Can a Godless Society be a "Good" Society?

Posted by Alex in Religion on October 12, 2009 at 2:51 am

Is the belief in (or fear of, depending on your point of view) God necessary to have a "good" society? What would a nation of atheists look like? Would a godless country lead to lawlessness and immorality?

We actually don't have to wonder - there is a place where the great majority of people are not only not religious - they're can't even be bothered about the questions of faith, God, and life's meaning.

Sociologist Phil Zuckerman spent a year in Denmark and Sweden, the least religious countries in the world and perhaps even in history, and interviewed people about their religious beliefs (technically, the absence of such beliefs). He published his findings last year (Oct 2008) in his book Society without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment.

TYWKIWDBI has some thought-provoking excerpts from the book:

Here's the premise of [Zuckerman's] book:

“First of all, I argue that society without God is not only possible, but can be quite civil and pleasant. This admittedly polemical aspect of my book is aimed primarily at countering the claims of certain outspoken, conservative Christians who regularly argue that a society without God would be hell on earth: rampant with immorality, full of evil, and teeming with depravity. Well, it isn’t. Denmark and Sweden are remarkably strong, safe, healthy, moral, and prosperous societies…”

He's careful not to extol the absence of religious belief as preferable for a society, while arguing strongly that when religious belief (or dogma) is absent, society can crank along just fine. Herewith some excerpts and some of my notes from the book -

p. 6 - “…their overall rates of violent crime – such as murder, aggravated assault, and rape – are among the lowest on earth. Yet the majority of Danes and Swedes do not believe that God is “up there,” keeping diligent tabs on their behavior… In fact, most Danes and Swedes don’t even believe in the very notion of “sin.” Almost nobody in Denmark and Sweden believes that the Bible is divine in origin. And the rate of weekly church attendance in these Nordic nations is the lowest on earth…” [...]

p. 10 – "When they say they are “Christian” they are just referring to a cultural heritage and history. When asked what it means to be Christian, they said 'being kind to others, taking care of the poor and sick, and being a good and moral person.' They almost never mentioned God, Jesus, or the Bible in their explanation of Christian identity. When I specifically asked these Nordic Christians if they believed that Jesus was the Son of God or the Messiah, they nearly always said no – usually without hesitation. Did they believe that Jesus was born of a virgin or that he rose from the grave? Such queries were usually met with genuine laughter – as through the mere asking was rather silly.”

I haven't read it, but will definitely put this fascinating book on the short list of must-reads this year: Link

Here's a fascinating interview with Phil Zuckerman about, amongs other things, the difference of being a religious Christian in America and a cultural Christian in Denmark and the rise of Islam because of the immigration from Africa:


[YouTube Clip]

 
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It Doesn't Get Any More Badass Than This: Blenda, the Viking Heroine

Posted by Alex in Weapons & War on July 16, 2009 at 2:01 am

Exactly like its name advertises, Badass of the Week is a website dedicated to spotlighting badasses and their associated badasseries. I’m particularly fond of this entry for Blenda (and the Women of Smaland).

The King of Sweden returned from his campaign to find that Blenda and her girlfriends triumphantly standing on top of a massive heaping pile of dead Vikings, and was so pumped up about the whole thing that he granted the women of Smaland a bunch of totally awesome political and social rights that had been previously unavailable to them. From that point on, all daughters had the right to inherit property, money and land equally with their brothers, and were allowed to wear military-style garments around town and at their weddings. They were also given the prestigious right to wear the Royal Coat of Arms on their clothing – a tradition that has lasted to this day. Blenda is still recognized as a national hero in Sweden.

And that, my friends, is a pretty badass way to fight for women’s rights.

If there’s a lesson here, it’s this: don’t ever mess with Viking women. Ever.

Link

 
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Yay Sweden! Swedish Women Won Rights to Bathe Topless

Posted by Alex in Politics on June 26, 2009 at 1:29 am

God bless the feminists! Fighting what they deem as a sex discrimination of sorts, women of all shapes and sizes in Malmö bared criticisms to win the right to bathe topless in the city’s public swimming pool:

The breast issue has proved divisive, with political wranglings leading to the question being struck off the agenda at an earlier meeting in April.

These political cleavages remained on view right up until Wednesday’s meetings with disagreements on both the left and right sides. [...]

According to Forsberg, some on the council had lobbied for wording which would have required women to keep their nipples covered, but Forsberg explained that attempting to enforce such a rule would have been too complicated.

"We don’t define what bathing suits men should wear so it doesn’t make much sense to do it for women. And besides, it’s not unusual for men to have large breasts that resemble women’s breasts," he said.

I’m glad that the city’s sports and recreation committee has finally provided the proper support for this important matter. Rest assured, Neatorama will keep you abreast of the situation: Link

 
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Magazine Released as Tattoo

Posted by Miss Cellania in Tattoo, Etc. on March 25, 2009 at 9:44 am


The Swedish tattoo magazine Tare Lugnt “published” its third issue as a tattoo! I can’t find who the person tattooed is, but I suspect it might be Marc Strömberg. That’s what you call a “limited edition”! Link to story (with video). Link to magazine site. -via Buzzfeed

 
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The Cookie Race

Posted by Robert Birming in Arts & Crafts on February 3, 2008 at 12:46 pm

Me and my girlfriend came up with a somewhat different Christmas gift for our friends this year. Instead of running around trying to figure out what each and everyone wants, we bought the same thing for everyone: a Swedish “pepparkaksform” (ginger snaps baking pan) shaped like a Dala horse.

The mission was then for everyone to bake a Dala horse pepparkaka in any style they wanted to. All contributions are now up and the contestants can vote for the winner by email. The one that gets the most votes will win something that we think fits the persons whoever wins.

Which one is your favorite?

The Cookie Race Blog | Photos of all the Contributions

 
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