who in N America isn't

Very true.

I of course respect herks need for faith, I do understand his need for faith, it is when the faithfull are usurped by organised religion, that then allows the deviants who hold sway use that blind faith as a weapon!

I would never try to convert the faithfull, they rely to heavenly on their faith to give them a reason to live or die.

Why do they try to suck me into that trap using the bogey man, so it black when you die.

Atheism is the new black

The way I see it, there are two reasons to be a decent person. One way is that you have an internal desire to do so. Another is that you have external motivation. Religion provides an external motivation: Sin and there will be consequences. Fear of God gets people to behave more closely to the law of the faith.

Our country is young in the ways of secularism. It's like a long over-sheltered, rebellious kid who finally is free of his parents. Naturally there will be a lot of indulging. I agree that the modern world is running rampant with hedonism, materialism, and self-serving, but I think it's just a phase. We're simply immature. Not that this kind of behavior isn't always going to exist... I just think it's at a high at the moment

I prefer mature indecent people, they are more fun, am I being puerile? fact or double entendre?

That's one of the problems I have with so many people I meet: too fun-oriented. This is just hedonism.

Do you mean headonism? our has my dyslexia given me false hope again?

Actually, within western democracies, the higher the rate of faith in God, the higher other corresponding social ills:

http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2005/2005-11.html

So, let's see...should I go with Herk's claims, which are riddled with logical fallacies, or research conducted at Creighton University?

I think I'll go with research. Which, now that I think about it, is why I'm not religious.

__________________
I'll get nicer when you get smarter.

It's a reflection of the rampant permissiveness of the overall secularized society.

You seem to narrow the study to young adults.

You are aware that we have more people incarcerated in our prison systems then serve in the military. This is an overall reflection of our culture towards self-serving aberrant behavior aka crime.

If you want to play the empirical game and throw numbers around I can do that also.

37 Percent of U.S. Births Out of Wedlock

Nov 21 04:54 PM US/Eastern
By MIKE STOBBE
AP Medical Writer 1 Comments


ATLANTA (AP) - Out-of-wedlock births in the United States have climbed to an all-time high, accounting for nearly four in 10 babies born last year, government health officials said Tuesday.
While out-of-wedlock births have long been associated with teen mothers, the teen birth rate actually dropped last year to the lowest level on record. Instead, births among unwed mothers rose most dramatically among women in their 20s.

and this, from here~ http://webb.senate.gov/pdf/prisonstwopager.html

The United States has the highest reported incarceration rate in the world. While the United States currently incarcerates 750 inmates per 100,000 persons, the world average rate is 166 per 100,000 persons. Russia, the country with the second highest incarceration rate, imprisons 628 per 100,000 persons. Compared to its democratic, advanced market economy counterparts, the United States has more people in prison by several orders of magnitude. Although crime rates have decreased since 1990, the rate of imprisonment has continued to increase.

and this, births to unwed mothers hit all time high

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/...wed-moms_x.htm

Children from single parent homes were seven (7) times
more likely to go to jail; use drugs; be unwed mothers or fathers; and
in general fail. Around 85% of prisoners were from single parent
homes, though not 85% of all children were from such homes.

Fatherless homes account for 63% of youth suicides, 90% of homeless/runaway children.

Children from single-parent homes are much more likely to be sexually abused.



You still want to play this game?