark is a very safe society, the people are much more trusting of each other and while crime most certainly exists violent crime is generally much lower than in the god fearing nations. The Danes are so relaxed that they have no compunction about leaving their children outside shops when shopping. They do this because they believe that children benefit from fresh air and sunshine. An assumption which does find considerable empirical support in the relevant literature. Yet if a person in the USA had this habit they may well find themselves being charged with child neglect. That is exactly what happened to a Danish woman who had moved to the USA. She was charged but fortunately the case was dismissed.
This book is very instructive in revealing that morality is not a product of religion but is a product of the society and environments in which we live. In that regard it echoes the principle theme in the brilliant text by the philosopher Jesse Prinz. If you are interested in a completely refreshing and thoroughly researched investigation into human behavior I highly recommend: Beyond Human Nature, How Culture and Experience Shapes the Human Mind.
Denmark and Sweden have highly functional societies with low crime rates, a remarkable degree of social cohesion, a relatively flat distribution of wealth, and excellent educational and health infrastructure. Many nations would do well to examine these countries to learn some valuable lessons about how to create better societies.
The author cites two prominent USA evangelical conservatives who assert that when the people abandon God the country descends into chaos. Coulter also asserts that acceptance of evolutionary theory will also drive the society into a hellish abyss. There is no empirical support for these findings and the author provides many data points to illustrate that there is nothing to support these ideas.
The author points out that the so called godless countries the likes of O'Reilly and Coulter refer too are typically countries where atheism was imposed by vicious dictators and that religion did continue to be an important part of peoples' lives but it went underground.
The claims of Coulter and O'Reilly remind me of recent blog discussions concerning the legalisation of homosexual marriage. People argue that this will "destroy the institution of marriage" and so irreparably damage our society. Denmark was the first country to legalise homosexual marriage, has a remarkably peaceful society, with low incarceration rates and short prison sentences. The country with the highest rate of divorce is the the most god fearing country, the USA. I did check the data but various sources provide differing results yet the USA is always high on the list, if not the highest. What I find very puzzling about the opposition to same sex marriage is that same sex marriage will diminish promiscuity, a leading factor in the transmission of STDs.
The other absurdity about the purported dangers of same sex marriage is that adultery is far more widespread. Given their arguments adultery by now should have destroyed many nations. In the eyes of those opposed to same sex marriage they must believe that homosexual sex is far more evil than adultery. This is consistent with the biblical position but is not consistent with the available evidence.
Deductive logic, arguing from principles, has its place but let us be clear about this: in the absence of empirical support for such arguments we must be extremely careful about embracing the conclusions of deductive logic.
One of the surprising findings of the author is that in Denmark and Sweden the fear of death holds relatively little import with the majority. They accept death as inevitable and do not seem nearly as preoccupied with it as more religious countries. Strikingly, one hospice worker stated that in her experience the people who have the greatest turmoil confronting death are the religious people whilst atheists accept death with a much more stoical spirit.
When the author first arrived in Denmark he was struck by the lack of police presence. Denmark is a very safe society, the people are much more trusting of each other and while crime most certainly exists violent crime is generally much lower than in the god fearing nations. The Danes are so relaxed that they have no compunction about leaving their children outside shops when shopping. They do this because they believe that children benefit from fresh air and sunshine. An assumption which does find considerable empirical support in the relevant literature. Yet if a person in the USA had this habit they may well find themselves being charged with child neglect. That is exactly what happened to a Danish woman who had moved to the USA. She was charged but fortunately the case was dismissed.
This book is very instructive in revealing that morality is not a product of religion but is a product of the society and environments in which we live. In that regard it echoes the principle theme in the brilliant text by the philosopher Jesse Prinz. If you are interested in a completely refreshing and thoroughly researched investigation into human behavior I highly recommend: Beyond Human Nature, How Culture and Experience Shapes the Human Mind.
Denmark and Sweden have highly functional societies with low crime rates, a remarkable degree of social cohesion, a relatively flat distribution of wealth, and excellent educational and health infrastructure. Many nations would do well to examine these countries to learn some valuable lessons about how to create better societies.
2 comments:
The Danes are so relaxed that they have no compunction about leaving their children outside shops when shopping. They do this because they believe that children benefit from fresh air and sunshine. An assumption which does find considerable empirical support in the relevant literature
one hospice worker stated that in her experience the people who have the greatest turmoil confronting death are the religious people whilst atheists accept death with a much more stoical spirit.
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