What ye doing for Lent

[Asal Mor]

That's a great pic. I work with some Americans so I'll set that as their screensaver tomorrow.

[Sidney]

Dave Whelan broke his leg in the 1960 FA Cup Final because he was the child of a mixed marriage, and was brought up a Protestant, thus displeasing God. However God looked then favourably on him when he married a Catholic, resulting in his successful business career.

[J70]

Complete myth.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/04/05/150061991/lust-lies-and-empire-the-fishy-tale-behind-eating-fish-on-friday

Much obliged.

I'm stealing that!

[trueblue1234]

Religion makes a lot of sense generally, if you didn't have it you'd have to invent it.

If it had never been invented countless millions of people would not have died in wars or due to religious persecution.

Not sure if I'd agree with this. How many religious wars were just power struggles, or political or greed etc. I'd agree organised religion and it's control didn't help things but we'll never know what other wars may have occurred in the absence of the religious struggles. If history has shown us anything it's that humans have a self destructive nature.

[J70]

Religion makes a lot of sense generally, if you didn't have it you'd have to invent it.

If it had never been invented countless millions of people would not have died in wars or due to religious persecution.

Not sure if I'd agree with this. How many religious wars were just power struggles, or political or greed etc. I'd agree organised religion and it's control didn't help things but we'll never know what other wars may have occurred in the absence of the religious struggles. If history has shown us anything it's that humans have a self destructive nature.

Or a thirst for geopolitical power.

Has anyone ever studied the relationship, if any, between declining religious belief in western Europe and the decline in geopolitical conflict since WW2?

[AZOffaly]

What about the Godless communists? They're feisty enough.

[Sidney]

Protestants believe that if they receive bread and wine, they're receiving bread and wine, which symbolises the body and blood of Christ, rather than being the actual body and blood of Christ.

But Catholics know better.

Common sense.

[J70]

What about the Godless communists? They're feisty enough.

Were the communist countries not cases where government actively repressed religious belief for political reasons?  I'd see the hypothesis I mentioned as more a natural waning once government/political/cultural pressure to conform (perhaps because the other guy wasn't a threat anymore) was lifted. Very simplistic obviously, given the roles of advancement of education, science, prosperity, migration etc etc.

[AZOffaly]

No, I meant Chinese, Soviet and North Korean aggression at various times. They are not campaigns based on religion, per se, but more along the lines of geopolitical campaigns.

[Hardy]

Religion makes a lot of sense generally, if you didn't have it you'd have to invent it.

If it had never been invented countless millions of people would not have died in wars or due to religious persecution.

Not sure if I'd agree with this. How many religious wars were just power struggles, or political or greed etc. I'd agree organised religion and it's control didn't help things but we'll never know what other wars may have occurred in the absence of the religious struggles. If history has shown us anything it's that humans have a self destructive nature.

Or a thirst for geopolitical power.

Has anyone ever studied the relationship, if any, between declining religious belief in western Europe and the decline in geopolitical conflict since WW2?

Steven Pinker states in The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined a correlation between the growth of rationality and science and the decline in violence generally over a period of 700 years. (He also states correlations with the spread of the reach of government, the growth in trade and commerce and the growth of cosmopolitanism.)



While he doesn't appear (I haven't read it yet – just looked into it on Amazon) to invoke directly the decline of religion, there is clearly also a correlation between that and the growth of rationality and science.

In this Richard Dawkins Documentary (42:59), Pinker concentrates on the decline of various manifestations of violence in the last 40 years and posits a correlation with the general stream that we call Humanism, which most would see as the antithesis of religious belief.

[armaghniac]

Religion makes a lot of sense generally, if you didn't have it you'd have to invent it.

If it had never been invented countless millions of people would not have died in wars or due to religious persecution.

Not sure if I'd agree with this. How many religious wars were just power struggles, or political or greed etc. I'd agree organised religion and it's control didn't help things but we'll never know what other wars may have occurred in the absence of the religious struggles. If history has shown us anything it's that humans have a self destructive nature.

Religion is a label associated with conflicts, which really had to with other issues. Like in NI, if Gerry Adams became a Presbyterian it wouldn't make a whole pile of difference.

[Sidney]

Religion makes a lot of sense generally, if you didn't have it you'd have to invent it.

If it had never been invented countless millions of people would not have died in wars or due to religious persecution.

Not sure if I'd agree with this. How many religious wars were just power struggles, or political or greed etc. I'd agree organised religion and it's control didn't help things but we'll never know what other wars may have occurred in the absence of the religious struggles. If history has shown us anything it's that humans have a self destructive nature.

Religion is a label associated with conflicts, which really had to with other issues. Like in NI, if Gerry Adams became a Presbyterian it wouldn't make a whole pile of difference.

Yes, religion has had absolutely nothing to do with conflicts the world over throughout history.

And of course religion has had no part whatsoever to play in holding back enlightened thought.

Bloody witchcraft - literally.

[Jell 0 Biafra]

Complete myth.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/04/05/150061991/lust-lies-and-empire-the-fishy-tale-behind-eating-fish-on-friday

Much obliged.

I'm stealing that!

Honestly don't see what the problem is.  He's only telling the Moran family that they're not that smart.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Complete myth.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/04/05/150061991/lust-lies-and-empire-the-fishy-tale-behind-eating-fish-on-friday

Much obliged.

I'm stealing that!

Honestly don't see what the problem is.  He's only telling the Moran family that they're not that smart.

Mayo is full of Morans!

[Eamonnca1]

I see you and I raise you.