School Prayer And Crime Rates

[TheSkunkCat]

Oh there is an easy connection to make about crime rates actually.

Look at how the crime-rates, particularly violent crime (also things like suicides and the like by the way) rise and fall depending on which party is in power.

I'll give you the answer too. If right-wingers are in charge, those in need are told to go screw themselves, and that leads to both more crime, more violence and more suicides. If you don't take care of your weaker citizens, that's a side effect. Simple as that.

[flamingacdc1]

THE US IS AWSOME but some how the words "In god we trust" is STILL in the pledge of allegance

[Diomedes01]

In actuality, the two largest driving factors for spikes in crime for the USA are directly correlated with two things:

1) Prohibition (in the 1920s and 1930s)

2) The war on drugs

School prayer had no effect on crime whatsoever.

[Trampadoo]

@Diomedes01: Who says there is no relation? More fundie theists (and more school prayer), less open minds for education, more violence, more drugs etc.

There definitely seems to be a relation between low religiousity and low violent crime rates (Europe, Japan) and higher religiousity and higher violent crime rates so completely dismissing any realition doesn't seem sensible to me.

[Diomedes01]

@Trampadoo Sorry, I didn't make myself clear.

I wasn't implying that religion and crime had no correlation. I was merely indicating that prayer has no effect on crime and that the two largest factors when it came to crime increases in the USA were prohibition and the war on drugs. Which, one can argue, came about as a result of religious zealots pushing their agenda.

[Trampadoo]

@Diomedes01: Yeah, sorry, that was a misunderstanding. I think we are on the same page there. :)

[elroyrigsby]

Thxs for the website!

[TheServiceWeb]

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[Katalyzt]

★★★★★

[baldurus1]

OMG! Finally a use for the bible, thanks Matt.

[bastardoftheparty1]

We are among, if not the most religious nation in the world, yet we lead the world in all the symptomatic indicators. You know, the things that demonstrate that a society is sick; Murder, drug use, pedophilia, rape, theft, and all forms of violent crime. For all of our Godliness, we seem to be the most Godless. It is my strong belief that religion is responsible for this. Religion drives ppls activity (esp. sexual) underground and into darkness where it festers and becomes twisted.

[bastardoftheparty1]

@bastardoftheparty1 It is no accident that there are so many pedophiles among the worlds priest. Religion promotes and facilitates hate; Hatred of women, ppl of color, and the idea of independent thinking. Hell, freedom in general. This institution advises you that God has given you free will, and then attempts to usurp that free will with fascism and mind control. Religion is THE most fascist institution known to man.

[bastardoftheparty1]

I would also point out that the rate of homosexuality is high among priest as well, except that would imply that homosexuality is a sin and I don't believe in sin. The concept of sin is just another attempt to control ppl through fear. Life is about choices. Some decisions we make are more likely to produce negative consequences than positive. We don't need a list of ten, but if we did then, maybe we ought to get a better list because the 10 we've been given are woefully inadequate.

[kpgpwi64]

@BibleBeliever994 A school isn't a church and shouldn't be..

[kpgpwi64]

@BibleBeliever994 Matthew 6:6 -- pray in your closet, in secret....

[SickMouth]

@BibleBeliever994 That'd be ma'am to you.

[SickMouth]

@BibleBeliever994 STUDENT-LED being the key word. *Public schools* cannot advocate or promote the practice of a religion, because it violates an amendment in the Constitution. This is not a theocracy. Prayer cannot be led BY school officials. You weren't specific enough in what you were calling for, so next time try to be a bit more clear.

[SickMouth]

@BibleBeliever994 NO. Pray in the privacy of your own hope and maintain separation of church and state. If you want to live in a theocracy, move to Ireland...otherwise, you're in America. America is a secular nation. GTFO.

[chairde]

When I was young we did have prayer in school. I had to read from the Protestant Bible even though I was a Catholic and that is a sin in the eyes of the Catholic church. Now I'm 65 and I am so glad we don't have this silliness anymore in public schools. I don't go to Church anymore and consider myself to be an Atheist.

[fallbread]

no conection what ever

[DandAinTac]

The most common mistake/abuse of statistics is conflating correlation with causation. If two variables track correlate for period of time, this is no proof, (absent data to draw the connection) that variable A caused variable B. It could just as easily be the other way around--or other unaccounted-for variables could be causing the trend.

[ByTor190]

Did....Did Matt just plug a porno website?

[GallusSapien]

Matt sayd 'satistics'

[Keysteeze]

Taking religion out of the schools was the best thing for it. Religious people should not want the teaching of religion to return to public schools. If it does return, the state will give a secular teaching of religion. Whereas if the only aspects they learn about religion comes from the theological perspective of their parents they will be more likely to continue in the faith.

[Sigridburson]

You so busy critizing you didn't realize that is what the devil here for to confuse, kill steal and destroy I am not here to convince you whether you should live for Christ but I am here to say you should try it before you knock it. For we all fall short but in the end there would be no surprise becaue every knee will bow and every tongue will confess He is Lord. So you all keep doing what the devil want you to do. because God wins.

[Shadowlit001]

@Sigridburson

Prove it shit for brains.

[frackcha]

@Sigridburson another well structured sentence... Its always the theist's who have trouble with the basics, perhaps there are better things to spend one's time learning.. just saying.. :)

[Critic863]

@Sigridburson - God and Jesus can suck on my testicles.

[bary1234]

Religion is such embarrassment. Its waste of everybodys time and efforts. We have to kill these useless superstitions.

[BoricuaChiTown]

by the way the correlation is tied to decreased access to a complete and wholesome education and increased ignorance, therefore it's actually the quality of people's education that contributes to poverty and crime, not only in places where prayer happens in american schools but in pakistani madrasas and other forms of religious schooling on earth: kids don't learn true life skills, they learn bull$hit and therefore bcome docile and stupid adults and can't become productive citizens.

[BoricuaChiTown]

u should google a study published in his blog by Tom Rees entitled "Why some countries are more religious than others, which cites a previous study by Gregory S. Paul entitled "Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies". It uses census data from dozens of countries n even from different u.s. states showing a clear correlation btween faith n crime. pretty strong evidence not of causation but of correlation

[Shavarnarak]

Oh I absolutely agree with that theory that it's because there are less unwanted people growing up in poverty and misery.

Not all such people are criminals, but boy is it a great breeding ground for criminals. That's been proven time and again. The more miserable the poor are, the more issues they develop. That's a fucking fact. I mean that's behind alot of recent guncrimes in my countries.

[Shavarnarak]

@Shavarnarak

As for my solution to it... Birth control and social programs. It's an investment. You can never eliminate crime, but you can curb it.

Also legalizing drugs would help alot too. It'd kill alot of organized crime and save alot of money. In fact end all the 'war on' campaigns, spend the military money on the people instead.

[4me2cclearly]

Religion is the answer to a question, that a thinking man admits he does not know the answer to.

The thinking man attempts to answer the question using logic and reason, in a pursuit of knowledge.

Where as the self righteous religious, who assumes to have all the answers, stop questioning, and becomes complacent in the stagnant waters of there blind faith.

[snakefootak]

"Secular schools can never be tolerated because such schools have no religious instruction, and a general moral instruction without religious foundation is built on air; consequently all character training and religion must be derived from faith". -- Adolf hitler

[CanadiaNecro1]

The funny thing about abortion is IT'S NOT A CRIME. Religious bigots and male chauvanists would like to make it one but it's not.

[freesalvation7]

"Blessed and holy is he that hath paart in the first resurection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." Revelation 20:6 "And whosover was not found writen in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:15

[GermanChocolateCake]

@freesalvation7 Quoting scripture gains you exactly zero ground among atheists and agnostics.

[lubermanl]

Whenever drug laws are made stricter violent crimes also seem to increase.

The largest modern spike in violent crimes was prohibition.

So there are a ton of factors that can influence crime rates. Abortion makes sense, change in drug laws makes sense (more money for criminals the more illegal stuff there is to sell). Or even the lack of prayer in school, but that seems a little more iffy to me.

[masktrot]

On what Miss Peeples said; It was in the book Freakanomics where they cited or explained that the year when abortion was legalized in the states directly correlated with a drop in crime the exact year these unborn children were statistically supposed to hit their criminal prime.

[pierrot79]

Yes, there's a link ... but it is exactly the exact opposite !

"child abuse, prostitution, drug use" is well higher in theocracies (state religion like Saudi Arabia or religious countries like US)

[Perrine234]

Please stop lying for Jesus. :P

[sheppaul]

when you had prayer in school, you had more social control and injustice.

[ArrogantAtheist]

Atheists FTW!!

[masktrot]

Huh? Fuck The What?

[Soryazlawl]

THE POOOOLICE

[Xigano1]

Found this great one regarding school prayer:

Matthew 6:6

"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."

...

:-)

[sk8progression]

Surely it would be a secret. lol

[sandroeleven]

yeah you find one piece of scripture ..how convenient.

[Xigano1]

You're right sandroeleven.

I bet there are other pieces that demand forceing your faith on others.

It reely amuses me when people want to brush away scripture when it doesn't say what they want it to say.

[romperstompist]

@Xigano1 god wants to have sex with the people who are in the closet hahahaha

[creole2kiss]

@Xigano1 Found THIS great one regarding school prayer:

Ecc. 5:2 "Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God." This doesn't say that you CANNOT do it! It's just saying not to pray in public just to get attention.

DONE. :-)

[Drgamedood]

@Xigano1 The author of that verse probably wrote that so that christians in ancient rome could avoid being persecuted.

[seanie002]

oooh! - you evil sinners you!

lol

[Happinno]

What a great series.

[SummerSunshine1988]

If the power of prayer was brought back into the classroom, then perhaps the entire school system would not be going down the tubes like it is. Christ Himself could not persuade me to relive my school days.

[frballz]

Yeah, without prayer school gets worse every year. With prayer it gets worse every 10 seconds.

[vesiu5]

frballz, who gave the western world the public school system? ST. ELIZABETH ANNE SETON. Do not forget that public school was founded on prayer. Without God, we would have no free education. Wake up and smell the reality. Prayer saves.

[MST2k]

Founded on prayer?? What exactly does that mean? And why do most religous schools in this country (that I am aware of)charge tuition? And, can you show me some data that demonstrates that prayer saves (and what does it save)?

[vesiu5]

MST2k, St. Elizabeth Anne Seton, a Saint in the Catholic Church, founded the public school system. Its ironic that public schools are a result of a prayerful woman, yet people believe that somehow prayer is detrimental to education. WHAT!? Free education (by the way, the Church also founded the college system) was given to us by a woman who prayed daily and now somehow prayers are affecting education negatively? If so, the schools would have never been founded!

[MST2k]

It was a religious school, specifically rooted in the Catholic church - so yes, Catholic schools were founded in prayer, but I would hardly call that a "Public" school, since it was not funded by the commons. A school that springs from a particular religion can tend to exclude those of other faiths (or no faith). That exclusion led her to found her school in the first place, since Catholics were being discriminated against at the time.

[vesiu5]

ANYONE can attend a Catholic school, regardless of their background. Your assertion that "exclusion led her to found her school in the first place" is absolutely FALSE. The first school she founded failed due to anti-Catholicism; not because Catholicism excludes others, but because others exclude Catholicism! And are you seriously implying that she did not found free education because the school was Catholic? So Muslims did not preserve ancient Roman and Greek works because they were Arab? What!

[MST2k]

What I meant was that the exclusion of Catholics from other schools was one of the reasons (if not the main reason) for the founding of her school. Anyone may be able to attend a Catholic school, but that education (though of very high quality) is going to be coming from a Catholic perspective (to put it gently). I realize after rereading it that my previous post may have been confusing in the way it was worded. Hopefully, this makes it clearer to you.

[vesiu5]

Again, your opinion is not history. What fueled her is recorded to be her children! As a single mother, she was poor and wanted to provide for her children! Go read. And, Catholic education is not biased. You learn in greater detail the same things others are learning, but with higher quality, a more accepting atmosphere, more concerned teachers, and more opportunities to excel! I am sorry my friend, your argument is based on personal bias, not historical nor modern day fact. Peace.

[MST2k]

I have read (I just must have read different accounts than you). As for bias, perhaps you cannot see the forest for the trees. Peace - out.

[Bourneswimmer]

Ok you win then I guess. Lets have equality with religion in schools. Let us pray for The Christians... then the Islam,Judism Hindus, Buddists,Shinto,Taoism,Jainism­,Sikhism. No it doesn't work that way. I'm sorry but it doesn't m8. And I am pretty sure there were schools before the catholic church was even created yet. Look into it.

[carnifex714]

@frballz thats when your wrong it gets worse every 9 seconds

[petion2010]

@frballz Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!

[mpekarek1]

In a sense I was irritated at her, because you can destroy the theist argument by showing how disconnected it really is. By pointing out this fallacy, you essentially tell them they need to get a better argument before they can be taken seriously. I really wanted her to mention this, and she never did.

[mpekarek1]

The same logic also concludes that removal of school-sponsored prayer also contributed to higher life-expectancy and the computer revolution. It is a logical fallacy, that of false-correlation.

[MilesB1975]

She is refuting the claim of the theists , who claim that No Prayer = Crime Increase.

She makes no claim of correlation,but also noted that the evidence is inverse to the theist's claim

Think Harder.

[mpekarek1]

Huh? Isn't that what I said? I was adding that, since the logic leads easily to the opposite conclusion, it represents the logical fallacy of false correlation.

[MilesB1975]

I thought you meant SHE was making the logical fallacy.

Sorry, it wasn't clear who you were talking about.

[vesiu5]

mpekarek1 and MilesB1975, you both need to read a history book. Who founded the public school system? Do not forget that prayer gave America free education.

[brimstonefoxfur]

no! people who wanted free education and acted on it did! fact! prayer doesn't do crap!

and wtf is this shit? who care who watches more porn? sick christian freaks or us normal people lol jk . it doesnt matter! u r the ones void of true morals! we all know Christianity is one fucked up brew! don't deny it. but who really cares?

ps, Christians are fucking up government! we should kick them out and replace them with mentally competent people aka athiests

[Bourneswimmer]

Haha I've never seen another furry in these kinda videos before. Hi ^^

[UrinationNation]

In a standard criminology book that is used in classes that all cops take it clearly explains crime rates, and how they tend to stay steady, what changes is the quality of the reporting. The police at the end of the year have to fill out these were strict forms that are supposed to be very accurate and send them off to the FBI who then compile them and report them, however the cops sometimes don't report accurately, and besides that only the most serious crime is reported from an incident.

[slytherinspy1960]

Yeah! I can watch it now!

[slytherinspy1960]

Why can't i watch this?

it keeps saying "We're sorry, this video is no longer available."

[maverik713]

Read Freakonomics and you can get a better idea of how Leavitt links Roe v Wade and the crime rate. Very interesting stuff.

[phazon4]

O i really feel bad on how your school waste your time as those its there time those idiots u should transfer as soon as possible and make good use of the time those retards tried to steel from you

[keeg7342]

What most people don't understand about correlation studies is it does not point out the cause of what they are testing on but just finding trends on what they test. Example, most people convicted of murder love tacos. Trends don't mean jack shit.

[CuntKnuckles]

I love tacos

I'll fucking kill you

QED

[keeg7342]

haha i had a feeling someone would say that

[Elitistb616]

If I remember from a Kent Hovind video showing the crime rates over time, crime rates were increasing BEFORE prayer was removed, which indicates it is unrelated. The graph didn't even show it spiking at that time.

Coincidentally, I suppose, the rate increased as communication technology increased. Perhaps it was easier to report crimes? Maybe?

[califoniania]

The comet Shoemaker Levy 9 was destroyed by hitting Jupiter in 1994. The rate of violent crime started to decrease significantly in 1994. This, of course, means that Shoemaker Levy 9 was the cause of the previous increase in crime.

See creationists, I can find correlations too.

[unquenchablefire]

Although I'm an atheist, I take issue with that "conservatives buy more porn" study. It really was one study from one website's membership records. I just think that they're really making a giant, unfounded (for now) leap to assume that conservitaves buy more porn as a whole.

If they were, however, to check records of an adult authentication company, like CCBill, they'd probably have a better leg to stand on.

Also, they can't gauge the prevalence of porn piracy.

[MST2k]

While this is purely anectdotal, by far the majority of hard-core swingers I've met have been conservatives (politically, that is).

[8WholeThing]

I dug an old World Book (we got one annually when I was a kid) from about 1961 was complaining about the rise in crime, but this was before the SCOTUS decision.

The crime rate began to rise in the early 1950's, right around the time Congress required "In God We Trust" on all the money.

[KasparHauser4]

Having lived through that time period. My guess is that it was the VIETNAM WAR and the political unrest it precipitated in our nation's politics that caused the violent crime rates to rise. At least it sure seemed that way from where i was living

[hellshade2]

that's a more logical reason as well

[Nashy119]

School prayer and crime rates are not related, why would we need to explain that.

[saxmanchiro]

Doesn't one get multiple paper cuts from thumping the bible? Was it an apple that Eve bit in the garden or was it something else that was forbidden? How did Adam and Eve know how to 'do it'? Did they have some animals to watch or did gawd do a demo with a few angels he keeps on the side? So many questions, no good answers to be had.

[AtheistKang]

LOL @ 4:30

[Piscivorus]

Crime is more effected by poverty than school prayer but, all of the economic policies that are responsible for poverty were created by politicians who've been praying since kindergarten.

[KARIN094]

We need a Christian Nympho Anonymous group.! LOL

CNA!

[DeletedDelusion]

I've wondered why in the porn-movies I've seen the actresses constantly moaned "oh my god".....

LOL

[CarpeOmne]

can you send me the link? plzzzzzzzz i want to see it!!!

[MagnusIan]

Biblical sex... sounds most unsexy. I guess they could say something like "Not so 'Virgin Mary' now, huh?" :P

[mrlurp]

Okay lets say that it did effect the crime rate, this just means that Christians are the ones committing the crimes. PWND!

If youre losing the fight to force prayer in public schools then perhaps youre not praying enough in your dam churches and god hates you? The proof is in yer pudding!

Wow I think I was possessed by a Phelps Nahh it was just gas!

[DirtyBadger13]

I love TAE :D