It seems, in general, the less education and higher poverty have a higher correlation to being religious. Education levels vary a great deal by religion. About four-in-ten Hindus (41%) and more than one-third of Muslims (36%) in the study have no formal schooling. In other religious groups, the shares without any schooling range from 10% of Buddhists to 1% of Jews, while a majority of Jewish adults (61%) have post-secondary degrees. Generally, poorer nations tend to be religious; wealthy less so, except for U.S. ref, ref, ref

Religion and poverty

“Religion and poverty are two of the world’s most enduring social and cultural phenomena. They have a long and eventful history, and are not separate from one another, but closely interrelated: on the one hand, there is a long tradition of religiously motivated poverty; on the other hand, giving to the poor is often seen as a religious duty. In recent years, faith-based organizations have been recognized in research as an important factor in global poverty reduction. This comment surveys some of the key areas of enquiry and debate focused on exploring the connection between religion and poverty.” ref

“Poverty is a major predictor of many adverse outcomes for adolescents, including academic challenges, misuse of alcohol and other drugs, teenage pregnancy, and violent behavior (Compton, Thomas, Stinson, & Grant, 2007; Ferguson, Bovaird, & Mueller, 2007). This relationship is partially accounted for by the family environment; affected by the stress of poverty, parents who are physically and emotionally under-resourced face a greater challenge in meeting the developmental needs of their children (Dishion & Snyder, 2016; Van Ryzin & Dishion, 2014). In a recent article, Van Ryzin, Fishbein, and Biglan (2017) indicated the necessity of top-down, evidence-based interventions which resolve familial challenges through addressing poverty at the societal level. Just as poverty is a deeply influential sociocultural phenomenon, so is religion, and the two have a long and complicated history. Though many major world religions have encouraged providing help to the poor, religion has also played a major role in the perpetuation of poverty, and understanding the factors influencing these conflicting forces is vital to addressing poverty itself (Schweiger, 2019). Particularly as Western society adopts secular (and now post-secular) worldviews and as the benefits and detriments of organized religion are scrutinized, the purpose of religious institutions is being called into question In this unique situation, religious organizations have the opportunity to position themselves as leaders in the fight against deep poverty.” ref

“Religion embodies a great deal about a person’s general approach to the world — their conception about how the world does and should work — and we are learning that it can shape financial outcomes in surprising ways. Wealth ownership is highly concentrated in the United States: the top 1 percent of households have consistently owned about 33 percent of net worth, and wealth inequality has gotten even worse since the recession. High levels of wealth provide great advantage, but even a small amount of savings can mitigate the effect of financial shock. It is relatively enduring within and across generations and can have significant educational, occupation, political and social advantages. Wealth provides a buffer against financial emergencies and can generate more wealth when it is reinvested. Researchers are only beginning to understand the complex individual and family processes that affect saving and wealth ownership, but religion has emerged as an important part of the process. Religion embodies a great deal about a person’s general approach to the world–their conception about how the world does and should work–and we are learning that it can shape financial outcomes in surprising ways.” ref

“There are two broad reasons that religion and wealth are related. First, religion affects wealth indirectly through its very strong effect on important processes such as educational attainment, marriage, decisions to have kids, how many kids people have, and women’s decisions to work or stay home with their kids. Religion affects these behaviors and processes, and they, in turn, affect household income, expenses, and the amount of money left over to save. Understanding these processes alone accounts for a large portion of the religion-wealth association. Second, religion can also affect wealth directly by influencing intergenerational processes, social relations, and orientations toward work and money. Intergenerational processes (the transfer of both religious ideas and wealth from parents to children) and social relations (contacts made through religious group who can provide information, capital, and other resources) are certainly important. One of the most fascinating explanations is the direct effect religion can have on orientations toward work and money. Many of the important decisions about family, work, and saving have roots in their religious beliefs. For example, in some conservative religious groups–including Conservative and Black Protestant denominations–becoming a minister, working for a social service agency, or becoming a career missionary are considered good jobs. A calling into one of these careers can be important for religious reasons, but these jobs don’t necessarily require high levels of education, don’t typically pay well, and won’t make it easy to save and accumulate wealth.” ref

“Some examples can help illustrate these processes. Results from analyses of the National Longitudinal Survey, the Health and Retirement Study, and the Economic Values Survey suggest that Conservative Protestant and Jewish families tend to be polar opposites on most measures of wealth. The results also show that behaviors regarding family, education, work, and saving help explain why. Conservative Protestants often favor large families and a traditional gender division of labor in which women do not work out of the home. Conservative Protestants have also had, on average, lower levels of education than other groups. Having a large family, low education levels for parents, and a single income-earner both make saving difficult and can lead to low wealth. Many Conservative Protestants also view money as belonging to God. People are considered managers of the money but should consult God or God’s agents on earth regarding decisions to use their money. Tithing as a percent of income tends to be high in these faiths, and the desire to accumulate excess assets in person bank accounts can be seen as undesirable. As this suggests, Conservative Protestants have been at the low end of the wealth accumulation.” ref

“At the opposite end are Jewish families. Many Jewish mothers also stay home with their children for at least the first years of the child’s life. But Jewish mothers are more likely to have high levels of education and a relatively small number of children. This makes it easier for the Jewish mother to devote time and other resources to early education. The Jewish mother is also more likely to return to work after her children enter school, adding to income and making saving and wealth accumulation more possible. Jewish families are also more likely to take a pragmatic approach to money–that is, money is more likely to be seen as a tool or a vehicle for taking care of family needs and other practical concerns–and tend to accumulate relatively high amounts of wealth. White Catholics are an important example because their position in the wealth distribution has changed considerably in recent years. Less than a generation ago, white Catholics were relatively disadvantaged: they had low educations, low income, low wealth. Important shifts in orientations toward family and women’s roles in the family were important contributors. White Catholics now have much smaller families than in prior generations and Catholic women are as likely as Mainline (or Liberal) Protestants to work out of the home. Combined with a pragmatic, pro-saving orientation toward work, this has propelled white Catholics up in the wealth distribution in recent years.” ref

“Mormons (LDS) are also interesting because they combine elements of groups that are otherwise distinct. Mormons tend to be religiously conservative, favoring large families and traditional gender roles. However, Mormons typically have high educations and report more pragmatic orientations toward money and accumulation. The result appears to be that Mormons have higher wealth than other conservative Protestant groups, although these findings are a bit more speculative than for other groups because Mormons make up a relatively small proportion of the U.S. population. Naturally, these relationships and processes are much more nuanced than simple examples suggest; there are very important differences within each of the groups I mention and a large number of other factors affect wealth accumulation as well These examples also leave open questions about happiness: wealth does not necessarily lead to greater satisfaction, and some argue that investing in religion can have both intangible and tangible benefits. However, it has become clear that the relationship between religion and wealth is very strong. The recent recession underscored the need for savings at all levels of wealth, and the importance of religion in American culture suggests that this may be an important part of the explanation for growing inequality.” ref

Promoting Religion as Real is Harmful?

Sometimes, when you look at things, things that seem hidden at first, only come clearer into view later upon reselection or additional information. So, in one’s earnest search for truth one’s support is expressed not as a one-time event and more akin to a life’s journey to know what is true. I am very anti-religious, opposing anything even like religion, including atheist church. but that’s just me. Others have the right to do atheism their way. I am Not just an Atheist, I am a proud antireligionist. I can sum up what I do not like about religion in one idea; as a group, religions are “Conspiracy Theories of Reality.” These reality conspiracies are usually filled with Pseudo-science and Pseudo-history, often along with Pseudo-morality and other harmful aspects and not just ancient mythology to be marveled or laughed at. I regard all this as ridiculous. Promoting Religion as Real is Mentally Harmful to a Flourishing Humanity To me, promoting religion as real is too often promotes a toxic mental substance that can divide a person from who they are shaming them for being human. In addition, religion is a toxic mental substance that can divide a person from real history, real science or real morality to pseudohistory, pseudoscience, and pseudomorality. Moreover, religion is a toxic mental substance that can divide a person from rational thought, critical thinking, or logic. Likewise, religion is a toxic mental substance that can divide a person from justice, universal ethics, equality, and liberty. Yes, religion is a toxic mental substance that can divide a person from loved ones, and religion is a toxic mental substance that can divide a person from humanity. Therefore, to me, promoting religion as real is too often promote a toxic mental substance that should be rejected as not only false but harmful as well even if you believe it has some redeeming quality. To me, promoting religion as real is mentally harmful to a flourishing humanity. Religion may have once seemed great when all you had or needed was to believe. Science now seems great when we have facts and need to actually know.

A Rational Mind Values Humanity and Rejects Religion and Gods

A truly rational mind sees the need for humanity, as they too live in the world and see themselves as they actually are an alone body in the world seeking comfort and safety. Thus, see the value of everyone around them as they too are the same and therefore rationally as well a humanistically we should work for this humanity we are part of and can either dwell in or help its flourishing as we are all in the hands of each other. You are Free to think as you like but REALITY is unchanged. While you personally may react, or think differently about our shared reality (the natural world devoid of magic anything), We can play with how we use it but there is still only one communal reality (a natural non-supernatural one), which we all share like it or not and you can’t justifiably claim there is a different reality. This is valid as the only one of warrant is the non-mystical natural world around us all, existing in or caused by nature; not made or caused by superstitions like gods or other monsters, too many sill fear irrationally.

I know that god-something is is an unjustified and debunked claim of super supernatural when no supernatural any has ever been found to even start such claims. I am quite familiar with a general when and why gods were created. Gods are not in all religions nor their thinking. I believe that all claims of God will fail epistemic qualities need for belief and instead require disbelief in all of them, unless shown real epistemic value.

Every child born with horrific deformities shows that those who believe in a loving god who is in control and values every life is not just holding a ridiculous belief; it is an offensive belief to the compassion for life and a loving morality. Prayer is nothing like hope, as prayer is the Belief in magic and a thing one is believed they are praying to is magical things or beings. Hope is a desire or aspiration, not a Belief in magical things or you have additional beliefs added in that hope.

Religion removed? All its pseudo meaning as well as pseudoscience, pseudohistory, and pseudo-morality. We have real science, realistic history and can access real morality with a blend of philosophy, anthropology, psychology, sociology, and cognitive science. I do not hate simply because I challenge and expose myths or lies any more than others being thought of as loving simply because of the protection and hiding from challenge their favored myths or lies.

It seems, in general, the less education and higher poverty have a higher correlation to being religious.

Religion and poverty

The Atheist-Humanist-Leftist Revolutionaries Shows in the prehistory series:

Art by Damien Marie AtHope

Damien Marie AtHope (Said as “At” “Hope”)/(Autodidact Polymath but not good at math):

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Pages

Meta

Advertisement

Pin It on Pinterest