<p>Ya right. A nation run by Kim Jong-il must be nice :)</p>
<p>Other highly atheist populatied nations that I would by no means consider "bad" places":</p>
<p>Sweden
Denmark
Norway
Finland
Netherland
Britain</p>
<p>Man, these are all bad, bad places.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Ya right. A nation run by Kim Jong-il must be nice
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You do realize there is a "South Korea," right? And that it's a seperate nation? And that in common parlance most people refer to it as "Korea?"</p>
<p>So, in the end, this is my conclusion:</p>
<p>Most of those highly atheist populated nations (with a few exceptions) are pretty nice places to live. I'd gladly live in any of the Northern European nations, despite their being filled with Satanic evil atheists.</p>
<p>That, and I've lost my ability to be subtle.</p>
<p>By the way Sevendust, your aticle says "65% of Japanese don't believe in a God." Buddhism has no God (don't know about Shinto though), so you can be Buddhist and "atheist." Are you saying that for that reason, Buddhism is less of a moral standard than Christianity or Islam? I would say the reverse--that Buddhism is the MOST morally centered religion.</p>
<p>Sevendust, in addition to answering UCLAri's question, here's another one: How do you know the Bible is true? Did your mom or dad or someone tell you? Who told them? What if the 3-4 people or whatever that wrote the Bible just lied, and then it just went from there? The question I'm getting at here, I guess, is why are you Christian? If the answer is simply because your mommy or daddy told you to be, then I would consider that a shallow and weak faith indeed.</p>
<p>zogoto,</p>
<p>Shinto is polytheism at its best. Gods are everywhere and in everything.</p>
<p>
[quote]
By the way Sevendust, your aticle says "65% of Japanese don't believe in a God." Buddhism has no God (don't know about Shinto though), so you can be Buddhist and "atheist." Are you saying that for that reason, Buddhism is less of a moral standard than Christianity or Islam? I would say the reverse--that Buddhism is the MOST morally centered religion.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Japan is an atheist country. Buddhims is a BELIEF, not a RELIGION. I am talking about religion. You cant compare it with Islam or Christianity, since their beliefs are different. </p>
<p>
[quote]
How do you know the Bible is true? Did your mom or dad or someone tell you? Who told them? What if the 3-4 people or whatever that wrote the Bible just lied, and then it just went from there? The question I'm getting at here, I guess, is why are you Christian? If the answer is simply because your mommy or daddy told you to be, then I would consider that a shallow and weak faith indeed.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I am Muslim and I believe in Islam. The Quran was never altered and most of what its claims have already been proven. For example, it predicted the takeover of Constantinople by Muslims, which became true hundreds of years later. It also predicted rise of gays and atheists which is also true unfortunately. The Bible and Torah are also true. They also talk about various scientific phenomenons that have been proven/studied hundreds of years later (ex Big bang)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Shinto is polytheism at its best. Gods are everywhere and in everything.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That makes sense ;)</p>
<p>I am not Christian, but rather Muslim. I am Muslim because I believe a Higher Being created everything existing and I belive that everything should be run based on the Holy Book(s). I also believe in the existance of prophets and God's messengers.</p>
<p>I personally believe that reaching "the state of no desire" is impossible, especially in the modern world.</p>
<p>Buddhism is a religion: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism%5B/url%5D">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism</a></p>
<p>Ok so just because the things it claims are true then the things that aren't even proveable are true? But why are you Muslim? I bet you your parents are Muslim and that's the main reason. You did not adopt the Islamic framework from your own thinking and reasoning.</p>
<p>That still leaves UCLAri's original question unanswered. You already conceded that Japan has a lower crime rate, and then later say that it is atheistic. If this implies a correlation, then can't we go the other way and say religion leads to crime?</p>
<p>Religion is defined as the the belief in a Higher Being. Based on that, Buddhism is NOT a religion.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Ok so just because the things it claims are true then the things that aren't even proveable are true? But why are you Muslim? I bet you your parents are Muslim and that's the main reason. You did not adopt the Islamic framework from your own thinking and reasoning.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Its true that I was Muslim in the first place cause my parents are as well. Is that wrong? I still have the ability to change my beliefs, but I find Islam to be true.</p>
<p>I never said japan had a low crime rate.</p>
<p>Source: Asia Times</p>
<p>
[quote]
Over the past decade, Japan's image as one of the "safest countries in the world" has undergone a disturbing transformation and downgrading. The once-marginal crime rate has jumped an astronomical 150%. Public confidence in the police has plummeted to below 50%, an all-time low. At the same time, a series of high-profile police scandals has rocked public trust and revealed serious flaws in the way the country's law-enforcement system works.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>
[quote]
Other highly atheist populatied nations that I would by no means consider "bad" places":</p>
<p>Sweden
Denmark
Norway
Finland
Netherland
Britain</p>
<p>Man, these are all bad, bad places.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>They are, actually.
<a href="http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/countries-with-highest-reported-crime-rates.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/countries-with-highest-reported-crime-rates.html</a></p>
<p>So you expect me to believe that countries with such a high rate of crime also have the highest standard of living in the world?</p>
<p>There's a difference between 'reported crime' and violent crime. The U.S. will top each of these countries in violent crime rates, possibly excepting Grenada.</p>
<p>
[quote]
So you expect me to believe that countries with such a high rate of crime also have the highest standard of living in the world?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I would expect crime rates to be high in poor countries. The case is actually the opposite :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
There's a difference between 'reported crime' and violent crime. The U.S. will top each of these countries in violent crime rates, possibly excepting Grenada.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Actually Britain (an atheist nation) tops US. Based on "violent crime," the most safest countries are ones that are predominantly religious.
<a href="http://www.benbest.com/lifeext/murder.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.benbest.com/lifeext/murder.html</a></p>
<p>No, you can be sure that crime in poor countries is much, much higher. Your chart can only take into account REPORTED crime. If your country is poor, you probably won't be reporting crime anyways. In the United States, a large percentage of crime goes unreported.</p>
<p>Upon looking into this a little more on your site, the country with the highest reported crime rate, Iceland, also happens to have the lowest murder rate in the world, a rate of 0.00 per 100,000 people.</p>
<p>I'd rather have my bicycle stolen than get shot any day of the week.</p>
<p>remember though guys, correlation is not necessarily causation. Saudi arabia has relatively low crime, but they also cut off your hands for theft, and institue the death penalty quite liberally, perhaps that's the reason their crime is lower, and not because god said it's wrong.</p>
<p>Also remember, about 93% of "Icelanders" have a religion :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
Saudi arabia has relatively low crime, but they also cut off your hands for theft, and institue the death penalty quite liberally, perhaps that's the reason their crime is lower, and not because god said it's wrong.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Also remember, Saudis are staunch Muslims. Its one of the most religious places in the world.</p>
<p>Britain has a very high crime rate, and thats prolly because people dont believe in sins.</p>
<p>you convienently left out the first line of my post "CORRELATION IS NOT NECESSARILY CAUSATION"</p>
<p>meaning maybe it's not the fact that they're muslims which causes the low crime rate, but maybe it's the severely harsh penalties for crime.</p>
<p>There are plenty of other "safe" countries in the world. Do you attribute that to harsh penalties?</p>
<p>not all to harsh penalties, there are hundreds of cultural factors that could influence it, religion being ONE of those, but you can't say that it's the sole reason.</p>
<p>Sevendust,</p>
<p>You don't understand statistics, do you?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Over the past decade, Japan's image as one of the "safest countries in the world" has undergone a disturbing transformation and downgrading. The once-marginal crime rate has jumped an astronomical 150%.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Growth doesn't mean that the aggregate is all of a sudden a large number. DESPITE that growth, Japan still has either the lowest or one of the lowest crime rates in the world.</p>
<p>And all this despite all those evil atheists running around.</p>