Research  Belief in God has been overwhelmingly linked with do-gooders

#1
C C Offline
Belief in God has been overwhelmingly linked with do-gooders
https://thedebrief.org/belief-in-god-has...-behavior/

EXCERPTS: People are more likely to associate the performance of good deeds with a religious person, and specifically a belief in God, according to researchers from the University of California, Merced.

Previous studies, dating back over a decade, had shown a bias linking atheists with less prosocial behavior and more immoral behavior, something also confirmed in the recent research. However, the scientists behind the latest study say the link they found between the performance of good deeds and a perceived belief in God was significantly higher.

“Though we also found that people intuitively link atheism with immoral behavior, people appear to associate believing in God with being generous, helpful, and caring to a much greater extent,” explained Colin Holbrook, a professor in the university’s Department of Cognitive and Information Sciences and a co-author on the paper detailing the findings.

Although statistically significant and with results displayed on a global scale, the researchers caution that their study only found a link between perceptions that those who believe in God are more likely to commit good deeds. Whether or not they are actually more likely to do so is still an open question.

[...] “So instead of a stereotype of atheists as immoral driving the effect, the stereotype of the moral person of faith may be the more important force,” Holbrook said in a statement. “We replicated the findings of the earlier studies linking evil with atheism, but we found that the effects linking prosociality with faith were remarkably larger.”

Additionally, the team found that the respondent’s own religious beliefs appeared to affect their responses. “Religious individuals were far more likely to associate prosociality with the prospect that the target character also believed in God,” they write, “a result which is consistent with the premise that religion enhances trust and cooperation among co-religionists.”

Finally, the researchers found that the results were more or less consistent in both countries [US and New Zealand], even when correcting for differences in the respondents’ personal backgrounds. “These results also held when including political orientation and spiritual connection to God as predictors, and also when omitting all demographic variables,” they write... (MORE - details)

PAPER: Intuitive moral bias favors the religiously faithful
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Cynic's Corner: Apparently all the secular social justice offshoots from the French Revolution to Marxism to Critical Theory are still sailing over people's heads in terms of what they piggyback on, despite well over two centuries of radical revolt and activism. The difference between religious beliefs and moral crusading non-theist beliefs is that the former personifies concepts and principles, whereas the latter stops short a step and reifies its invented ideology as an abstract fact lacking those anthropmorphic or zoomorphic characteristics. (Self-righteous reverence of an _X_ either way Wink).

Max Stirner: That is why they [collectivists/socialists] are continuations and consequences of the Christian principle, the principle of love, of sacrifice for something universal, something alien. [...] Since they’re enemies of egoism, they are therefore Christians, or more generally, religious people, believers in ghosts, dependents, servants of whatever universal (God, society, etc.). --The Ego and His Own
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#2
Magical Realist Online
“The atheist staring from his attic window is often nearer to God than the believer caught up in his own false image of God.”
― Martin Buber
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#3
Syne Offline
Collectivists/socialists are not continuations of Christian principles. They are actually the selective limitation of Christian principles. Namely, or care and fairness, to the exclusion of loyalty, authority, and sanctity. This is why it's quite objective to assume belief in God signals a fuller expression of morality.
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#4
Magical Realist Online
If I were homeless or hungry or poor or a refugee I don't think I'd care if the people helping me were leftist secularists or Christian do-gooders. In practical terms, they are both solving real world problems whatever their ideology is. To me it is just plain petty to quibble over who's charitability is better or more authentic.
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#5
Syne Offline
There's an objective difference in lasting outcomes. For example, a homeless person could be given free meals... and remain homeless indefinitely. Or they could be arrested for trespassing, loitering, etc. until they either decide to change (which always requires the individual to realize the need) or at least spend time in jail, unable to access their abuse substance of choice.

One is an actual solution while the other is a temporary band-aid, at best. Same goes for hunger, hence the saying "give a man a fish..." Secularists are notoriously shortsighted and seem more about the self-gratification of do-gooderism rather than any actual long-lasting good. There are many objective examples.
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#6
Magical Realist Online
Quote:One is an actual solution while the other is a temporary band-aid, at best. Same goes for hunger, hence the saying "give a man a fish..." Secularists are notoriously shortsighted and seem more about the self-gratification of do-gooderism rather than any actual long-lasting good.

Who are you to judge if one person's altruism and compassion for the disadvantaged is valid while another's isn't? Do you go out and help others? If they are helping others at all that is helping them get back on their feet. It's all good because it's better than nothing. As for secular do-gooders being notoriously short-sighted while religious do-gooders aren't, how does one even measure such a sweeping and subjective claim? What is your objective evidence for that claim?
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#7
Syne Offline
(Aug 11, 2024 04:36 AM)Magical Realist Wrote:
Quote:One is an actual solution while the other is a temporary band-aid, at best. Same goes for hunger, hence the saying "give a man a fish..." Secularists are notoriously shortsighted and seem more about the self-gratification of do-gooderism rather than any actual long-lasting good.

Who are you to judge if one person's altruism and compassion for the disadvantaged is valid while another's isn't? Do you go out and help others? If they are helping others at all that is helping them get back on their feet. It's all good because it's better than nothing. As for secular do-gooders being notoriously short-sighted while religious do-gooders aren't, how does one measure such a sweeping and subjective claim? What is your evidence for that claim?

As clearly stated in the part you omitted from the quote, they can be judged by the "objective difference in lasting outcomes." IOW, for the comprehension-impaired, short-term aid isn't getting people "back on their feet." At best, it's just delaying the consequences for personal choices, and at worst, it's literally enabling the poor decision-making and causing long-lasting harm.. like generational poverty. Enabling bad behavior or decisions is not "better then nothing." It's literally exacerbating the problem.

Welfare very often contributes to a pattern of generational poverty, as a result of learned helplessness due to reliance on government. There are countless examples of the homeless rejecting free housing that has any stipulations, especially against substance abuse. The main difference being that religious help often requires the individual to put in some work or effort of their own, rather than just a no-strings handout. The evidence is abundant. How many people on welfare remain on welfare? How many homeless offered housing return to homelessness? There are countless news stories on failed attempts to house the homeless.

But thanks for demonstrating that secularists are oblivious to the long-term results.
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#8
Magical Realist Online
Quote:How many people on welfare remain on welfare? How many homeless offered housing return to homelessness? There are countless news stories on failed attempts to house the homeless.

Yeah..no objective evidence just as I thought.. Just vague general claims and political talking points always laying the blame on those who provide the help. I'm pretty sure there are as many if not more success stories of people getting out of poverty and addiction and homelessness thru the programs offered them. In fact here's a buttload of them. https://www.google.com/search?q=welfare+...e&ie=UTF-8

See? Not all the homeless and poor are as worthless and lazy as you make them out to be. lol!

"People leave welfare for a variety of reasons, including finding employment, marriage, and other reasons. On average, about half of the AFDC caseload leaves welfare each year. According to Marca, most families leave within a short period of time, with about half leaving within a year, 70% within two years, and almost 90% within five years. However, many families return to welfare almost as quickly as they left, with about 45% returning within a year and 70% returning by the end of five years".
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#9
Syne Offline
(Aug 11, 2024 05:23 AM)Magical Realist Wrote:
Quote:How many people on welfare remain on welfare? How many homeless offered housing return to homelessness? There are countless news stories on failed attempts to house the homeless.

Yeah..no objective evidence just as I thought.. Just vague general claims and political talking points always laying the blame on those who provide the help. I'm pretty sure there are as many if not more success stories of people getting out of poverty and addiction and homelessness thru the programs offered them. In fact here's a buttload of them. https://www.google.com/search?q=welfare+...e&ie=UTF-8
I didn't cite any because I know it's a waste of time with you. You'll just cite anecdotal evidence, as you're doing here, as if that counters statistics.

Quote: See? Not all the homeless and poor are as worthless and lazy as you make them out to be. lol!
Where, pray tell, do you imagine I ever said "all," much less that anyone was "worthless?"
Where the left believes that some people are inherently incapable of helping themselves, the religious believe that every person is capable of turning their own life around. Remember, I was homeless at one time. I know from personal experience.

Quote: "People leave welfare for a variety of reasons, including finding employment, marriage, and other reasons. On average, about half of the AFDC caseload leaves welfare each year. According to Marca, most families leave within a short period of time, with about half leaving within a year, 70% within two years, and almost 90% within five years. However, many families return to welfare almost as quickly as they left, with about 45% returning within a year and 70% returning by the end of five years".

Thanks for demonstrating exactly what I said. That welfare helps "within a short period of time," but not long-lasting, e.g. "many families return to welfare almost as quickly as they left, with about 45% returning within a year and 70% returning by the end of five years."

I also notice how you won't touch the homelessness issue, because if you've watched any news at all, you've seen countless examples of help failing miserably while wasting huge amounts of resources that could help others.
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#10
Magical Realist Online
Quote:Thanks for demonstrating exactly what I said. That welfare helps "within a short period of time," but not long-lasting, e.g. "many families return to welfare almost as quickly as they left, with about 45% returning within a year and 70% returning by the end of five years."

Welfare isn't meant to be long term. The long term is enabling them to get jobs and become self-supporting. And that 90% are off welfare in 5 years shows it works. If they need it again later on, so what? It's a major challenge getting out of poverty. That welfare can be there to lift them out of it is a good thing. Have you ever been so poor you had no food? Didn't think so.

So tell me in all your wisdom what other solution is there to helping the homeless besides getting them housed and providing addiction/mental health recovery and job services? Do you have a better solution?

"Proven housing-based policies include: Federal housing assistance: Federal housing programs are one of the most successful housing-based solutions to reduce homelessness."
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