Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Even more interesting...

Following up from the previous post, someone asked what a cross-section of the most religious states vs. highest quality of life states would look like... well, defining "quality of life" is ambiguous at best... but I looked at this "most livable states" survey from 2007 for my cross-section... and... wow...

**** Yes, of course I am aware that correlation does not equal causation.  I just find the correlation interesting.



6 comments:

  1. Saw your comment on the pink telescopes over at Pharyngula and would LOVE to hear more, if you are interested in sharing with my readers.

    lisa@parentsforethicalmarketing.org

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  2. Off the top of my head, I'd say that the lower quality of life you have, the more prone you are to want to believe in a better life after this one, and if you have a good quality of life, you're more apt to see it as your own making and have little use for a belief that the afterlife is more important than the here and now.

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  3. eryoshimura - there's some of that, yes... but I think the thing I find interesting is that religiosity correlates to both lower education and lower "livability"... religion, in general, is antithetical to reason and learning. Asking questions and being inquisitive is actively discouraged in the most fundamentalist areas of the country... this leads to a lower desire to be educated beyond basic literacy and what the bible tells . And I think that leads to a lower "livability" quotient for the given area. A more educated population on average leads to a better quality of life for the entire population, top to bottom I believe.

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  4. celtic evolution - you're DEAD...

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  5. oooohh... we have an Internet Tough Guy... you do know making death threats will land you in jail, right?

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