Are Atheists Blessed?

In Japan over 80% accept evolution and fewer than 10% are certain God exists but Japan has one of the world’s lowest crime rates and the lowest teenage pregnancy rate of any developed nation.

Less than 1/3 of Norwegians, British, Germans and Dutch are certain God exists and at least 60% accept evolution as fact. Teenage pregnancy is very low (except Briton, but still lower than the US) and the homicide rate is 1 – 2 per 100,000.

We all know about religious belief in the US, and only 40% accept evolution, some of those even giving God a role in it. Where does the US place in these statistics? At the bottom of the list in every category! The murder rate is 5 times that or Europe and 10 times that of Japan. Teenage pregnancy is the highest of any developed nation, and this is taking the whole nation as an average.

In the heart of the US bible belt the murder rate is 12 – 14 per 100,000, something like 20 – 30 times the murder rate of Japan! Prisons in the US are overcrowded and busting at the seams, the Netherlands were forced to close 8 prisons in 2009 and lay off 1,200 prison workers, and the crime rate is still dropping!

Only 20% of Swedes feel God is important in their lives and only 2% of the members of the Church of Sweden attend church regularly. In 2010 Sweden’s foreign aid program was rated best in the world and college tuition is free for all, Sweden college educates close to 96% of their high school grads.

Bottom line, while the secular nations have it pretty well sorted out and are moving forward, the US with its fundamentalists, Fox News, creationists attacking our education systems and every other religion related draw back that keeps us wallowing in ancient superstitions is letting prosperity slip away. Religion has reduced the US to 3rd world, statistically. Christians ask Atheists why we attach their religion, I one one am tired of being laughed at by the rest of the developed world.