Religion and Decisions
An alternative perspective
Zack Maitland
The premise of this presentation is not to question or offend anyone’s
personal beliefs, it is merely here to show the potential miscommunications
and understandings of religious doctrine and how it can different affect those
that understand them differently.
I am going to take a look at a number of different social constructs in
religion, such as the relationship of prosperity and religiosity among
countries, the correlation between religiosity and intelligence, and how
people that use the idea of faith to profit off of others can be detrimental.
Prevailing Religion
Importance of Religion
Wealth and Religiosity
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In poorer nations, religion remains
central to the lives of individuals, while
secular perspectives are more common
in richer nations.
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Religiosity is measured using a threeitem index ranging from 0-3, with “3″
representing the most religious
position. Respondents were given a “1″
if they believe faith in God is necessary
for morality; a “1″ if they say religion
is very important in their lives; and a
“1″ if they pray at least once a day
Religion and Conflict
Thirty Years’ War
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took place between 1618-1648 in the Holy Roman Empire
dispute was between protestants and catholics
was originally caused by religion, but evolved into less specifically religious
into more of a continuation of the Bourbon–Habsburg rivalry for European political
pre-eminence, leading in turn to further warfare between France and the Habsburg
powers.
8,000,000 dead including civilian casualties
The Troubles
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Three decades of violence in Northern Ireland
○ began in the late 1960s and is considered by many to
have ended with the Belfast "Good Friday" Agreement of
1998.
Irish nationalist community
○ mainly self-identified as Irish and/or Roman Catholic
Unionist community
○ mainly self-identified as British and/or Protestant
Despite both parties supposedly following the teachings of
Jesus Christ, they continued to terrorize one another due to
what were truly small differences.
Healing through Faith
Can prayer alone cure illnesses and disorder?
Faith Healing
● Faith Healing is healing through purported
spiritual means.
● The practice is very common, and is
generally targeted towards those that are
less fortunate.
Faith Healers
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Many faith healers have their own TV shows, almost always
showing a telephone number in which you can call.
Most of the time these numbers are asking for donations or
payment in exchange for “prayers” from the faith healer.
A number of these supposed healers have been proven to be
phony, yet they still continue to make money.
Larry Maxwell
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Former TV repairman that turned
to faith healing as a career
In 1991 he was sentenced to 90
days in jail after being convicted
of theft by deception
○ an undercover state trooper
posing as an AIDS victim gave
Maxwell a $500 down
payment on a $5,000 fee to
cure the cop of AIDS.
Peter Popoff
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Popoff is a German-born faith healer that happens to be one of
the more well known in the business.
Skeptic James Randi took a radio receiver to one of Popoff’s
events and found that his wife was actually reading him
information that was written on care cards from the audience showing that he was not in fact receiving this information from
God.
Peter Popoff Pt. 2
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Despite going bankrupt in 1987 and being exposed by numerous
news stations, Popoff’s organization was able to gain a federal
tax-exempt religious organization status in 2006.
In 2007 he purchased a $4.5 million home, and his show is still
going.
Hobart Freeman
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Hobart Freeman is considered to be one of the most detrimental faith healers of all
time.
In 1951, Dr. Hobart Freeman survived a heart attack at age 31
○ Because of this, he had an epiphany that one can be healed by “faith alone”
○ Freeman began a congregation called the Faith Assembly.
The Faith Assembly was incredibly controversial due to the fact that it rejected the
idea of medicine
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Diabetics stopped taking insulin and mothers eschewed pre- and post-natal care.
Prayer was also used to try to bring loved ones back from the dead.
Dead babies were laid next to live ones, in hopes the live babies would transmit life to the
dead children.
Hobart Freeman pt. 2
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Freeman was officially charged with aiding and abetting in the "negligent homicide"
of just one of the reported 90 deaths within his congregation.
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Ironically, two weeks before the opening court date, Freeman died of bronchial
pneumonia and congestive heart failure, complicated by a gangrene leg, for which
he had refused treatment, even to the point of not changing bandages to keep the
wound clean.
When listening to an individual that claims to
be able to do miraculous things one must
question their true ability to do so - are they
truly divine? Or are they merely trying to take
your money? Chances are, the latter is true.
Interpreting Religion
How can two people interpret the same literature in
two completely different ways?
Are all sins forgivable?
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Mark 3:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never
forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.
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1 John 1:19 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Is God peaceful?
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Exodus 15:3 The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.
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Romans 15:33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Should one be wise or not?
Proverbs 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy
getting get understanding.
Ecclesiastes 1:18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth
knowledge increaseth sorrow.
1 Corinthians 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will
bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
Is being gay a sin?
The Bible says yes:
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Leviticus 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is
abomination.
Leviticus 20:13 "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of
them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood
shall be upon them."
What else?
Leviticus 11:8 "You shall not eat of their
flesh nor touch their carcasses; they are
unclean to you."
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Can’t touch pig skin? So long to Football!
Leviticus 19:27 "You shall not round off the
side-growth of your heads nor harm the
edges of your beard."
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Bowl cuts are also a big no-no.
Shellfish??
Leviticus 11:10 reads, "But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers that does not have
fins and scales among all the teeming life of the water, and among all the living
creatures that are in the water, they are detestable things to you."
Lobster, crab, and shrimp for dinner are not
acceptable by the book of Leviticus.
Ironic?
Leviticus 19:28 reads, "You shall not make any cuts in your body
for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am
the Lord."
Having a stark belief in a religion has potential
to confuse one’s decision making skills.
Decisions like “What passages do I follow?”,
“How strict do I need to adhere to this?”, or
“How should I interpret this?” can have many
varying effects on one’s lifestyle and
wellbeing.
Religiosity vs. Intelligence
Richard Lynn is a professor of Psychology at the University of Ulster who is known for his
views on racial, ethnic and national differences in intelligence.
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Used 137 nation-level estimates of both intelligence and religiosity
Observed a substantial correlation between general intelligence and atheism
○ (r = .60)
This statistic is important because the data is taken from 137 countries, making sure that
there isn’t merely a coincidence due to geographic location / background.
Atheism Among Intelligent People
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Edward Larson is an American historian, legal scholar, and professor at Pepperdine
university
Larry Alan Witham is a veteran journalist and author in the Washington D.C. area
who has covered current events, history, religion and society, science, philosophy,
and the visual arts.
They did a study that found that approximately 40% of 1000 scientists disbelieved
in or doubted the existence of God
○ This statistic is significant when compared to the fact that only 7% of the
general population don’t believe or doubt the existence of God
○ This number is even higher among “elite” scientists
We can take this statistic and make connections with our other sources - that smarter
people are more likely to lack religion, and that those that lack religion tend to be
smarter.
Intelligence Quotient
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Helmuth Sørensen Nyborg (born 5 January 1937) is a former professor of
developmental psychology at Aarhus University, Denmark and Olympic canoeist.
Nyborg reported results for a large cohort of adolescents
Atheists scored 3.82 IQ points higher than individuals holding liberal religious
persuasions
5.89 IQ points higher than individuals holding more dogmatic religious attitudes.
Conclusion
The purpose of this presentation was to share
what I found in the process of my research. I
hope you are able to take some new
information and see different perspectives of
the matter at hand.
“True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand
about life, ourselves, and the world around us.” - Socrates