Request for statistics

[thexrated]

Been following a discussion in another forum on a topic named "Is Atheism Irrational?"

One of the arguments made was "The poor state of general mental health in this country can be attributed to the paradigm in which our society exists. This paradigm elicites a natural conclusion, that life is meaningless and there is no escape. The corners of our streets are littered with people who have cracked under the pressure of dealing with the "natural" conclusion of holding such a worldview."

He thinks that the above is without a doubt result of atheism and secular culture. He is known to be a fundamentalist Christian who without any hesitation would vouch that that religion could cure these problems in the society. His fears are summarized quite well in the following quote - "Anoxeria nervosa, school shootings, serial killers, street gangs, people who jump off bridges, et al all are manifestations of the inherently fatalistic existentialism endemic to the "modern" paradigm. And for every "Travis Bickle" who goes off the deep end and makes the news there are ten thousand more people who remain semi-functional, suffering in quiet desperation.". And so on.

I would be interested to view any statistics that has splits on how atheists/agnostics etc. are doing in comparison. Are atheists more prone to mental health problems? Are atheists more prone to be poor, unemployed or with low educational standards? Are atheists more likely to join street gangs or even commit suicides?

Thanks for your help.

[Vampyroteuthis]

Go here. http://pewresearch.org/topics/religion/

Lots of frightening information here. Not sure if it covers your questions specifically but it might!

[Steve Schlicht]

Been following a discussion in another forum on a topic named "Is Atheism Irrational?"

One of the arguments made was "The poor state of general mental health in this country can be attributed to the paradigm in which our society exists. This paradigm elicites a natural conclusion, that life is meaningless and there is no escape. The corners of our streets are littered with people who have cracked under the pressure of dealing with the "natural" conclusion of holding such a worldview."

He thinks that the above is without a doubt result of atheism and secular culture. He is known to be a fundamentalist Christian who without any hesitation would vouch that that religion could cure these problems in the society. His fears are summarized quite well in the following quote - "Anoxeria nervosa, school shootings, serial killers, street gangs, people who jump off bridges, et al all are manifestations of the inherently fatalistic existentialism endemic to the "modern" paradigm. And for every "Travis Bickle" who goes off the deep end and makes the news there are ten thousand more people who remain semi-functional, suffering in quiet desperation.". And so on.

I would be interested to view any statistics that has splits on how atheists/agnostics etc. are doing in comparison. Are atheists more prone to mental health problems? Are atheists more prone to be poor, unemployed or with low educational standards? Are atheists more likely to join street gangs or even commit suicides?

Thanks for your help.

Well, for the record, atheism is only a disbelief in God(s)ess(es) and states nothing about how people may live their lives or what moral/ethical standard they abide by.

Secularism allows for others to hold vastly different worldviews (religious or not) within a large society and so does not address the issue of mental illness and/or behavior either.

Many factors should be considered when examining behavior and mental illness.

In short, the vast majority abide by some religious code...atheists are a minority...and, yet, the author you refer to in the OP seems to be perpetuating an obvious fallacy.

Here is a graph illustrating a similar point:

http://photos1.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/3/d/a/e/event_1155790.jpeg

Now just replace the "martyrdom" fallacy with "cracked and broken society" and the result is clear.

Also, there are far more examples of religious adherents actually causing many more of societal ills than atheists or naturalists:

http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/1/0/f/1/event_1384337.jpeg

Mary Winkler (http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=3350)

Tony Rankin, who serves as a pastoral and family counselor for the Tennessee Baptist Convention, said pastoral spouses like Mary Winkler can endure many pressures unknown to parishioners. Rankin said he deals each month with more than two dozen instances of silently suffering spouses.

"My overwhelming response to this case is sheer sadness," Rankin said after the verdict. "Besides someone who has been killed, you've also got a pastor's wife who is obviously in excruciating mental distress. And you've got children involved as well. All those things make it really sad."

http://starbulletin.com/2005/04/09/features/art1b.jpg

Ted Haggard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Haggard)

In 2005, Haggard was listed by Time magazine as one of the top 25 most influential evangelicals in America.[13] Haggard is a firm supporter of President George W. Bush, and is sometimes credited with rallying evangelicals behind Bush during the 2004 election.[14] Author Jeff Sharlet reported in 2005 that Haggard "talks to… Bush or his advisers every Monday" and stated at that time that "no pastor in America holds more sway over the political direction of evangelicalism."

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40700000/jpg/_40700990_btk203getty.jpg

Dennis Rader (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4159462.stm)

Rader, a former church leader, pleaded guilty in June to the murders of 10 people in the city of Wichita in Kansas between 1974 and 1991.

As to a causal relationship either way, I'd ask the subject in the OP to provide his statistics and see if one can be established once terms are agreed to.

Here is another thread I've participated regarding this issue:

Religious kids are "better" (http://iidb.org/vbb/showpost.php?p=4432602&postcount=18)

Steve