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Here's a discovery that could make secular parents say hallelujah: Children who grow up in non-religious homes are more generous and altruistic than children from observant families. ...
A series of experiments involving 1,170 kids from a variety of religious backgrounds found that the non-believers were more likely to share stickers with their classmates and less likely to endorse harsh punishments for people who pushed or bumped into others.
The results "contradict the common-sense and popular assumption that children from religious households are more altruistic and kind toward others," according to a study published this week in the journal Current Biology.
Worldwide, about 5.8 billion people consider themselves religious, and religion is a primary way for cultures to express their ideas about proper moral behavior — especially behavior that involves self-sacrifice for the sake of others.
-- submitted from IRC
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anal Pumpernickel on Sunday November 08 2015, @09:50AM
It's just pure coincidence that they both align with religious morals and the de-facto morals of the society you live in!
Except they don't; not always. I hold many beliefs that a grand majority of society does not share, but it could still be said that society helped me come to those conclusions by creating the issues in the first place.
When my moral code does align with something some religion said, it's often not for the same reasons. Religion often tells you to do something or refrain from doing something without explaining why it's a good idea. You can come up with perfectly secular and logical reasons to have some moral code. Sure, I came upon many of these ideas more quickly because they had already been discussed by society and implemented within it. But religion is just an irrelevancy in this case, because people usually demand explanations, and a growing number of people won't accept "Because a magical sky daddy that can't even be proven to exist said so!" Religion is part of society, and not the other way around, so I would have just left it at "society".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 08 2015, @12:58PM
I hold many beliefs that a grand majority of society does not share
I'd like an example. Unless you're going to say you're completely OK with murder or rape I don't believe for a second you hold any beliefs that are unacceptable in modern society. To be a functioning member of a society you need to adopt its morals.
(Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Sunday November 08 2015, @01:07PM
Well, you're just silly. I don't think possessing child pornography should be illegal, and think that that whether rape occurred should be determined on a case-by-case basis in a courtroom rather than relying on inflexible age of consent laws. I think absolutely all drugs should be legalized. I believe in absolute freedom of speech; if someone yells "fire" in a crowded theater when there is no fire and people panic, any damage they cause while panicking is their own fault and not the fault of the speaker. There, you have a few examples where I disagree with a grand majority of society (some of those cause more disagreement than others).
Unless you were only referring to beliefs that no one other than yourself holds, but in that case, there are probably very few such beliefs. I'm sure a few people believe that murder and rape are okay.
To be a functioning member of a society you need to adopt its morals.
Bullshit. People challenge society all the time. You can agree with many of society's rules but disagree with some or many of its rules and still be functioning. What you just said is complete nonsense.
I'm honestly dumbfounded that you could say something so blatantly absurd.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 08 2015, @01:28PM
hold any beliefs that are unacceptable in modern society
where I disagree with a grand majority of society
Unacceptable in modern society, not disagreed with by the grand majority of society.
In the examples you've given, there is not one where you disagree with the fundamental values of society. You are just weighing them differently than others would. You value personal liberty more than security; a valid (and accepted) stance to take.
What you just said is complete nonsense.
I do not see how, and you've not presented much of an argument why I would be wrong. If you live in a society, you need to act according to its morals (codified in law). Those who do not follow these laws (morals) on a structural basis are removed from society. It does not even matter if people believe in the morals, as long as they act according to them. Of course people 'rebel against the system'. But they do so from within the system.
(Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Sunday November 08 2015, @02:04PM
Unacceptable in modern society, not disagreed with by the grand majority of society.
I said "I hold many beliefs that a grand majority of society does not share" and you replied to it as if you disagreed with that, so I thought you were speaking of mere disagreement.
What do you mean by "unacceptable"? Illegal? I don't know of any beliefs that are outright illegal to have, at least not in many first world countries. So I don't know what you're talking about.
I do not see how, and you've not presented much of an argument why I would be wrong. If you live in a society, you need to act according to its morals (codified in law).
Well, you didn't really present any reason for me to believe that they can't be functioning members of society.
And laws are different from morality. Just because something is illegal that doesn't mean a majority of society finds it wrong. It could just be that a select few plutocrats pushed a lot of laws through while the public was being entertained by bread and circuses and distracted by hot topics like immigration. Don't confuse morality with law, even if you're talking about society. If you do, you don't have a very useful definition of morality from my standpoint.
Those who do not follow these laws (morals) on a structural basis are removed from society.
You seem to assume that the laws are perfectly enforced or even well enforced. That is not often not the case. So even someone who has beliefs that are "unacceptable" to society can be a functioning member of society, even if it's just because they hide what they believe.
Still need to know what "unacceptable" means exactly, however. Since the topic is about beliefs, it doesn't make much sense to me.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 09 2015, @11:17PM
There are plenty of places where being okay with gay marriage, polyandry (not to be confused with polygyny) or people having the right to commit suicide, will get you ostracized (at best), or tortured and then killed.