Trailblazer said: If nobody believed in God, you'd find out how quickly society deteriorated.
Except of course it's the opposite.
Secular Societies Fare Better Than Religious Societies
"If it were true that when belief in God weakens, societal well-being diminishes, then we should see abundant evidence for this. But we don’t. In fact, we find just the opposite: Those societies today that are the most religious — where faith in God is strong and religious participation is high — tend to have the highest violent crime rates, while those societies in which faith and church attendance are the weakest — the most secular societies — tend to have the lowest."
Op-Ed: Think religion makes society less violent? Think again.
However, how do you know that lack of belief in God is the reason these societies fare better? There could be other reasons specific to these countries and their governments.
Also, what they are comparing is Christianity vs. secularism, and Christianity is only one religion of many. Obviously, something is bad at black rock if Christians are committing crimes, and it could be they do not follow the teachings of Jesus but rather just pay lip service to their religions. This is what happens when the spirit of religion dies out and only the form remains. People do not really believe in God, because if they did they would follow the teachings and laws of their religions.
Just think about it for a second: People called sheep actually need shepherds and Holy Books to tell them that they shouldn't steal or lie or murder or behave otherwise badly... and you expect these people to build good societies?
The fact that they need religion and follow religion does not mean they cannot build good societies. Then you also have to ask what you mean by a good society. If it all about materialism and having a high standard of living and being happy in a material sense, I do not consider that good, because that is not what humans were created for. Sure it is good to have a high standard of living and be educated but that is not the purpose of life from a religious perspective. So it is as if they drove by the barn and missed reading what is written on the broad side of the barn, which says “to know and worship God.
Then you also have to ask how these atheists got their morals. There is a good chance they were handed down by religion from previous generations rather than being innate. People are not born with morals, moral behavior is learned. They can always reject a God belief and religion later, but their morals came from somewhere.
I was not raised in a religious home and I did not believe in God before I became a Baha’i at age 17, but I had a moral sense, probably because both my parents had been raised as Christians, even though they later rejected Christianity.
Trailblazer said: That does not mean that everyone has to believe in God, as some people can be moral without a God belief. However, even those people have been affected by a society in which most people believe in God so the teachings of religion such as the Golden Rule have come to them by osmosis.
Except of course it's the opposite. Ever since the first communities treating others like you would be treated yourself was good for the well-being and survival of the communities and the people in them. So of course the behavior was supported and taught and incorporated into all kinds of religions. Seems you put the cart before the horse...
It is a Baha’i belief that Messengers of God (Prophets) have been sent by God to humanity since the beginning of human history. They have been the Great Educators of mankind and from them religions were established. Many of these religions predate the art of writing so we do not know anything about them, except that they existed. Of course, I believe this because Baha’u’llah wrote it.
So, from my point of view, human behavior was not incorporated into religions, human behavior was affected by religions, but that does not negate the fact that people also learn by living in society what is good for the well-being and survival of the communities and the people in them. That is also true.
