Hey Jow Forums, do you believe that the less religious a Country is...

Hey Jow Forums, do you believe that the less religious a Country is, the more depressed and less likely they are to have children?

Attached: 1537390270997.png (500x623, 507K)

yeah but i don't think its a related thing necessarily just the more rich/educated a society gets the less religious it become and also the less kids they have since theres now no reason to have them except feeling good

All the euros I have met get 2 reactions here. Either they bad mouth religion and claim that is why we are in so much shit, or they say how much they miss the community and emphasis on family which they doubt they may ever have.

Not really. There's a ton more teen preganancies, illegitimate children etc. All depends on numerous factors. Are they less religious but allow birth-control? Are they less religious but better educated?

As for the depression. I think people who conform are usually happier in religious countries but it comes on the backs of everyone on the margins and as soon as you get tired of comfort and go looking freedom your in for a world of pain.

I'll concede that religious people tend to be happier. because who wouldn't be? if you actively delude yourself into thinking an omnipotent magic sky fairy loves and cares about you of course you'll feel good about yourself
religiosity is actually the mark of stupidity (generally). as such, the more religious your country is, the stupider it is. so of course with developed countries you have people who are better educated and smarter. as a result, they tend to be less religious. also there's a strong correlation between intelligence and depression. in other words, the smarter you are, the less religious and more depressed you are
so yes, religious societies are probably happier but ignorance is bliss

That answer seems odd for an irish person, but I suppose I agree with your main points. I was just wondering about depression in euro countries and japan.

I think not just to do with religion. I asked my parents this question before. Do you think people had less mental health problems in the past in Ireland? And they said yes simply because when your poorer you have less time to think about your problems. You are out working and when you get off work you are physically exhausted. Work and doing things are themselves a bit of a cure for depression.

That said there are many other ways of looking at it. Depressed people were less likely to be diagnosed as such because it was taboo to talk about. They hid it with drink and drinking in turn can be extremely bad for your mental health. People killed themselves or fled to England and people simply didn't talk about it.

There was probably more community support for people feeling down which is key to good mental health. Again though; it all depended on why you were depressed. Your wife died? Everyone is by your side. Your gay and your family has disowned you? Tough titty we'll actively make your life hell and you'll feel a lot worse.

Religion in Ireland was about as close as it gets, arguably was, a theocracy. Its hard for people to understand just how all powerful the church was. If you can find it there was a documentary called "The Whole World in His Hands" about the popes visit in the 1970's and the cult like hysteria is truly truly terrifying.

Well I will not deny that that may be less than optimal. In fact I completely understand why people would not want religion in their life. I just know that when I lost my faith I became far more depressed and aimless. I felt no real liberation. I had lost a community unless I showed up and felt a liar. I felt no succor and my God became a void. I was happier when I was religious, and a not insignificant amount of people have told me the same. Is there a balancing act that can be found?

I would say that it is the start of a journey. Before you had someone to provide all the answers for you. Now you must come up with those answers yourself. You must find meaning in things all by yourself. This will take an enormous amount of time and energy and debate within yourself. On the bright-side you will eventually have meaning that is truer and custom made for you. Whereas before you were looking at a painting by someone else you are now forced to paint yourself. And you don't know how to paint. Of course you are depressed. You are staring at a blank canvas. I would recommend reading some of Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Maybe at the end of all this you will return to your old belief system. At least then you will have a re-strengthened faith and truly understand it so you really can't lose either way.

Thanks for the advice man I appreciate it. Hope you have a good one today.