Religions > Atheism > New Research Shows How Religion Is Used to Justify Violence
| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Michael Gray" |
| Date: |
03 Apr 2007 09:03:29 PM |
| Object: |
New Research Shows How Religion Is Used to Justify Violence |
http://richarddawkins.net/article,808,n,n
God Is on Our Side. Does That Mean War?
by Lee Dye, ABCNews
Reposted from:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=2983119
New Research Shows How Religion Is Used to Justify Violence
"Does believing that "God is on our side" make it easier for us to
inflict pain and suffering on those perceived to be our enemies? If we
think God sanctions violence, are we more likely to engage in violent
acts?
The answer to both those questions, according to new research, is a
resounding "yes," even among those who do not consider themselves
believers.
Social psychologist Brad Bushman of the University of Michigan led an
international research effort to find answers to these questions, and
said he is very "disturbed" by the results, though he found what he
had expected. Bushman has spent 20 years studying aggression and
violence, especially the impact on human behavior of violence in the
media, but most previous research has focused on television and movie
violence, not such things as scriptures and texts held sacred by many.
He wanted to take it a step further and see if simply exposing someone
to a text that implies God sanctions violence would increase their
level of aggression.
Fought in the Name of God
"I think many people use God as their justification for violent and
aggressive actions," Bushman said. "Take the current conflict in Iraq
as an example. Bush claims that God is on his side. Osama bin Laden
claims that God, or Allah, is on his side."
History is replete with other examples of wars fought in the name of
God, involving nearly every religion on the planet.
To find his answers, Bushman assembled teams of researchers at two
very different universities, Vrije University in Amsterdam, Holland,
where he also holds a professorship, and Brigham Young University in
Utah.
Only half of the students who participated in the study at Vrije
reported that they believe in God, and only 27 percent believe in the
Bible. At Brigham Young, 99 percent said they believe in God and the
Bible.
Biblical Descriptions
Here's the fundamental issue the researchers addressed, as stated in
their study published in the current issue of Psychological Science:
"We hypothesized that exposure to a biblical description of violence
would increase aggression more than a secular description of the same
violence. We also predicted that aggression would be greater when the
violence was sanctioned by God than when it was not sanctioned by
God."
Because violence in a classroom is a bit hard to justify, the
researchers relied on a widely used tool to measure aggression.
Students in the study were not initially told its true purpose.
Instead, they were told they were participating in two separate
studies, one on Middle Eastern literature, and one on stimulation of
reaction time.
Each student competed against another student in the reaction time
phase. Those who pushed a button first won the competition and could
punish the loser by blasting him or her through a set of earphones
with a loud noise.
The Blast of War
The volume of the noise was controlled by the winning student. Those
who hit the loser with a mild blast were considered less aggressive
than those who gave the loser the loudest blast — approximately the
volume of a siren.
"The noise is very, very unpleasant," Bushman said. "It's a
combination of somebody scratching their fingernails on a chalkboard
and screaming and sirens."
The idea behind the test, used widely in laboratories, is that only
someone who feels very aggressive would blast someone else with the
loudest screech, about 105 decibels.
Biblical? Or Not?
Before the blasting phase, the students read a description of the
beating and raping and murder of a woman in ancient Israel. Half of
the students read a version of the story that included an assertion
that God commanded the friends of the woman to take revenge. The other
half read a version that did not mention God sanctioning violence.
Half of the students were told the account came from the Bible, and
half were told it came from an ancient scroll.
"What we found is that people who believed the passage was from the
Bible were more aggressive [than those who did not know it came from
the Bible], and when God said it is OK to retaliate they were even
more aggressive," Bushman said. "We found that both at Brigham Young,
which is a religious school, and at Amsterdam, where only half believe
in God.
"Even among nonbelievers, if God says it's OK to retaliate, they are
more aggressive. And that's the worry here. When God sanctions
aggression, when God says it's OK to retaliate, people use that as
justification for their own violent and aggressive behavior."
When asked why nonbelievers would become more aggressive, Bushman
suggested that perhaps some nonbelievers are not all that sure that
there is no God. However, nonbelievers did not show as much of an
increase in aggression as believers when told violence was sanctioned
by God.
At the end of the interview, I intruded into Bushman's own religious
feelings and asked if he is a believer.
"Yes, I do believe in God, and I do believe in the Bible," he said.
"In fact, I read it every day."
So it's a personal, as well as a professional, search for Bushman.
"What worries me is when people use God as a justification for their
violence. There are scriptures that say you should not take God's name
in vain. This is the most extreme version of taking God's name in
vain," he said.
Yet his own research shows that whether people consider themselves
believers or not, they are more likely to be aggressive, perhaps even
willing to start a war, if they think God is on their side."
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| User: "Elroy Willis" |
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| Title: Re: New Research Shows How Religion Is Used to Justify Violence |
04 Apr 2007 08:20:25 AM |
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Michael Gray <mikegray@newsguy.com> wrote in alt.atheism
http://richarddawkins.net/article,808,n,n
God Is on Our Side. Does That Mean War?
by Lee Dye, ABCNews
Reposted from:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=2983119
New Research Shows How Religion Is Used to Justify Violence
<snip>
"What we found is that people who believed the passage was from the
Bible were more aggressive [than those who did not know it came from
the Bible], and when God said it is OK to retaliate they were even
more aggressive," Bushman said. "We found that both at Brigham Young,
which is a religious school, and at Amsterdam, where only half believe
in God.
"Even among nonbelievers, if God says it's OK to retaliate, they are
more aggressive. And that's the worry here. When God sanctions
aggression, when God says it's OK to retaliate, people use that as
justification for their own violent and aggressive behavior."
It's not surprising to me. I think it also helps people support their
armies to go out and kill people when they think their god is on their
side. The individual person might not get violent, but they support
the actions of their troops if they think their god supports their
troops.
--
Elroy Willis
www.elroysemporium.com
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| User: "Bill M" |
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| Title: Re: New Research Shows How Religion Is Used to Justify Violence |
04 Apr 2007 09:08:42 AM |
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"Elroy Willis" <elroywillis@swbell.net> wrote in message
news:t79713t5dmefv6lvlbmahbu68g94ddmfnf@4ax.com...
Michael Gray <mikegray@newsguy.com> wrote in alt.atheism
http://richarddawkins.net/article,808,n,n
God Is on Our Side. Does That Mean War?
by Lee Dye, ABCNews
Reposted from:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=2983119
New Research Shows How Religion Is Used to Justify Violence
<snip>
"What we found is that people who believed the passage was from the
Bible were more aggressive [than those who did not know it came from
the Bible], and when God said it is OK to retaliate they were even
more aggressive," Bushman said. "We found that both at Brigham Young,
which is a religious school, and at Amsterdam, where only half believe
in God.
"Even among nonbelievers, if God says it's OK to retaliate, they are
more aggressive. And that's the worry here. When God sanctions
aggression, when God says it's OK to retaliate, people use that as
justification for their own violent and aggressive behavior."
It's not surprising to me. I think it also helps people support their
armies to go out and kill people when they think their god is on their
side. The individual person might not get violent, but they support
the actions of their troops if they think their god supports their
troops.
--
Elroy Willis
www.elroysemporium.com
Why does this all powerful creator, all loving and caring intelligent
designer, create Plagues, Tsunamis, Tornadoes, Volcanic Eruptions, Floods,
Wars, Earth Quakes, Cancers and hundreds of debilitating diseases and
serious body malfunctions? There are 12,000 known diseases that affect and
punish mankind indiscriminately. Why does he permit millions of both young
and old to starve to death or die of miserable diseases? Why punish millions
of INNOCENT CHILDREN in this horrible way?
Why does this all powerful and caring god permit totally "innocent children"
to die at birth? Or worse, be born lacking eyesight, a fully developed
brain, deaf and dumb, missing limbs etc.? Why are some born idiots and
others with super intelligence? Why are some born into wealth and others
pauper poor? Why are his human creations designed to deteriorate into a
miserable and devastating old age regardless of their religious affiliation?
God supposedly created the world like it is to punish man for Adam and Eve's
'original sin'. Why does he also punish supposedly innocent animals with
thousands of diseases, birth defects, starvation and to be eaten alive by
other animals?
Why did this all powerful and loving creator create things like sharks,
jelly fish, octopus, lions, tigers, rhinoceros, Wolves, poisonous snakes,
stinging and poisonous insects, poisonous plants etc.? Why did this caring
benevolent god create animals (including man) that need to painfully kill
and eat other animals to survive?
World War I claimed 9,000,000 lives of people of many religious faiths.
World II indiscriminately claimed over 20,000,000 lives of people of all
ages and religious faiths, plus a vast destruction of property and more
millions maimed for life.
The recent Asian Tsunami has claimed the lives of 200,000 men, women and
children of all religious persuasions. Over 100,000 of these were totally
INNOCENT children!
There were three major epidemics of the Bubonic Plaque - in the 6th, 14th.
and 17th centuries. The death toll was over 137 million men, women and
totally innocent children.
The influenza of 1918-1919 killed at least 25 million men, women and
innocent children indiscriminately.
Diseases like malaria, AIDS, tuberculosis, etc. maim and kill millions
indiscriminately every year. More millions die of starvation and
malnutrition.
These indiscriminately afflicted the young and old, atheists and those of
all religious persuasions.
Meanwhile MAN, not god, has developed defenses and cures for hundreds of
serious diseases. Man has learned to create shelter, heat and cooling,
purify water, world wide electronic communications, power and transportation
systems including flying through the air.
Man has created a wonderful medical and drug system and improved housing and
food production. The result of MAN'S inventiveness has
DOUBLED the average life span. None of this was created by any gods.
Perhaps your loving and caring god is actually a cruel, heartless, mean and
torturing tyrant. If he treats us so cruelly during life, why do you think
he will let us enjoy peace and eternal happiness in his Heaven? And why does
he keep all this a secret by preventing communication with our dead parents,
siblings and friends? (Or this god?)
There are thousands of religious and god beliefs but NO OJECTIVE VERIFIABLE
EVIDENCE for the actual existence of ANY of these gods. ALL god beliefs are
based on the unsubstantiated 'opinions' of errant men.
If there is a god that created the Universe, he is obviously not an
all-caring and benevolent god. Nor is he an "Intelligent Designer". The
objective evidence is if there is a god creator, he has NO concern about the
welfare of the creatures on Earth.
The objective evidence is that no gods created man but quite the opposite;
that man created gods!
I challenge god believers to supply ANY objective verifiable evidence that
their god actually exists except in their over active imaginations.
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| User: "Elroy Willis" |
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| Title: Re: New Research Shows How Religion Is Used to Justify Violence |
04 Apr 2007 09:22:51 AM |
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Bill M <wmech@bellsouth.net> wrote in alt.atheism
Elroy Willis <elroywillis@swbell.net> wrote in message
Michael Gray <mikegray@newsguy.com> wrote in alt.atheism
http://richarddawkins.net/article,808,n,n
God Is on Our Side. Does That Mean War?
by Lee Dye, ABCNews
Reposted from:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=2983119
New Research Shows How Religion Is Used to Justify Violence
<snip>
"What we found is that people who believed the passage was from the
Bible were more aggressive [than those who did not know it came from
the Bible], and when God said it is OK to retaliate they were even
more aggressive," Bushman said. "We found that both at Brigham Young,
which is a religious school, and at Amsterdam, where only half believe
in God.
"Even among nonbelievers, if God says it's OK to retaliate, they are
more aggressive. And that's the worry here. When God sanctions
aggression, when God says it's OK to retaliate, people use that as
justification for their own violent and aggressive behavior."
It's not surprising to me. I think it also helps people support their
armies to go out and kill people when they think their god is on their
side. The individual person might not get violent, but they support
the actions of their troops if they think their god supports their
troops.
Why does this all powerful creator, all loving and caring intelligent
designer, create Plagues, Tsunamis, Tornadoes, Volcanic Eruptions, Floods,
Wars, Earth Quakes, Cancers and hundreds of debilitating diseases and
serious body malfunctions? There are 12,000 known diseases that affect and
punish mankind indiscriminately. Why does he permit millions of both young
and old to starve to death or die of miserable diseases? Why punish millions
of INNOCENT CHILDREN in this horrible way?
You're preaching to the choir, Bill. :)
And you left out comets and meteors and cosmic rays, or did I snip
them out?
--
Elroy Willis
www.elroysemporium.com
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