Dr. Barber begins by noting a correlation: as economic development increases, so too do the number of atheists. Why might this be? Barber suggests that people turn to religion to deal with difficulties and uncertainties in their lives, and such issues are tied to socio-economic development.
It seems that people turn to religion as a salve for the difficulties and uncertainties of their lives. In social democracies, there is less fear and uncertainty about the future because social welfare programs provide a safety net and better health care means that fewer people can expect to die young. People who are less vulnerable to the hostile forces of nature feel more in control of their lives and less in need of religion. Hence my finding of belief in God being higher in countries with a heavy load of infectious diseases.
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The reasons that churches lose ground in developed countries can be summarized in market terms. First, with better science, and with government safety nets, and smaller families, there is less fear and uncertainty in people's daily lives and hence less of a market for religion. At the same time many alternative products are being offered, such as psychotropic medicines and electronic entertainment that have fewer strings attached and that do not require slavish conformity to unscientific beliefs.
I hope this topic receives further research attention. As a resident of the USA, I observe the influence of religion in our society on an almost daily basis. We have to stay ever-vigilant to prevent overreach by politicians (such as Rick Perry) and government at all levels (such as the recent case of South Bend), enough to keep groups like the ACLU, Freedom From Religion Fountation and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State very, very busy. We clearly have a long way to go.
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