on the negative effects of religion (from wired.com)

Glory for the Godless

Life in God's country may not be paradise on Earth, if a study published in the Journal of Religion and Society is to be believed. Religious practices don't necessarily enhance a society's moral and ethical fiber, according to the study, and in fact may prove deleterious. "In general, higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy and abortion in the prosperous democracies," said Gregory Paul, the study's author. Looking at social indicators such as murder rates, abortion, suicide and teenage pregnancy, Paul concluded that the least devout nations were the least dysfunctional. And the worst offender? "The United States is almost always the most dysfunctional of the developing democracies, sometimes spectacularly so," said Paul.

-- Jenny McKeel