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We all know from our history books the atrocities commited in the name of religious belief. These can still be seen today in Ireland, Israel, Palestine and the Middle East. However these effects stretch further than these dramatic examples, effecting the quality of life in societies around the globe.

Throughout recent history we can see the opposition the church has posed in relation to secular morality in the cases of gender, racial and sexual equality, science and free thought as well as slavery and contraception to name a few.

These rights were hard won and many still contested today by fundamentalists and moderates alike with steep opposition and yet we blissfully ignore this and sit idley by, such behaviour is even protected and these groups are given vocal power not only in the public sphere but political as well, not to mention their tax exemptions.

The Catholic church's influence in Africa has led to witch hunts, torture and genocide. To top this off their stance on contraception is responsible for the spread of AIDs and HIV in many developing nations. As well as contributing to over population causing families to have children that they do not have the means to support.

From here we move down to the general behaviour of the religious and we find commonalites of disrespect and bigotry, hatred and violence among the religious directed at members of other faiths and minority groups. The United States is a prime example of this intolerance particularly throughout the "Bible Belt".

On a societal level the religious nations fall far behind secular societies in quality of life in all categories except suicide, which is most likely attributed to the fear of eternal damnation if you take your own life.

Taking a look at secular societies you find they rank highest in quality of life according to the United Nations human development index. The HDI measures Health, Education Attainment, Adult Literacy, Per Capita Income, Safety, Crime Rates, Cleanliness, Homelessness and Poverty Rates. Those countries ranking highest are all secular nations with high levels of Organic Atheism (Those not imposed by totalitarian regimes like that of North Korea).

These nations include Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Netherlands, Finland, Australia and Canada to name a few, sitting at the bottom of this list are all highly religious countries and totalitarian states.

When considering this data it is bewildering to see many nations not setting these secular societies as a benchmark and taking steps towards this.

Moving forward these nations need to seperate church and state and minimise the protection of these organisarions, education will play a key role in organically creating a secular society.

Focusing funding into education of Science, Logic, Ethics and Philosophy in combination with efforts to foster critical thinking and skepticism will begin to break the bonds of indoctrination and with a little luck be a catalyst towards a secular society.

Description
We all know from our history books the atrocities commited in the name of religious belief. These can still be seen today in Ireland, Israel, Palestine and the Middle East. However these effects stretch further than these dramatic examples, effecting the quality of life in societies around the globe.

Throughout recent history we can see the opposition the church has posed in relation to secular morality in the cases of gender, racial and sexual equality, science and free thought as well as slavery and contraception to name a few.

These rights were hard won and many still contested today by fundamentalists and moderates alike with steep opposition and yet we blissfully ignore this and sit idley by, such behaviour is even protected and these groups are given vocal power not only in the public sphere but political as well, not to mention their tax exemptions.

The Catholic church's influence in Africa has led to witch hunts, torture and genocide. To top this off their stance on contraception is responsible for the spread of AIDs and HIV in many developing nations. As well as contributing to over population causing families to have children that they do not have the means to support.

From here we move down to the general behaviour of the religious and we find commonalites of disrespect and bigotry, hatred and violence among the religious directed at members of other faiths and minority groups. The United States is a prime example of this intolerance particularly throughout the "Bible Belt".

On a societal level the religious nations fall far behind secular societies in quality of life in all categories except suicide, which is most likely attributed to the fear of eternal damnation if you take your own life.

Taking a look at secular societies you find they rank highest in quality of life according to the United Nations human development index. The HDI measures Health, Education Attainment, Adult Literacy, Per Capita Income, Safety, Crime Rates, Cleanliness, Homelessness and Poverty Rates. Those countries ranking highest are all secular nations with high levels of Organic Atheism (Those not imposed by totalitarian regimes like that of North Korea).

These nations include Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Netherlands, Finland, Australia and Canada to name a few, sitting at the bottom of this list are all highly religious countries and totalitarian states.

When considering this data it is bewildering to see many nations not setting these secular societies as a benchmark and taking steps towards this.

Moving forward these nations need to seperate church and state and minimise the protection of these organisarions, education will play a key role in organically creating a secular society.

Focusing funding into education of Science, Logic, Ethics and Philosophy in combination with efforts to foster critical thinking and skepticism will begin to break the bonds of indoctrination and with a little luck be a catalyst towards a secular society.