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posted by janrinok on Tuesday June 19 2018, @03:25PM   Printer-friendly
from the suffer-the-little-children dept.

Researchers report in areas with greater numbers of Christian fundamentalists, infant mortality rates are higher than in areas with more mainstream Christians. The study reveals external factors such as lack of social support, birth defects, poverty and lack of insurance, in addition to religious conviction, are the main reasons for the increased mortality rates.

The odds of an infant dying before their first birthday are higher in counties with greater proportions of conservative Protestants, especially fundamentalists, than in counties with more mainline Protestants and Catholics, according to a new Portland State University study The study, published online in May in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, supports the idea that the more insular, anti-institutional culture of fundamentalists can lead to poorer health outcomes.

Ginny Garcia-Alexander, a sociology professor in PSU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the study's lead author, examined the influence of religion on postneonatal infant mortality rates, or the number of deaths from four weeks through the first year, using data from 1990 through 2010. Garcia-Alexander said a leading cause of infant death in the first 28 days is birth defects, which can be heavily influenced by advances in medical knowledge and technology. By contrast, deaths in the next 11 months of life are more often linked to external factors such as poverty, lack of insurance, social support networks and religion.

Garcia-Alexander said the findings mirror trends seen in adult mortality rates, where areas with more mainline Protestants and Catholics had better health outcomes than areas with more conservative Protestants.

The study's findings build on previous research that says that Catholicism and mainline Protestantism are civically minded, externally oriented faiths that emphasize community-level care. For example, church-affiliated hospitals and social-service providers such as Catholic Charities can bolster the health infrastructure of local communities.

Source: https://neurosciencenews.com/infant-mortality-fundamentalism-9165/


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 19 2018, @09:09PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 19 2018, @09:09PM (#695296)

    Their fecundity would compensate for excess mortality. Assuming they hang around for long enough and are isolated enough, they would probably end up physically healthier and mentally inferior to the general population. Simple evolution in that direction would be enhanced by the sickest/smartest giving up their religion.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 20 2018, @01:52AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 20 2018, @01:52AM (#695417)
    But if they really reject all modern medical science, that would mean that their fecundity is also at 18th century levels. Can you imagine what childbirth was like before modern obstetrics? Complications in childbirth were the single largest cause of female mortality before the science of obstetrics developed, and not a couple hundred thousand years of human evolution managed to change that simple fact. It will take a LOT longer for evolution to make childbirth easier.