Comparing global data regarding peacefulness, happiness, honesty and social progress.

In the twenty-first century, we have global data on almost every aspect of human life. For example, we can find out quite easily – usually by doing a quick search on the Internet – what the average income is in this or that country, what the population density or what the level of literacy is.

Thanks to these many international statistics, it is now easier to compare religious countries with secular countries. People from religious countries often express criticism of those who describe themselves as non-believers. In some religious groups there is even hatred of the “unbelievers”.

Do religions fulfill the typical promises that religions make?

But is this critical view of secular countries and non-believers justified? Or, to put it another way: Do religions, especially when propagated by religious politicians, fulfill the typical promises that religions make: that the country will be more peaceful, that life will be better through religiosity, that religious people will be more honest and, ultimately, that religious people will be happier?

It cannot be overlooked that there are also large migration movements from more religious countries to secular countries, which can probably be explained by the fact that these migrants think life there is better.

I would like to invite both religious and non-religious people to look at some global data that can provide answers to four questions:

• • • Firstly: are religious countries really more peaceful? Is everyday life really less violent? (Victoria Rationi has already asked this question in her publications.)
    • Secondly, are people in religious countries more honest?
    • Third: Is there a positive development in living conditions in religious countries? (Is life getting better ?)
    • Fourth: Are people in religious countries happier?

I am not initiating this discussion because I want to criticise religious people, but because, as a peace researcher, I regularly see with concern and also sadness data on various forms of violence in countries around the world, which are often higher in religious countries than in secular countries.

Peacefulness. The most important international index of the peacefulness of countries in the world is the Global Peace Index , which is published on the Internet every year by the Institute for Economics & Peace . When it comes to researching the causes of wars, historical and political developments in the regions concerned are of course cited, as a kind of justification: here one party “had to” take up arms. However, I think that for people who belong to a religion that describes itself as peaceful, the principle of non-violence must also apply to national and international conflicts: these people will try everything to resolve a conflict through negotiations, non-violent resistance, embargoes… but not with bombs, tanks, and guns.

Non-violence (the rejection of violence within a country). Those who have read my previous articles will know that I see the causes of wars in a “culture of violence” that prevails in some countries of the world and is reflected in the fact that many forms of violence are not actually prohibited by law. You can also look up this information yourself on the Internet, and many religious people may be surprised that the prohibition of all forms of violence exists primarily in secular countries:

• • • Is child corporal punishment still allowed in child rearing (or even in the penal system and when imprisoning children)? Data: Wikipedia, endcorporalpunishment.org (Website of the End Corporal Punishment initiative)
    • Is domestic violence against women and marital rape still allowed? Data: World Bank (The World Bank on LinkedIn), Wikipedia, Women, Peace and Security Index published by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security
    • Is the death penalty still practiced? Data: Wikipedia
    • Is torture still allowed? Data: Wikipedia
    • Is violence against homosexuals / LGBTIQ+ people allowed? Data: Wikipedia
    • Is corporal punishment allowed in prison? Data: Wikipedia

As a peace researcher, I believe that the world can only become peaceful in the long term if all forms of violence are banned worldwide, especially violence in child-rearing, because a violence-free childhood is the psychological foundation of peaceful societies. I call this strategy “peace mainstreaming.”

Honesty. Are people in religious countries more honest? The Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International provides an answer to this question.

Social progress. A very comprehensive index for this is the Social Progress Index by the Social Progress Imperative. It includes data on the quality of the health system, education, drinking water and so on. So it is not about economic progress, but about improving the quality of life.

Happiness / satisfaction. Are people happier in religious countries? Every year, the World Happiness Report (World Happiness Report on LinkedIn) is published based on worldwide surveys. It provides an impression of life satisfaction in countries around the world.

The statistics mentioned above could therefore provide an answer – or at least trends – in four important areas of life that can be used to compare religious countries with secular countries. Anyone who has looked at these statistics (which will certainly change in the coming years – perhaps new statistics will be added) can find an answer to the question posed at the beginning:

Who is ahead in the race between the secular world and the religious countries on the issues of peacefulness and non-violence, honesty, social progress and happiness?

Finally, I would like to emphasize once again that this article is written from my perspective as a peace researcher and as an activist for a violence-free childhood (SDG 16.2) and the protection of women from domestic violence [ISDG 5.2 – I am a supporter of the White Ribbon Campaign (White Ribbon on LinkedIn)]. It is very sad and frightening for me to see that violence against children and women is often higher in religious countries than in secular countries, but of course all the other forms of violence that I mentioned in my “Culture of Violence Scale” are also terrible.

This article is primarily intended to stimulate discussion: between religious people (including those of different religions), between religious and non-religious people, and between religious people and their religious leaders. For all those religious people who wonder whether there is a positive non-religious school of thought, I would like to point out humanism, which advocates rationality and reason. Because regardless of religious commandments, it is simply sensible to live non-violently because it avoids human suffering. And it shows a lack of empathy to allow violence when you see that people are suffering as a result.

And for those who didn’t know: some universities already have adepartment of secularism research : you can find it on the Internet under the search term “Secular Studies”. In the books by Phil Zuckerman, Ryan Cragun , Isabella Kasselstrand (among others) you can read about what life is like in secular societies. I think there should also be such faculties in the German-speaking countries.

This article was originally published on peace-studies.com under the following Creative Commons license: CC BY-ND 4.0, which means that it may be published in other publications and on other websites without asking the author, provided it is not modified and the source is indicated.

Cover Image courtesy of Christine Roy