« Will the Real (not fake) Presidential Candidate Please Stand Up? (or How do you feel about Christians?) | Main | John Lennon: The Beatles a Christian Band? »
Does God, Religion, or Church Make People Behave Better?
By Julie | July 14, 2008
Last Friday night atheist Christopher Hitchens, author of “God is Not Great” and Catholic Dinesh D’Souza, author of “What’s So Great About Christianity?” debated in Las Vegas. The article states:
Hitchens asked this question: “Today we only have time to discuss one thing, does this stuff, even if it’s all made up, does it at least make people behave better?”
The two of them sparred back and forth about a few topics. Of course Hitchens points out the Crusades and the Inquisition, then tried to dump the atheistic acts of Stalin, Moa, and Pol Pot onto us as well.
Going back to Hitchen’s question, “Does this stuff make people behave better?” As if in a partial answer, I stumbled upon this article: Study: Christianity makes men better husbands, fathers. From the article:
In a research brief this month, Bradford Wilcox, a sociology professor at the University of Virginia, analyzed three national studies in order to discover if “there is any evidence that religion is playing a role in encouraging a strong family orientation among contemporary American men?” His research led him to conclude that men who regularly attend Christian services are engaged in happier and stronger marriages and are more involved in the lives of their children than men who do not.
“Seventy percent of husbands who attend church regularly report they are ‘very happy’ in their marriages, compared to 59 percent of husbands who rarely or never attend church,” explained Wilcox, who also said that the studies indicated that wives experienced more marital happiness when their husbands attended regular religious services. This is likely one significant reason why the studies showed that married couples who attended regular Christian services were approximately 35 percent less likely to divorce then those couples who did not.
Christian fathers also spent more one-on-one time with their children and were 65 percent more likely to hug and praise their children.
Good job, church going Dads! Thanks for the contributions you are making into your family.
Now, I know some atheists who make really great parents. I know some people who don’t attend church regularly who are dedicated to their families. So I don’t want to say you HAVE to be a Christian who goes to church every Sunday to be a good husband or father.
But obviously, with high divorce rates in this country that tear families, and kids apart, it is fair to say a lot of people are not naturally good spouses or parents. I think some people don’t know how to balance family responsibilities with family time together. As a parent, it can be so hard! In the US we find ourselves pulled in so many different directions. But for dads who don’t naturally know how to balance their families with all of life’s obligations / distractions, church and the Bible can be a wonderful foundation, just like the study points out.
So, “Does this stuff make people behave better?” In struggling families, feeling ripped apart, I have seen rescue stories after they put themselves in God’s hands. In times, the family was resurrected even though it was on the verge of falling apart. Lately, with all the different churches Marc and I have been going too, we’ve often commented on how many strong families, and dedicated fathers we’ve seen. Yes, it is possible to do it without church or God, for some people. But I see more dedicated fathers at church, than in any other area.
Topics: In the News, Life and Living | 2 Comments »
July 14th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
It is sad that the difference is only 11%. The strength of a society is based on the family unit. When that unit breaks down the likelihood of drug use, unwanted pregnancy,violence and criminal activity goes up significantly. My friends in education state the greatest predictor of success in school is a stable family. All other factors including poverty are overshadowed by a strong family unit. The unit can be non traditional as long as it is supportive. Most churches recognize this and stress family ministries. Unfortunately the divorce rate among Christians remains the same or slightly higher than non Christians. I used to believe it was because Christians were more likely to actually get married but that does not appear to be supported by the statistics. I would love to find an objective explanation for these statistics. I would bet the divorce rate at our church is well below the stated 40+% but I don’t have anything except nonstatistical observations to support it.
July 15th, 2008 at 7:57 am
I’ve wondered about that too, Bob. And I don’t really know. But one thing I’ve wondered is religion keeps getting pushed away from mainstream society. So, the more we live in a secular world it gets harder to have a biblical world view. For some people religion is only acceptable on Sunday in church. When that’s all it takes up, there’s little difference between a Christian and the rest of the world. Again, I’m not sure, but this is one thing I’ve wondered. I wish there was a bigger distinction. But I do see obvious strong families in churches. However, I have been in some churches that don’t seem to offer any differences between mainstream America.