Virtually every social scientist and/or psychologist examining the data agrees that religiosity and disfunctionalism go hand in hand. They reach such conclusions by examining the bad things that happen in a particular society with relation to that society's penchant to worship a supreme being.
"Dysfunctionality” defines homicide, suicide, low life expectancy, sexual transmitted diseases, abortion, teen and pre-teen pregnancy, and high childhood mortality as poor societal healthiness.
Religiosity is accordant with biblical literalism, frequency of prayer and service attendance, as well as absolute belief in a creator in terms of conviction/fanaticism, and conservatism.*
BUT, is this societal-specific, or ethnic-specific? Or politic-specific? Are the conservative bible thumpers to blame, or the anything-goes liberals? It's not as if the religious right condones premarital sex and abortion, but rather the religious once-right that abets the very same liberalism that it professes to abhor.
What is dysfunctional is the disarray of the heretofore checks and balances. Western religions call for peace and lending a helping hand to those in need. To effect such desires often times means sleeping with the enemy, but it has moved far afield of strange bedfellows and into the realm of willing participants when Christians promote the candidacy of staunch liberals, AND call for such abject nonsense as a middle east ceasefire that would allow avowed enemies to regather strength and attack us anew.
No, today's religion is not yesterdays by a longshot and to define dysfunctionalism, particularly in America, as a predictable offshoot of religiosity is absurd.
The majority of western faiths are leaning far from conservitism, and their dysfunction is what has tipped the scales. It is my contention that since nature abhors it's vacuums, citizen journalists have picked up the dropped ball. We're not going to stop abortions, or STD's, or lower the homicide/suicide rate. Liberal lawmakers who call themselves Christians have championed the detestable and have not been excommunicated by their respective religions so of course the natural balance of things has been tipped to the point of declaring our society as dysfunctional.
Religious conservatism is little more than a memory as long as the Kerry's, and Pelosi's, and Kennedy's are permitted to practice their faiths with the blessing of any church.
Open societal discourse through conservative journalism has stepped up to the plate to contradict what ails us. The new sheriff is in town, and the least he can do is tell the truth to see if THAT works.
*Many sources.
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