The low crime rates of Atheists

Quote from: EarthISroundISproven on March 29, 2010, 12:59:12 PM

Quote from: Space Cowgirl on March 29, 2010, 12:42:20 PM

Oh.. you have a lot to learn about Tom Bishop!

LOL I was trying not to lower myself to his level of debate...err I mean ranting.

It's best if you just picture him as our very own sexy Santa.

HA HA now I have to believe in Santa too?

Santa is real 


Sorry for your thread going off on a tangent, Sadistic.  If we can get it back from the supernatural realm Tom tried to take it to, there's probably some good discussion about theists in prison still to be had.


My stepbrother is a loser who's spent quite a bit of time in prison. He's never religious until he gets locked up. The prison system offers drug counseling and it is usually religious based (I'm not sure if they even offer non-religious drug counseling).  By participating in these programs he has the chance of getting released sooner, so it is in his best interest to pay lip service to the religious aspect. 

Santa is real  


Sorry for your thread going off on a tangent, Sadistic.  If we can get it back from the supernatural realm Tom tried to take it to, there's probably some good discussion about theists in prison still to be had.


My stepbrother is a loser who's spent quite a bit of time in prison. He's never religious until he gets locked up. The prison system offers drug counseling and it is usually religious based (I'm not sure if they even offer non-religious drug counseling).  By participating in these programs he has the chance of getting released sooner, so it is in his best interest to pay lip service to the religious aspect.  

A friend of mine had a different experience. While all of us did military service after finishing school, he tried to get a drug business running. Result: 3 years in prison. We tried to keep contact with him, because he is naive and a little stupid, but a great friend. He "found Christ" while in prison and started to talk about his religion nonstop. After he was released he was going to church, handing out leaflets and discussing our religion with us (we didn't mind because it seemed to be a good thing for him). He didn't get into trouble, found a nice job with the churchs help and has been pretty clean for the past few years.

I am in no way an advocate for religion, but in his case it was a good thing. He needed the focus and community provided by the church. Something we, as his friends, had a hard time to provide after being scattered all over Germany. Every time I veer towards "hardcore atheism" and condemning religion as a whole, I remember him. Personally I don't need it and my life is working out without it, but for many people moderate faith seems to a positive thing.

How is something that happens in nature "supernatural"?

I know we usually don't see eye to eye, but this quote is money, lol.

You also make a good point about the whole 'getting religious' aspect.  If you locked me in a cage, I'd also tell you whatever you wanted to hear to get out sooner.
Believe in God?  Sure!
Worship satan?  Why not!?
lol.

Back to the OP though....it's a hard case to make that more christians break the law than aetheists unless you account for the fact that there are simply more christians in the society. (This may have been addressed alreaday, but I think it's very fundamental).

Or, take the racial cross section of both groups.  Most people in the US are racial minorities.  Hispanic and African ethnicities being the two most common, Christianity is very high in these groups.
It's clear to see, that if the laws of the Country discriminate or are unjustly applied to these groups (which I believe there is a case to be made here), that the percentage of Christians in jail would be higher than non christians, based on the underlying demographics of the situation.

Quote from: Friedrich on March 29, 2010, 04:35:05 AM

Quote from: Parsifal on March 29, 2010, 04:24:05 AM

Quote from: Friedrich on March 29, 2010, 04:19:18 AM

They do, but we all know how teenagers are. Add to that the anti birth control and anti abortion stance of their community and you have a high rate of teenage moms.

If teenagers are going against their community's opposition to premarital sex, what's to stop them going against its opposition to birth control?

Also, you should specify "some teenagers". I never had sex as a teenager, and never even really came close to it.

Well, one of the very typical scenarios for some teenagers is having sex while being drunk. The prohibition against premarital sex is pretty much forgotten then, as is birth control. The prohibition against abortion comes into play while sober then.

I am talking probable results of such an upbringing here, with no statistics to back it up. So, take that with a grain of salt.

I've already asked for statistics about all this, especially OP.  It seems people like to generalise, or even make stuff up to suit their argument.

@OP, once again, statistics to back up these claims?

Quote from: Sadistic on March 29, 2010, 12:02:51 AM

Quote from: Mr Pseudonym on March 27, 2010, 07:19:31 PM

Is there any actual facts or statistics backing up any of these outlandish claims?

http://freethoughtpedia.com/wiki/Percentage_of_atheists

Thank you Cowgirl

That link pretty much just show % of athiests in different cultures and situations.  It does not say anything about birth control, socio-economic status, what they do in prison or any of the other points raised here.  Again, these are just generalisations people are raising.

The points may be generalizations, but they are the stepping off point for discussion.  The link had percentages for different religious groups in prison in the US.  Of course this being the US the percentage of Christians will be the highest, just as in an Islamic majority country the percentage of of people in the Islamic religion would be the highest.

Mizzle makes a valid point about blacks and Hispanics making up a large percentage of US prison population.  Why they are there is a different topic, but it is true that they are much more likely to be practicing Christians as opposed to what I like to think of as conveniently Christian (like my stepbrother). 

@Friedrich, for some people prison can be a profoundly humbling experience. Christianity is, in a way, humbling yourself before a higher power. The people who minister to inmates are some of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet.  Even though I don't consider myself religious, I am glad they do what they do. There will always be inmates who abuse their kindness for their own gain, but for the few who turn themselves around it is a good thing. Those people obviously need that sort of guidance.