Saint Sputnik posted:

Romans 13:6-7 posted:

6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

FRINGE posted:

Racists dont help other races, Christians dont help Muslims, etc...

Those things I snipped were from your article, I think you just skipped part of it.

LP97S posted:

Is there a good collection of non-Caucasian Jesus depictions? I can't find too many.

Aisha posted:

American religious volunteer more with religious and with secular charities, so your whole line about "American religious won't associate with the other" is wrong.

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Study Finds People Who Believe In Heaven Commit More Crimes

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A study ... finds that people who believe in hell are less likely to commit a crime

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Participants were given the opportunity to commit petty theft, with no chance of being caught, by lying about the number of anagrams they had successfully completed. Shariff's team found that those participants who had written about a forgiving god claimed nearly $2 more than they were entitled to under the rules of the game, whereas those in the other groups awarded themselves less than 50 cents more than they were entitled to.

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Highly religious people are less motivated by compassion than are non-believers

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“Overall, we find that for less religious people, the strength of their emotional connection to another person is critical to whether they will help that person or not,” said UC Berkeley social psychologist Robb Willer, a co-author of the study. “The more religious, on the other hand, may ground their generosity less in emotion, and more in other factors such as doctrine, a communal identity, or reputational concerns.”

...

“Overall, this research suggests that although less religious people tend to be less trusted in the U.S., when feeling compassionate, they may actually be more inclined to help their fellow citizens than more religious people,” Willer said.

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Religious people give to religious charities

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He found that the religious were indeed more likely to report donating and, on average, donated more:

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On average, Catholics give $523.00 more than people with no religious preference, Jews give $2679.67 more, Protestants give $199.69 more, and non-Christians give $1425.97 more.

So far, it looks like a gold star for religion.

Then he looked at where people were sending their charity. The survey data breaks down the recipients of charitable giving into several categories: religious, combination (like the United Way), those that help the needy, health, education, youth or family services, arts and culture, neighbourhood improvement, environment, international aid and world peace, and other.

As you can see in the table, what he found was that Catholics and Protestants only gave more to religious charities, and not to secular charities. In fact, Protestants were actually less likely than the non-religious to give to cultural and environmental charities.

Jews were more generous than most on educational and cultural donations, while the non-Christians donated more to the environment - probably those damned New Age hippies!

Back in 2010, there was a similar analysis of the same survey data (although including earlier years) by Mark Ottoni-Wilhelm, at Indiana University. He found that Christians and the non-affiliated were equally likely to give to 'basic necessity' organisations (i.e. ones that help people in need of food, shelter, or other basic necessities). Jews were again more generous.

To me, these results support the idea that religious generosity is really about supporting fellow members of your tribe, rather than humanity in general. A recent cross-cultural analysis found that both Catholics and Muslims report that their charitable behaviour is primarily stoked out of a sense of duty or love for their god.

In contrast, research published earlier this year suggests that when the non-religious are motivated to give, they primarily do so out of a sense of compassion.

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Rich People More Likely to Lie, Cheat, Study Suggests

The cream of society may rise to the top, but so might the scum — researchers now find that people in the upper crust may be more likely to engage in lying, cheating and other kinds of unethical activity than those in lower classes.

...

These findings dovetail with other studies that also suggest more unethical behavior in the upper class. "A 2008 study of shoplifting found that upper-income and more educated participants were way more likely to have reported shoplifting in their lives — that's self-reported data, admittedly, but still interesting," Piff said. "Also, upper-income individuals are more likely to report having sped or breaking the speed limit."

"Juveniles of upper socioeconomic status are just as likely to engage in delinquent patterns of behavior as those of lower socioeconomic status, but they're driven by different things," Piff added. "Lower socioeconomic-status juveniles report that alienation and ostracization from communities and increased need leads them to commit certain types of transgressions, while wealthier adolescents report increased willingness to take risks and an increased sense of power and entitlement."

Other studies have shown that upper-class individuals are often less cognizant of others, worse at identifying the emotions others feel, less generous and altruistic, and more disengaged socially — for instance, checking their cellphones or doodling on paper during social interactions. Such research might support these new findings — it may be easier to act unethically toward others if you are not thinking about how they feel.

Babylon Astronaut posted:

I'm buying that comic stat.

This is from my favorite political comic, What If #44

"Wikipedia posted:

The series delivered a powerful blow against the Ku Klux Klan's prospects in the northern USA. The human rights activist Stetson Kennedy infiltrated the KKK and other racist/terrorist groups. Concerned that the organization had links to the government and police forces, Kennedy decided to use his findings to strike at the Klan in a different way. He contacted the Superman producers and proposed a story where the superhero battles the Klan. Looking for new villains, the producers eagerly agreed. To that end, he provided information—including secret codewords and details of Klan rituals—to the writers. The result was a series of episodes, “Clan of the Fiery Cross,” in which Superman took on the Klan. Kennedy intended to strip away the Klan's mystique. The trivialization of the Klan's rituals and codewords was perceived to have had a negative impact on Klan recruiting and membership.

Reportedly, Klan leaders denounced the show and called for a boycott of Kellogg's products. However, the story arc earned spectacular ratings, and the food company stood by its support of the show.

DarkHorse posted:

Made a thing

Death Pits of Crap posted:

evilbastard posted:

Something I was playing with this afternoon

peak debt posted:

There doesn't seem to be a lot of correlation, chick-fil-a is more a copy of populationdensity.jpg

Bathtub Cheese posted:

LP97S posted:

Is there a good collection of non-Caucasian Jesus depictions? I can't find too many.

gooby on rails posted:

Counterpoint: There is only one Chick-Fil-A in New York City.



(from http://summergames.ap.org/article/8-years-later-athens-olympic-venues-decay)

Soviet Commubot posted:

There's a guy I'm Facebook friends that started out as a relatively reasonably guy a couple of years ago, discovered Ron Paul and has started a headlong descent down into crazy Alex Jones territory. It's been pretty entertaining to watch.

Fluoride Jones posted:

Here's Mr. Terrific fighting the Klan

FRINGE posted:

Post

Eggs posted:

Headline news

Hardcore Phonography posted:

If she really did c-walk that's awesome, hail satan

Cjones posted:

In the words of Tricky Dick, "The Bohemian Grove, that I attend from time to time—the Easterners and the others come there—but it is the most faggy goddamn thing you could ever imagine, that San Francisco crowd that goes in there; it's just terrible! I mean I won't shake hands with anybody from San Francisco."

Dead Reckoning posted:

"There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white. Or a rape." -Richard M. Nixon, 37th President of the United States

EDIT: picture

lancemantis posted:

Aisha posted:

Non-religious only give a decent amount when prompted by...well, some sort of propaganda which tugs on their proverbial heartstrings, making the other person into a target for empathy. Religious give the same regardless, giving a higher amount than said non-religious on average (as noted in the study). I've heard both that this is because religious are motivated more by a sense of obligation, but it's also true that religious people already have higher tendencies toward compassion

...

I just find this interesting and found your original assertion to be incorrect (because it is).

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it's also true that religious people already have higher tendencies toward compassion, with religiousity/agreeableness being one of the better...

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The researchers have a number of theories as to why longevity may be next to Godliness.

They believe that those closely involved in church life would have a larger social network, and hence more social support.

Less depression

In addition, lower levels of depression are known to have a wider health benefit.

In addition, religion provides a coping mechanism for stressful events or physical illness.

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Increased Life Expectancy Discourages Religious Participation, Research Finds

... In recent years, religious establishments have been concerned about decreasing religious expression and participation in most parts of the world, particularly in developed economies, with many churches seeing older and dwindling congregations. In the UK, church attendance has been consistently on the decline in the past 50 years.

... In poorer countries where life expectancy remains low, a larger share of the population, both young and old, is concerned about what happens after death, which naturally encourages religious participation.

Mr Ice Cream Glove posted:

Forums Terrorist posted:

FRINGE posted:

No, your apparerent need to say "RELIGION IS GREAT! is making you silly.
...
If you really need some reason to defend religiousity there is one avenue that is not full of bullshit (so far), and that is the health/longevity effect

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showed that several sources indicate that actual compassion is more likely coming from the acts of the non-religiously motivated, and one implication of this is that the religious givers (that tend to give to religious organizations and affiliated causes) partially give to maintain a level of social standing.

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religion leads directly to dysfunctionality, or religions merely flourish in dysfunctional societies, neither conclusion from this study flatters religion.

Aisha posted:

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neurotheology, also known as spiritual neuroscience, attempts to explain religious experience and behaviour in neuroscientific terms. It is the study of correlations of neural phenomena with subjective experiences of spirituality and hypotheses to explain these phenomena.

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The first researcher to note and catalog the abnormal experiences associated with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) was neurologist Norman Geschwind, who noted a set of religious behavioral traits associated with TLE seizures. These include hypergraphia, hyperreligiosity, reduced sexual interest, fainting spells, and pedantism, often collectively ascribed to a condition known as Geschwind syndrome.

Vilayanur S. Ramachandran explored the neural basis of the hyperreligiosity seen in TLE using the galvanic skin response (GSR), which correlates with emotional arousal, to determine whether the hyperreligiosity seen in TLE was due to an overall heightened emotional state or was specific to religious stimuli. By presenting subjects with neutral, sexually arousing and religious words while measuring GSR, Ramachandran was able to show that patients with TLE showed enhanced emotional responses to the religious words, diminished responses to the sexually charged words, and normal responses to the neutral words. These results suggest that the medial temporal lobe is specifically involved in generating some of the emotional reactions associated with religious words, images and symbols.

Some studies have used neuroimaging to localize brain regions that are active, or differentially active, during experiences that subjects associate with "spiritual" feelings or images consistent with McKinney's thesis that feelings associated with religious experience are normal aspects of brain function under extreme circumstances rather than communication from God.

Research by Mario Beauregard at the University of Montreal, using fMRI imaging of Carmelite nuns, has purported to show that religious and spiritual experiences include several brain regions and not a single 'God spot'. As Beauregard has said, "There is no God spot in the brain. Spiritual experiences are complex, like intense experiences with other human beings." The neuroimaging was conducted when the nuns were asked to recall past mystical states and not while actually experiencing mystical states; "subjects were asked to remember and relive (eyes closed) the most intense mystical experience ever felt in their lives as a member of the Carmelite Order." A 2011 study by researchers at the Duke University Medical Center found hippocampal atrophy is associated with older adults who report life-changing religious experiences, as well as those who are "born-again Protestants, Catholics, and those with no religious affiliation".

Proponents of neurotheology say there is a neurological and evolutionary basis for subjective experiences traditionally categorized as spiritual or religious.

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The evolutionary biologist and renowned atheist Richard Dawkins has lucidly pointed out that many religious beliefs would constitute signs of mental illness (e.g., schizophrenia) if these were not cloaked in the drapes of divinity. Take a supernatural belief rooted in religious doctrine, and call it divine "fact" X. If it is part of a person's religious narrative, it constitutes a belief that must be respected (and for one particular religion, one should not even criticize openly any of its belief system...no I am not referring to the Amish). However, if an individual held the same belief X, without it being part of a religious narrative, the individual holding this belief would be met with derision (if not concern for his/her mental wellbeing).

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In 1980, Albert Ellis,4 the founder of rational emotive therapy, wrote in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology that there was an irrefutable causal relationship between religion and emotional and mental illness. According to Canadian psychiatrist Wendall Watters, “Christian doctrine and liturgy have been shown to discourage the development of adult coping behaviors and the human to human relationship skills that enable people to cope in an adaptive way with the anxiety caused by stress.”5(p148) At its most extreme, all religious experience has been labeled as psychosis

...

More recent studies indicate that the relationship between religion and depression may be more complex than previously shown. All religious beliefs and variables are not necessarily related to better mental health. Factors such as denomination, race, sex, and types of religious coping may affect the relationship between religion or spirituality and depression. Negative religious coping (being angry with God, feeling let down), endorsing negative support from the religious community, and loss of faith correlate with higher depression scores. As Pargament and colleagues state, “It is not enough to know that the individual prays, attends church, or watches religious television. Measures of religious coping should specify how the individual is making use of religion to understand and deal with stressors.”

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I have often had conversations with religious people about their utter convictions that their religious narrative is THE correct one (as opposed to the narratives stemming from the other 9,999 religions). Usually, the response is one that defines the meaning of a tautology: "I know that it is the true narrative because my religion is the revealed truth."

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If you stimulate the right side of your brain in a certain way, he said, you sense someone nearby. In this way, Persinger claimed to create "the prototype of the God experience." Persinger claimed that fully 80 percent of the 2,000 or so subjects who have donned the God helmet report feeling a sensed presence, as well as dizziness, vibrations, spinning, and visions.

Even better, Persinger believed he had found the sweet spot for spiritual experience: the right temporal lobe of the brain. The temporal lobe, which runs along the side of your head near the ears, is involved with memory, emotions, and meaning, as well as hearing and language comprehension.

Why zero in on the right temporal lobe? I asked.

"Mystical experiences are in large part associated with temporal lobe function," he said. "The visual experiences, the hearing, knowing, vestibular [balance] effects, the smell."

Persinger explained that the temporal lobe (and, in his view, not the presence of God) explains why the mystics of old were said to smell fragrant flowers.

"In fact, their sweat emits it," he said. "Areas of the temporal lobe probably affect the metabolism in such a way that your sweat has a certain smell, and many of the classic mystics are often described as having a smell about them that is very fragrant, like roses, and all of this is tied to temporal lobe function."