Where would the world be right now if religion never existed?

[spdk1]

FaRmLaNd said:

spdk1 said:

FinalEvangelion said:

I lived in one of the least religious places in the world for 6 months - Japan - where by belief 2/3 do not believe in God.  While many will respond with "Buddhism" - it's more of a symbolic thing to most people for ceremonies.

 

It was quite wonderful.  The crime rate is one of the lowest in the world.  I could go to a bakery and save my table with my Laptop while I got my food.  Also, I never had to lock my door to my place.  I've been back in the US (very religious place) for a while, and I definitely can't say the same thing.

Not to nitpick, but since when are petty crimes such as breaking and entering and petty theft based on religious preference?  Had you stayed in an impoverished area, I'd imagine you'd have a different tale to tell.

There are however some meta studies that have been done that point to Atheists being less likely to commit crime and being under-represented in gaols. Nevertheless Non-believers certainly aren't any worse, which runs against the conventional wisdom of many theists who assume that without God and some kind of absolutest morality you would commit more crime and end up doing what you like. Which simply doesn't seem to be accurate.

It's not that black and white though, take the following website:

 

http://www.kirainet.com/english/the-least-religious-countries/

 

According to these statistics, Sweden is the least religious country in the world, yet as the rate of non-religious tendencies rise it correlates to a raise in crime:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Sweden

 

These aren't murders, but there is a HUGE rate of petty crimes based on number of citizens.

 

Do I believe in said correlation, Not at all, but I was just trying to show how statistics can be manipulated to show ridiculous things such as a lack of religion leaning towards a lack of crime.