Morality; religion's place (Introduction)

by Balance_Maintained , U.S.A., Thursday, January 15, 2015, 15:58 (3601 days ago) @ David Turell
edited by dhw, Thursday, January 15, 2015, 16:36

A psychologist's take from many reviewed studies:
> 
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/01/14/is-religion-a-force-for-good... 
> "In short, in discussing whether religion is a force for good we must be very clear what we mean by religion and what we mean by good. This rather nuanced conclusion may disappoint the polemicists, but - at least until this research field matures - a measure of restraint before we jump to conclusions about whether religion is inherently good or bad may not be such a bad thing."-Interesting article, but I find the methodology of their studies less than rigorous. For example, why not test to find out how thoroughly a person knows their claimed religion, and THEN find out how they behave in a group. Then you could tell if the effects were superficial or perhaps become more deeply ingrained through study.

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What is the purpose of living? How about, 'to reduce needless suffering. It seems to me to be a worthy purpose.