Religion by the numbers

If "social indicators such as murder rates, abortion, suicide and teenage pregnancy" are any useful evidence of the moral character of a country, and if we believe that a healthy dose of religion can make the country a better place, we may need to parse some of the data coming from a recent survey/study/observation that has been doing the rounds of late. I mention it because it got an op/ed piece in the SMH today (http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/correlation-of-christian-ethics-social-ills-knocks-advocates-fromknees-to-backside/2005/10/03/1128191653994.html).

The study is "Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies, A First Look" by Gregory S. Paul, published in The Journal of Religion & Society, "a cross-disciplinary, electronic journal published by the Rabbi Myer and Dorothy Kripke Center for the Study of Religion and Society at Creighton University". http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2005/2005-11.html

I'm skeptical of statistics and any study which attempts to take on and simply synthesise a topic of such immense proportions. I was, though, intriqued by the conclusions drawn in the opinion piece. It said the study "found there is an inverse relationship between religiosity and public health and social stability." While "No one is suggesting that religious faith is harmful, and, anecdotally, it seems it may even be beneficial on a personal level...." nevertheless, "Those who claim religion is a way out of our social troubles should heed the one firm conclusion of this report: that societies which have largely discarded religion are not hotbeds of sin and iniquity, but are often highly functional, safe and prosperous. Consequently, relying on religion to fix social problems is irrational."

This doesn't lend a lot of support to the notion that faith-based groups are better at providing social services than government. I doubt this little controversy will be laid to rest in my lifetime, so I will give it no more than passing interest. And not a little satisfaction, none the same. (And pity the attention this author will attrack; he'll end up wishing he could trade places with Salmon Rushdie, I'd wager.)