Declining Christian numbers in Oklahoma is a major cause for celebration

Over at the Daily Oklahoman, we have this editorial penned by authors who are evidently afraid to put their own names on it, for reasons unknown—but probably related to the embarrassingly poor reasoning on display.

…there’s no denying that people genuinely devoted to a religion emphasizing love for others, denial of self, and belief that one answers to a higher power have generated far more societal improvement than what’s been rendered by those pursuing a self-directed “do whatever makes you feel good” ethos.

Belief that one answers to a higher power can motivate one to do good or to do evil. Genocidal invasions have been justified in the name of a higher power. Slavery, likewise, not to mention subjugation of women to men. All of these evils, and many more, can be found in the Bibles that people see fit to give their children. If you are the sort of person who takes pleasure in other people’s suffering, organized religion may find a place for you as an inquisitor, a witchfinder, or (modernly) a crusader against equal rights for gays and lesbians.

Doing whatever makes you feel good, similarly, can motivate one to do good or to do evil. If you don’t get a warm glow from helping other people in need, you may not be fully human.

Our nation is undoubtedly a better place when there are more of the former than the latter.

Before making a factual claim, anonymous editorialists of the Daily Oklahoman, consider asking yourselves whether that claim can be tested with data. If your claim that theism undoubtedly makes America a better place were actually true, then surely the states with the most devout believers would be those with the best measurable outcomes. Lower levels of infant mortality, teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, divorce, that sort of thing. Does the Bible Belt lead the nation on any of these metrics? Yes, but almost never in a good way.

Society’s major challenges are still the product of individual acts prompted by anger, lust, greed, pride, and so on.

If only there were some way to measure those problems. What do you know, we can, and the Bible Belt is failing badly pretty much across the board. (My only quibble here is that the gluttony map ought to have used obesity data rather than fast food as their metric.)

To think society has reached a level of enlightenment where the “ancient” solutions no longer apply is the height of folly. And in Oklahoma, citizens certainly struggle with challenges inherent to the human condition. The state ranks high in violent crime, drug abuse, teen pregnancy and similar societal ills.

Almost as if your preferred ancient solutions weren’t cutting the proverbial mustard, my dear anonymous editorialists. Maybe we should look to secular science-based programs which actually work, instead of continuing to rely on faith-based nonsense?

A classroom full of pregnant teenage atheists would still be a sign of societal decay.

It would also be something of a statistical anomaly. Please, anonymous editorialists, do your damned homework next time before you go shooting disinformation into the world at large.

Internationally, Christians are among the few traveling to Ebola hot zones and similar trouble spots to render aid. There is not an atheist equivalent to those efforts.

What is the religious test to join Médecins Sans Frontières? There is none. Red Cross? None. Red Crescent? None. These prominent humanitarian associations will accept help from qualified volunteers of any faith or none, which is just as it should be.

…the compassionate response of many Oklahomans, who even make dramatic personal sacrifices to aid struggling people, is often a product of their Christianity.

When Christianity actually does drive people to make personal sacrifices to aid struggling people, you won’t find us unbelievers complaining about it. Oklahoma atheists volunteer alongside church groups on a regular basis, including disaster relief efforts right here in Oklahoma.

Without those armies of compassion, this state would be a far worse place.

Agreed! Please consider the possibility that empathy and compassion spring from our shared human nature, rather than holy books which counsel genocide, justify slavery, and glorify torture. The sooner that the Sooner State puts these ancient texts away, the sooner we can move forward in building truly moral and compassionate communities. Any progress in that direction is a cause for celebration, indeed.