[Rama Set]

Blue zones of lifespan are often correlated to strong community ties, whether faith-based or not. 

[Tintagel]

This is why I don't generally discuss religion.

This is not at all what I wanted this thread to turn into.  Could we relocate the discussion of theism/atheism/deism/antitheism to PR&S perhaps and get this one back on the simulated rails?

[Blanko]

The split topic form is PERFECTLY FUNCTIONAL AND WORKING AS INTENDED.

[Lord Dave]

People with faith probably have less stress because they allow the big man in the sky to fix it.  And if he doesn't, "its just a test for me.". Plus they have a social group to talk to. (Church)

But you could get high every sunday with a group of friends hand have the same effects.

[Socker]

I doubt I'm getting the positive effects. I'm currently at home with my parents over winter break, and I'm forced to go to church, as well as lie about the fact that I'm a Christian. I dread Sundays, honestly, and I have my whole life.

[Alchemist21]

That sucks.  I've never been forced to go to church, which is probably why I'm not atheist.  And yeah, you're not gonna get positive benefits from a stressful situation.

[Rama Set]

I doubt I'm getting the positive effects. I'm currently at home with my parents over winter break, and I'm forced to go to church, as well as lie about the fact that I'm a Christian. I dread Sundays, honestly, and I have my whole life.

I bet if you stopped lying your stress level would go down.

[Yaakov ben Avraham]

Every day, I THANK my parents for letting me explore practically every religion out there (Judaism, Catholicism, the C of E, Methodism, Baptist, Mormon, Hindu, Buddhist, Islam, Lutheranism), & yes, atheism. My brother & his wife are atheist. I chose the Faith of my forefathers. But the only one for which I have little tolerance is Islam. It is not the theology that disturbs me (although it does, to a point). It is the fact that so many of them enjoy blowing shit up. But I don't see the atheist as my enemy. I've met some damn moral atheists. Ok, the militant Dawkins type offends me, but most atheists tend to live & let live. I'm happy w/ that arrangement.

[Socker]

I doubt I'm getting the positive effects. I'm currently at home with my parents over winter break, and I'm forced to go to church, as well as lie about the fact that I'm a Christian. I dread Sundays, honestly, and I have my whole life.

I bet if you stopped lying your stress level would go down.

Doubt it, saying I'm an atheist would make my parents and extended family see me in a bad light, to be putting it mildly. If anything, stress would be way up.

[beardo]

If your parents would take offence to the fact that you're an atheist, then they're terrible parents and deserves to be offended.

[Alchemist21]

If your parents would take offence to the fact that you're an atheist, then they're terrible parents and deserves to be offended.

Not everyone has open-minded parents, and he never said he hates his family so I imagine he doesn't want to get disowned.

[beardo]

Only shows how terrible and awful parents they are if they'd disown him just for not believing in god.

[Yaakov ben Avraham]

Well, my folks were a bit less than tolerant when I said I was going to Mosque. The fact that my views are a bit more strident than theirs now is another thing entirely. But out of all the religion (& lack of it) that I studied, the only one they didn't like was Islam. I agree w/ them now, of course. But all the others they took in stride, including atheism, which my brother holds today. I don't really 'get' atheism, but I'm down w/ it, if that's what works for you. I certainly can't imagine disowning a child over it!

[Roundy]

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-beast/201302/do-religious-people-live-longer
http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/spirituality-may-help-people-live-longer
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8044586/Having-faith-helps-patients-live-longer-study-suggests.html

Try reading the article in your first link, Roundy.

1) I'm interested in the facts, not whatever liberal (or conservative, for that matter) the source material might decide to throw in there.  I always die a little inside when I see an article that should be impartial of personal opinion in favor of simply presenting the facts feels the need to inject such a strong bias into the discussion to such a degree as the author does in this one.  You will note that he does begrudgingly acknowledge that participating in a faith-based community at least in the US is linked to longer life.  His wild theories about why this might be the case really don't interest me.

2) The US provides a much larger sample than a country like Denmark.  And even if it was appropriate to say that religious people surrounded mostly by other religious people have a higher life expectancy, it doesn't do anything to diminish the overall point.  Perhaps they'd be living longer in Denmark if they were a more God-fearing country; we can really only speculate.  But I guess that given the qualification that it only applies in religious countries, Blanko is safe to deflate the beliefs of as many Christians in his own country as he wants without fear of doing them harm.

3) There are far too many cultural differences between a country like the US and a country like Japan to pin their differences in life expectancy on any particular cause (in the case of Japan and the US for example I'm far more inclined to pin the reasons down to differences in diet more than anything else).  The point about some secular countries having higher life expectancies than the US is irrelevant.  And obviously the point that less developed countries with very low life expectancies tend to be more religious is irrelevant too.  The reasons for the shortened lives of people in such countries is self-evident and has nothing whatsoever to do with their inclination to participate in a faith-based community.  I apologize for linking an article with such a disgusting bias... but again, the facts stand, and that's all I really care about.

If I happened to miss what you were trying to point out, Oscar, please be more specific.

[Yaakov ben Avraham]

Being unable to read the article on my dumbphone, is it saying that Danes live more or less years than Americans? Denmark, unlike the US, has a State Church the (Lutheran) Church of Denmark, to which app. 79% of Danes belong, primarily because a Dane is automatically a member unless he asks not to be. Only about 6% of Danes actually worship, in the Danish Church or anywhere else. I had read that in a survey of nations, Danes were rated the happiest on earth. I had also read that several years ago, the government had considered disestablishing the Church, only to be met w/ strong resistance from the people, including, oddly enough, Muslims in Denmark, who felt that established Christianity was better than nothing @ all. Needless to say, the plan was shelved.

[Socker]

If your parents would take offence to the fact that you're an atheist, then they're terrible parents and deserves to be offended.

Not everyone has open-minded parents, and he never said he hates his family so I imagine he doesn't want to get disowned.

Nah, I wouldn't be disowned, it would be more of everyone in the family giving me dirty looks at get togethers and the like. My sister admitted she wasn't religious to my parents, and now she's doing a weekly bible study with my dad. (Which I am not interested in doing, I wouldn't put it past my dad to try doing it over the phone while I'm at school) But for ultra religious parents, they honestly aren't that bad. I just don't see any need to rock the boat more than is necessary, so I lie about my religion.

[beardo]

You have terrible parents.

[Socker]

You have terrible parents.

Matter of opinion, I suppose.

[Blanko]

Oh, Oscar.

For the record, I can't even load the first link so I have no idea what it's saying. Also, Roundy, I have no idea why you think I want to "deflate the beliefs of many Christians in my country", nor do I know why you thought it was necessary to say that. Again you're just trying to portray every atheist as a militant Dawkins fanatic without anything to suggest they are such.

[Saddam Hussein]

the sheer endurance bestowed upon a truly euphoric atheist among his peers

Not because of any phony god's blessing.  But because, he is enlightened by his intelligence.