Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[seabass]

>>>Look, it's not that civilizations thrived in spite of religion, there are NONE that did so without religion.<<<


What critical role are you saying religion plays that's necessary for a thriving society? And how do you explain the success of much of northern Europe where religion for all practical purposes has been abandoned? These countries have among the highest living standards in the world including some of the highest literacy rates, longest life expectancy and lowest infant mortality rates.



"In general, Danes are not very religious, with church attendance being generally low. According to a 2005 study by Zuckerman[1], Denmark has the third-highest proportion of atheists and agnostics in the world, estimate to be between 43% and 80%, as many do not practice their faith."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Denmark


"Sweden ranks aside with France and Russia on having a large minority of its citizens who have no religion. Independent of these statistics, it is generally known that Swedish society, collectively, is comparatively secular and non-religious."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden#_note-55


"In modern times the Icelanders are mostly a secular people with low church attendance."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Iceland