Does a belief in a forgiving God encourage dishonesty and crime? A new study by Azim Shariff at the University of Oregon suggests it may.
Shariff and his team looked at data about the beliefs of 143,000 people from 67 countries and found that national crime rates were typically higher in countries with particularly strong beliefs in heaven but weak beliefs in hell.
“Belief in a benevolent, forgiving god could license people to think they can get away with things,” says Shariff, though he states this conclusion is speculative.
It seems they’ve found the obvious; if people believe they are going to be forgiven for a crime, they are more likely to commit it. There is no personal responsibility with a belief that confessing and promising not to do it again or embracing the tenets of a particular religion and its deity will get you off the hook.
Alternatively, an understanding of the theories of karma, reincarnation, and fate may be much more of an incentive to do the right (not necessarily moral or proper) thing in all situations.
When you accept that everything you do, say, and intend will come back to you, and that you’ve earned many of your present life “good” and “bad” circumstances from your past life actions, you realize that it’s in your best interest to always treat others as you’d like to be treated.
Don’t take my word for it, experience our new and improved Past Life Regression audio MP3 and perceive for yourself how your past lives have influenced your present life: http://www.holisticmakeover.com/Allaudios.htm.
Read more about the study here: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21966-is-gods-mercy-to-blame-for-high-crime-rates.html.
Copyright © 2012 Stephen Petullo
