Re: [asa] Dawkins is at it again

Hi Bernie,

"If Dawkins was right, then he would have a very good point. If there was no God heaven, or hell, then it could be mental torture on kids."

This is incorrect. Real child abuse and mental torture bring about changes in the brain and body that are detectable later on in life. For example, if you meet or know someone who has a low self-esteem, who has poor social skills, who battles depression, and who suffers from a variety of ailments (migraines, skin problems, digestive problems, anxiety issues, etc.), chances are good that this person was abused as a child. But don't take my word for it, look to science:

"Childhood maltreatment strongly predicts poor psychiatric and physical health outcomes in adulthood. This overview of the literature shows that individuals who suffer abuse, neglect, or serious family dysfunction as children are more likely to be depressed, to experience other types of psychiatric illness, to have more physical symptoms (both medically explained and unexplained), and to engage in more health-risk behaviors than their nonabused counterparts. (Arnow BA. 2004. Relationships between childhood maltreatment, adult health and psychiatric outcomes, and medical utilization. J Clin Psychiatry. 65 Suppl 12:10-5.)"

There is no evidence that teaching children about hell results in these adult outcomes. Dawkins, writing as the Professor for the Public Understanding of Science, ignores the extensive scientific literature on child abuse and its effects. What's more, there is also a large body of scientific evidence that shows a religious upbringing is psychologically and developmentally positive. An there are studies which show religious people are less likely to engage in child abuse:

"Religiosity and the socioemotional adjustment of adolescent mothers and their children.Carothers SS, Borkowski JG, Lefever JB, Whitman TL.
J Fam Psychol. 2005 Jun;19(2):263-75.

This study assessed the impact of religiosity on the socioemotional and behavioral outcomes of 91 adolescent mothers and their offspring over 10 years. Religiosity was defined as involvement in church and contact with and dependence on church officials and members. Mothers classified as high in religious involvement had significantly higher self-esteem and lower depression scores, exhibited less child abuse potential, and had higher occupational and educational attainment than mothers classified as low in religious involvement; differences remained when multiple factors, such as stress and grandmother support, were held constant. Children with more religious mothers had fewer internalizing and externalizing problems at 10 years of age, with maternal adjustment mediating this relationship. Religiosity, through increased social support, served as a protective factor for teenaged mothers and their children."

Dawkins also ignores these data.

Thus, there is a profound hypocrisy and intellectual dishonesty in Dawkins message. On one hand, he claims science has disproven the existence of God, yet there are no scientific studies that attempt to determine whether or not God exists. On the other hand, there are plenty of scientific studies that undercut his "religious upbringing as child abuse" message, and the scientist ignores these.

What he instead offers in his book is rhetoric and anecdote. He tells the story about a letter he received from some unknown woman who got over her sexual abuse, but is still tormented by hell beliefs. Of course, there is no effort to substantiate this account; Dawkins trusts it on blind faith. But even if the story is true, I'd bet this woman has many monsters in her past and her mind has decided to "blame hell" as a defensive mechanism. It's often easier to lash out at an idea than relive the hellish experience that can come from *people.*

Bottom line: Even if hell does not exist, there is no evidence that such belief generates the effects typically associated with child abuse. Furthermore, there is plenty of evidence that strong religiosity during childhood has a positive effect on development.

-Mike

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Dehler, Bernie
  To: asa@calvin.edu
  Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2008 11:54 AM
  Subject: RE: [asa] Dawkins is at it again

  If Dawkins was right, then he would have a very good point. If there was no God heaven, or hell, then it could be mental torture on kids. However, if Dawkins is wrong, then he'll burn in hell for it. likely. but that would be God's call.

  .Bernie

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Received on Thu Nov 6 20:16:06 2008