Humanist Association
by Dave Silva
LW contributor
The Leisure World Humanist Association will not meet in January, since the first Sunday of the month falls on Jan. 1, New Year’s Day.
In the November meeting the group watched philosopher Peter Singer discuss ethics and religion. The audience then discussed that subject.
Perhaps the best way to answer that question is to compare strong religious belief with crime rates. The Pew Research Foundation asked Americans, “Is religion very important in your life?” The religion wasn’t specified. Alabama and Mississippi were the most religious states at 77%, while New Hampshire and Massachusetts were the lowest at 33%. The crime rates per 100,000 people were Alabama, 2,591; Mississippi, 2,393; New Hampshire, 1,245; and Massachusetts, 1,162. The four least religious states were the states with the lowest crime rates. The one exception to this is Alaska, which has the highest crime rate of any state and only 45% are religious.
Countries with low rates of religious belief, Japan, 14%, Denmark, 19%, and the Czech Republic, 21%, were among the countries with the lowest rates of crime, while Venezuela, 79%, Afghanistan, 97%, and Syria, 89% had the three highest crime rates.
This data does not say why this is happening. Two major reasons for increased crime are poverty and bad government. Perhaps, simply living by the Golden Rule and the utilitarian principle, “The greatest good for the greatest number of people,” produces a more compassionate society.
