Christianity Doesn't Work as Advertised
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Study_Casts_Doubt_on_Abstinence-Only_Programs

Christianity_Corrupts_Good_Morals

The_Dark_Side_of_Faith:_Too_Much_Religion_is_Dangerous

Baptist_Divorce_Rate_Higher_Than_Average

Fundies_Have_The_Top_Divorce_Rate

Documented_Fact-__75%_of_Born-Again_Fundies_are_HABITUAL_LIARS

Pollster_Cant_Find_that_Christianity_is_Transforming_Lives

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Study Casts Doubt on Abstinence-Only Programs
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/13/AR2007041301003.html?hpid=moreheadlines

By Laura Sessions Stepp

Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 14, 2007; Page A02 

 

A long-awaited national study has concluded that abstinence-only sex education, a cornerstone of the Bush administration's social agenda, does   not   keep teenagers from having sex. Neither does it increase or decrease the likelihood that if they do have sex, they will use a condom.

Authorized by Congress in 1997, the study followed 2000 children from elementary or middle school into high school. The children lived in four communities -- two urban, two rural. All of the children received the family life services available in their community, in addition, slightly more than half of them also received abstinence-only education.

By the end of the study, when the average child was just shy of 17, half of both groups had remained abstinent. The sexually active teenagers had sex the first time at about age 15. Less than a quarter of them, in both groups, reported using a condom every time they had sex. More than a third of both groups had two or more partners.

"There's not a lot of good news here for people who pin their hopes on abstinence-only education," said Sarah Brown, executive director of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, a privately funded organization that monitors sex education programs. "This is the first study with a solid, experimental design, the first with adequate numbers and long-term follow-up, the first to measure behavior and not just intent. On every measure, the effectiveness of the programs was flat."

The report's release comes as questions are being raised in several quarters about abstinence programs. A bill introduced in Congress, sponsored by both Republican and Democratic members, would allocate money for sex education that teaches abstinence and contraception. In addition, eight states that used to receive funding for abstinence programs have decided to stop doing so, two of them very recently. Federal abstinence funds come up for congressional renewal this summer under the Title V grant.

The federal government spends $176 million a year on abstinence-only education, and millions more are spent every year in state and local matching grants. Harry Wilson, a top official in the Department of Health and Human Services, said yesterday that the administration has no intention of changing funding priorities in light of the results.

Mark Smith here}   Of course the Fundies of the Bush regime don't give a rat's ass as to whether it actually WORKS or not- since when do religious people care about that??? To them, it is their religious DOGMA, so damn the facts, full speed ahead!!!

 

"This study isn't rigorous enough to show whether or not [abstinence-only] education works," Wilson said.

Some federal money, in addition to state and local dollars, supports comprehensive sex education, he said. What is spent on abstinence "is not that much money when it comes to offering an alternative to the other message." He said modifications in the program are already being considered, including a focus on low-income neighborhoods and extending instruction into high school.

The study did not address the impact of a student's family income on the effectiveness of abstinence-only programs.

The results came as a bit of surprise even to Christopher Trenholm, who supervised the project at Mathematica Policy Research Inc. An early analysis by his organization showed some attitude shifts toward delaying sex among students in the abstinence programs, but those differences disappeared as students got older. One thing they also learned, Trenholm said, was that kids receiving abstinence instruction did not use condoms less often than other kids, a possibility that critics occasionally raise. They also showed slightly better knowledge about the prevention of sexually transmitted disease.

Kids in both groups were knowledgeable about the risks of having sex without using a condom or other form of protection. Knowing that did not mean they put on a condom every time, however. Condom use was not high in either group; of those who had sex, almost half said they used condoms only "sometimes" or "never."

Brown said Mathematica's results underscore what other, smaller studies have shown: "The most effective programs are those that say abstinence is the best choice but birth control and protection are also worth knowing about."

An official at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States agreed.

"Comprehensive education means teaching about abstinence and a myriad of other topics," said spokeswoman Martha Kempner. Among them, she said: "contraception, critical thinking, one's own values and the values of your family and your religious community.

"Abstinence-only was an experiment and it failed."  

 

 

 

 

 

Christianity Corrupts Good Morals

Mark Smith   Oct. 1997

As one of the few Atheists living here in Orange County California, deep behind "enemy lines", behind the "Orange Curtain", I am often offended by the ignorant arrogance of self-righteous Christians. These Christians seem to think they invented, and  have a monopoly on, morality. They think somehow that if one is not a Christian, one is therefore an "Atilla the Hun" robbing & raping & murdering at will. They write letters to the local newspaper, the Christian Orange Christian County Christian Register, that spout such arrogant ignorance as "The real reason crime is so low here in Huntington Beach is because we have a large population of Christians living here"¹   and  "There is a direct causal relationship between belief in a supreme being and the development of character."² This kind of arrogance is common among most Christians, as they are fed this kind of crap from the pulpit on a regular basis.

The facts, however, contradict Christian propaganda. FACT: The city of Compton, just a few minutes away from Huntington Beach, has less than HALF the population of Huntington Beach, yet more than DOUBLE the number of churches.³ If increased Christianity results in increased morality, would either of these editorial writers care to put their money where their mouth is, and take a midnight stroll in Compton amongst their fellow Christians? I think not. 

FACT:  Japan, which has almost 0% Christians, also has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. Christianity doesn't cure crime, it causes more crime, as the difference between Japan and Compton so aptly show.  FACT: Atheists make up less than 1/10 of 1% of the American prison population⁴. That means that more than 99% of prisoners are believers. Yes, what a friend the Christians have in Jesus, and all those friends are in jail!

History shows that Jesus did not invent morality, nor corner the market on it, nor even come up with anything original. Moses invented a moral code way before Jesus was even born, as did Buddha, as did Plato, as did Confucius, as did scores of others. Modern research shows that even monkeys have moral codes, and monkeys suffer from none of the self-righteous arrogance that seems to plague Christians. As for Atheists having moral codes, Ayn Rand came up with one that even Orange County republicans salivate over in envy.

Christianity doesn't equal moral, and Atheism doesn't equal immoral. Morality predates them both.

1)  The Orange County Register, Letters, Rick Ransom, 11-25-97
2)  The Orange County Register, Letters, Mark Nedelman, 10-17-97
3)  Thomas Guide, GTE Yellow Pages
4)  The New Criminology, Max Schlapp
5)  Good Natured, Frans De Waal

The Dark Side of Faith: Too Much Religion is Dangerous
Oct. 1, 2005  The Los Angeles Times, online.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-brooks1oct01,1,1240960.story?track=mostemailedlink&coll=la-home-headlines&ctrack=1&cset=true
By ROSA BROOKS
 

IT'S OFFICIAL: Too much religion may be a dangerous thing.

This is the implication of a study reported in the current issue of the Journal of Religion and Society, a publication of Creighton University's Center for the Study of Religion. The study, by evolutionary scientist Gregory S. Paul, looks at the correlation between levels of "popular religiosity" and various "quantifiable societal health" indicators in 18 prosperous democracies, including the United States.
 

Paul ranked societies based on the percentage of their population expressing absolute belief in God, the frequency of prayer reported by their citizens and their frequency of attendance at religious services. He then correlated this with data on rates of homicide, sexually transmitted disease, teen pregnancy, abortion and child mortality.

He found that the most religious democracies exhibited substantially higher degrees of social dysfunction than societies with larger percentages of atheists and agnostics. Of the nations studied, the U.S. — which has by far the largest percentage of people who take the Bible literally and express absolute belief in God (and the lowest percentage of atheists and agnostics) — also has by far the highest levels of homicide, abortion, teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
 

This conclusion will come as no surprise to those who have long gnashed their teeth in frustration while listening to right-wing evangelical claims that secular liberals are weak on "values." Paul's study confirms globally what is already evident in the U.S.: When it comes to "values," if you look at facts rather than mere rhetoric, the substantially more secular blue states routinely leave the Bible Belt red states in the dust.

Murder rates? Six of the seven states with the highest 2003 homicide rates were "red" in the 2004 elections (Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina), while the deep blue Northeastern states had murder rates well below the national average. Infant mortality rates? Highest in the South and Southwest; lowest in New England. Divorce rates? Marriages break up far more in red states than in blue. Teen pregnancy rates? The same.

Of course, the red/blue divide is only an imperfect proxy for levels of religiosity. And while Paul's study found that the correlation between high degrees of religiosity and high degrees of social dysfunction appears robust, it could be that high levels of social dysfunction fuel religiosity, rather than the other way around.

Although correlation is not causation, Paul's study offers much food for thought. At a minimum, his findings suggest that contrary to popular belief, lack of religiosity does societies no particular harm. This should offer ammunition to those who maintain that religious belief is a purely private matter and that government should remain neutral, not only among religions but also between religion and lack of religion. It should also give a boost to critics of "faith-based" social services and abstinence-only disease and pregnancy prevention programs.

We shouldn't shy away from the possibility that too much religiosity may be socially dangerous. Secular, rationalist approaches to problem-solving emphasize uncertainty, evidence and perpetual reevaluation. Religious faith is inherently nonrational.

This in itself does not make religion worthless or dangerous. All humans hold nonrational beliefs, and some of these may have both individual and societal value. But historically, societies run into trouble when powerful religions become imperial and absolutist.

The claim that religion can have a dark side should not be news. Does anyone doubt that Islamic extremism is linked to the recent rise in international terrorism? And since the history of Christianity is every bit as blood-drenched as the history of Islam, why should we doubt that extremist forms of modern American Christianity have their own pernicious and measurable effects on national health and well-being?

Arguably, Paul's study invites us to conclude that the most serious threat humanity faces today is religious extremism: nonrational, absolutist belief systems that refuse to tolerate difference and dissent.

My prediction is that right-wing evangelicals will do their best to discredit Paul's substantive findings. But when they fail, they'll just shrug: So what if highly religious societies have more murders and disease than less religious societies? Remember the trials of Job? God likes to test the faithful.

To the truly nonrational, even evidence that on its face undermines your beliefs can be twisted to support them. Absolutism means never having to say you're sorry.

And that, of course, is what makes it so very dangerous.
 

Baptist Divorce Rate Higher Than Average  
http://www.baptiststandard.com/2000/1_12/pages/divorce.html

___"Born-again" Christians are more likely to go through a marital split than are non-Christians, according to a new study by the Barna Research Group.
___Using statistics drawn from a nationwide survey of nearly 4,000 adults, the Barna data show 11 percent of the adult population currently is divorced but that 25 percent of all adults have experienced at least one divorce.
___Among "born-again" Christians, 27 percent currently are divorced or previously have been divorced, compared with 24 percent among adults who are not "born again."
___Surprisingly, the Barna report said, the Christian group whose adherents have the highest likelihood of getting divorced are Baptists. The only group to surpass Baptists were Christians associated with non-denominational Protestant churches.
___This research underscores the need for church-based marriage and family enrichment ministries, according to Mike Lundy, family ministry associate with the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission.
___"What the figures reveal is that Baptist families are experiencing the same stresses as those in society at large," he said.
___And Baptists and other evangelical Christians are responding to those stresses in the same way as the larger culture, he added. "We've created a climate for divorce in our society, and Baptists seem to be reflecting the values of society."

Fundies Have The Top Divorce Rate

Joseph Todd, Evangelist, Irvine, CA
http://www.toddministries.org/our_testimony.htm

Pollster, George Barna reported: "Born-again Christians have a higher rate of divorce than non-believers; fundamentalists top them all. And 87% divorced after accepting Christ, presumably aware of the biblical teaching on divorce."

In an attempt to weaken God's church the enemy is using divorce as weapon which he has been using with great success. Over the last decade the divorce rate has increased to the point where over half of the divorces in the church occur within the first five years of marriage. Even atheists and agnostics, according to the Barna Report 2000, have a lower divorce rate than Full Gospel, Spirit-filled, Fundamental or Evangelical Christians. It should come as no surprise that more  couples are choosing co-habitation as an alternative to marriage. 

The signs were there but no one paid attention to them. In the late seventies and the mid-eighties, two Christian surveys reported that less than five percent of all Christian marriages were experiencing joy and happiness in their relationships. Increasingly, many couples began choosing to have children out of wedlock rather than face an unhappy home environment. This trend continues with the divorce rate 50% higher when couples live together before they marry. 

Documented Fact-  75% of "Born-Again" Fundies are HABITUAL LIARS 

http://www.saveus.org/sam/lighthouse.htm

·         77% of mainline protestants do not believe in absolute truth. While only 71% of the nation at large does not embrace absolute truth.

·         64% of "born-again" Christians do not believe in absolute truth.

·         40% of evangelical Christians do not believe in absolute truth.

·         75% of "born-again" Christians lie regularly - conscious, premeditated lies.

The result - We have become a nation of liars. We have fractured our covenant with God and with each other. When truth is lost, trust is lost. When trust is lost, tyranny waits.

The "covenant community" provides neither covenant nor community.

·         The divorce rate among fundamentalist "Christians" now exceeds the nation as a whole by 4%.

·         The divorce rate among pastors now equals the national rate.

·         70% of pastors admit they have no friends.

·         73% of evangelicals claim its getting hard to make friends compared to only 58% of the nation at large. The more "religion," the less "relationship." Shocking!

·         52,000 people per week are leaving the back doors of America's churches.

When covenant is lost, community is lost. When community is lost, chaos prevails

Pollster Can't Find that Christianity is Transforming Lives 

http://pub53.ezboard.com/fatheismfrm12.showMessage?topicID=56.topic 

VENTURA, Calif. -- Pollster George Barna, known these days as the bearer of bad tidings about the state of Christianity in America, arrived in his office a few minutes late for a 10 a.m. appointment.

His hair was ruffled; his eyes puffy. Shoulders slouched. Being the George Gallup of the conservative evangelical world is a heavy burden for Barna, who often works into the early morning, deciphering numbers generated by his surveys to find church trends.

The 48-year-old author of 30 books, who describes himself as a raging introvert, is a popular national speaker. And he produces enough in-your-face statistics and blunt talk to irritate pastors, cost him business and earn a reputation for having, as one magazine put it, "the gift of discouragement."

His data undercut some of the core beliefs that should, by definition, set evangelicals apart from their more liberal brethren. Findings of his polls show, for example, that:

• The divorce rate is no different for born-again Christians than for those who do not consider themselves religious.

• Only a minority of born-again adults (44 percent) and a tiny proportion of born-again teenagers (9 percent) are certain that absolute moral truth exists.

• Most Christians' votes are influenced more by economic self-interest than by spiritual and moral values.

• Desiring to have a close, personal relationship with God ranks sixth among the 21 life goals tested among born-agains, trailing such desires as "living a comfortable lifestyle."

'Are people's lives being transformed" by Christianity? Barna has asked. "We can't find evidence of a transformation."

Even Barna's toughest critics concede that Barna Research Group's polls carry considerable weight because of his first-rate surveying techniques and his 17-year-long record of tracking church and cultural trends.

His work has been used by major companies (Ford Motor Co. and Walt Disney, for example) and religious organizations such as the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and World Vision.

"He is the accepted authority on church trends," said Bob Cavin, director of the Texas Baptist Leadership Center. "He gives pastors insight, not only into the effectiveness of the church, but with trends in society that help the pastors with their strategic planning."

Because of his influence, many are watching with interest as Barna branches out from his usual business. He has been preoccupied with quantifying contemporary Christian beliefs, attitudes and practices; comparing them with biblical truths; and delivering the results to pastors, Christian leaders and laity. He said that he once hoped his analyses would be used as building blocks for more relevant churches.

But he decided this year to take a more active role by helping to identify and develop new and better church leaders who will boldly go where their predecessors haven't gone before: to radically revamp the church. He said he believes the process will take decades -- generations -- to complete.

"One of our challenges is to revisit the structures and means through which people experience Christ," Barna said. "People have been talking about developing the 'new church' for the past several decades, but nothing new has been forthcoming."

According to Barna, pastors are great teachers, but not necessarily adept at leadership. To back up his claim, he cited one of his own polls: It showed that only 12 percent of senior pastors say they have the spiritual gift of leadership and 8 percent say they have the gift of evangelism. In contrast, two-thirds say they have the gift of teaching or preaching.

"We, not God, have created a system that doesn't work and that we're reluctant to change."

Barna also is in the early stages of establishing a genuine and appealing Christian presence in secular entities: film, music, media and politics. He has identified these as the institutions that hold the most influence over Americans.

What's needed are "skilled professionals who love Christ and model his ways through their thoughts, words and behavior in enviable and biblically consistent ways," he said.

For Barna, the need for better leadership and better Christian role models in the secular world was underscored by a poll he released this month.

9/11 opportunity lost

The survey showed that the Sept. 11 attacks had virtually no lasting effects on America's faith, despite a 20 percent rise in church attendance during the first few weeks afterward.

"We missed a huge opportunity," he said, adding that, because of their own shallow faith, church regulars needed so much reassurance themselves that they couldn't minister to newcomers.

This kind of comment bothers evangelical Christians.

Mike Regele, author of "The Death of the Church," is one of many who believe the Barna Research Group's statistical work is excellent, but the conclusions drawn by the company's founder are too harsh.

The hypocrisy of Christians, Regele said, "has been a part of the church, probably since the day of Pentecost" and doesn't indicate its collapse.

"It sounds like he's very, very angry at the church," said Regele, a church critic himself who is ultimately an optimist. "There are reasons to be disappointed, but scripture never said we'd be perfect. We shouldn't view the whole institution as a failure."

With each new Barna poll or book, the attacks begin again: He's too negative; he has it in for pastors; he's arrogant.

The criticism "would affect any human being," said Barna, a husband and father of two. "We all want to be loved and accepted by others, but we also have a higher calling to which we each must be true."

Barna said he has learned painfully that giving advice on how to revitalize churches in America is a hugely complex proposition that doesn't fit well into sound bites. He has learned to be more guarded.

Although his statistics often show self-described Christians living lives no different from those of atheists, Barna's faith never has wavered.

"The issue isn't whether Jesus or Christianity is real," he said. "The issue is, are Americans willing to put Christ first in their lives?

------------------------------------------------

Jewish author and radio talk show host Dennis Praeger stated on his radio show, in reference to the gambling scandal of Bill Bennett, the hypocritical Fundamentalist author of "The Book of Values", that:

"We humans are pressure cookers- we need release.
Religious people don't like hearing this.
They want to hold up some unrealistic ideal
to strive for."   (May 2003)

As I stated at the top of this web page...

Christianity Doesn't Work As Advertised !!!