Religiosity and economic development

[King of Kensington]

Pretty strong correlation between the lack of economic development and strong religious belief.  US is an exception, though I wonder to what extent "American exceptionalism" disappears if you exclude the South, which itself performs worst on just about every social indicator.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/do-countries-lose-religion-as-they-gain-wealth-1.1310451

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Max Weber for the age of Richard Dawkins & The Spectacular Travelling Internet Atheists. Kill it with fire.

[King of Kensington]

I lost any respect for Dawkins after he said Muslims shouldn't be allowed to be journalists and dismissed "mild pedophilia" as no big deal.

[DemPGH]

It's also true that in third world and very undeveloped countries (Africa and the Middle East, mainly) you find not only more religion, but are more likely to find extreme and violent interpretations of it. In the end, it boils down to affluence, education, and opportunity, I think. Those things empower people, and so I think a person is less likely to find meaning in beheading people or blowing up civilization if they have opportunity and choices and education.

There are countries in South America that are very poor and which aren't violently oppressive with their religion, but I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that they are not isolated. Rural Pakistan is isolated. 

[AggregateDemand]

Wealth is the causal factor, not religion. Wealth tends to make people less religious.

Religious scholars studied this phenomenon several thousand years ago, and they independently reached the same conclusion.

[Hatman 🍁]

Desperation breeds extremism. This is not news.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Rural Pakistan is isolated. 

Hahahaha. Please explain everything you know about rural Pakistan.

[Storebought]

It's also true that in third world and very undeveloped countries (Africa and the Middle East, mainly) you find not only more religion, but are more likely to find extreme and violent interpretations of it. In the end, it boils down to affluence, education, and opportunity, I think. Those things empower people, and so I think a person is less likely to find meaning in beheading people or blowing up civilization if they have opportunity and choices and education.

There are countries in South America that are very poor and which aren't violently oppressive with their religion, but I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that they are not isolated. Rural Pakistan is isolated.  

The Middle East by world standards is not especially poor, and, in any case, the nations that sponsor and propagate the most violent readings of religion are, in fact, some of the wealthiest in the region. The conflicts that beset the poorest countries in Africa, even in places like Mali and CAR, aren't more than superficially religious, or even tribal, in nature.

There is also the example of India, which is intensely religious, yet is so diverse that one can only make assumptions about correlations between religiosity and economic development that
threatens one's credibility.

[King of Kensington]

There are obviously exceptions.

[tik 🪀✨]

If you went back 75 years the correlation would be looser, would it not? Religiosity in general has been declining for a while. I don't think it's helpful to just point at "economic development."

Then again, having read what this guy has to say, he sounds like a dick with an agenda. That is, short disjointed squirting noises. Gross.

[Simfan34]

You seem to be implying that economic development is caused by irreligion, and not the other way around, if at all.

[politicus]

You seem to be implying that economic development is caused by irreligion, and not the other way around, if at all.

Yes, economic development promotes consumerism and a more hedonistic way of life, which leads to decline in religiosity.

[angus]

Max Weber for the age of Richard Dawkins & The Spectacular Travelling Internet Atheists. Kill it with fire.

The main problem seems to be the assumption that correlation implies causation, which is of course an invalid one.  The correlation itself is manifest, with the US being an exception.  Why? is another matter entirely, and a question not as easily answered as Zuckerman and Paul claim.

Interesting article, nonetheless.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Ah yes, the "people are religious because they are poor and uneducated" canard. How convenient.

[Deus Naturae]

Ah yes, the "people are religious because they are poor and uneducated" canard. How convenient.

Are you suggesting that it's convenient for pro-religion types who want to obfuscate the fact that (in your view) religion causes poverty and ignorance, or for anti-religion types who want to bash religion as associated with poverty and ignorance?

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

The promises of religion can be very uplifting and give much hope to those who are in a desperate or struggling situation.  You often see prisoners take to religious texts when there is very little else to keep them going.  The idea that the way one lives is worth more than what one owns is one of the few things some religious instruction gets right, and I can see the appeal for a poor; to be given great things in the next life even if the current one is a struggle.  For the rich; however, the material wealth is so instantaneously gratifying, so intoxicating; why the hell would I ever want this life to end?  At the same time, I can trace the money and power that gave me all I have; it wasn't a god or something otherwise supernatural.  Of course there are many exceptions, but a correlation on the large scale is certainly understandable. 

But the idea that religion would CAUSE someone to be a poor?  No way.  If were going to go that route, then you have to say hobbies cause poverty, relationships cause poverty, enjoying life causes poverty; everything that would distract someone from the bottom line of their worth... and that's absurd. 

[All Along The Watchtower]

The United States is one of the wealthiest of the Western industrialized countries, but it also has a less than impressive social "safety net", along with extreme economic and social inequality. So maybe that's one relationship to investigate. Another could be the simple fact that the US Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, combined with prohibiting the establishment of a State Church.

[politicus]

The United States is the wealthiest of the Western industrialized countries.

No. The US has the 7th highest per capita GDP. Luxembourg is no. 2 and Norway no. 5. If Singapore and Hongkong count as Western (and in many ways they are), they are also ahead of you.