Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today's QNA the societal benefit of a belief in God.
This is brought to you by Melissa Ash's check Mark
collections each day of future and listener question that is
sent by one of these methods. You may email me
Brian Mudd at iHeartMedia dot com, hit me up on
social at Brian Mud. Radio may also use the iHeartRadio
talkback feature. We'd love it. If you would love us,
(00:22):
go into the app, make us you know one preset,
then bride my show podcast your number two pre set.
While you're in there, look for the little microphone button.
See it, tap it you mainlay down a message right there,
maybe for a future Q and A just like this one.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Hello everybody, This is Chris from Northeast Florida. Democrats ultimate
goal was to remove God from our society. This is
what a godless society will turn into complete chaos when
nobody believes or respects life.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Yeah, and I appreciated that note. That talkback response one
of many really good ones we received in the wake
of the horrific Minneapolis school shooting last week, and the
message resonated with me because, as I've previously shared, Harvard's
extensive research on the benefit of faith to those who
are believers. But as I've also suggested, even non believers
(01:19):
benefit from our societies.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Judeo Christian founding.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
And what this message led me to consider was a
way to demonstrate the extent of the benefit of the
faithful to society and the view of the possible if
more were to become believers. In twenty eighteen, Harvard produced
the most compelling study today on the factors that relate
to youth depression, violence, substance abuse, and suicide. The study
(01:44):
entitled Religious Upbringing linked to better health and well being
during early child early adulthood. It was never broadly covered
by news video, or for that matter, even widely publicized
by Harvard, and that remains unfortunate, but the information still
as relevant. Ever, there's a common thread that runs through
well intended people across the ideological spectrum today, and that
(02:09):
is that mental health issue is a top concern, right.
I mean, anytime you have like these horrific shootings that
come up, mental health obviously huge part of this tragedy
last week. We've seen this across every age group, gender,
ethnic background, ideological tendency, and we're concerned about doing what identifying,
(02:31):
treating and restricting access to guns.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
I mean, it's almost like one is related to the other. Right.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
One of the things I always like to point out
when people will get into the whole well, gun and
control and gun violence. We had fully automatic weapons that
were available to everybody until eighty four.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Why is it when they were fully automatic and.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Readily available that they didn't get violent all the time, Like, Hey,
I'm automatic, don't you know, I'm just ready to hop
out of here and go. It's a funny thing how
it only seemed to happen when we ended up doing
away with the production of any new automatic weapons starting
in the mid eighties, and we have had a lot
more gun control since now. Obviously we put the focus
(03:16):
on the wrong things so often, the inanimate object that
isn't violent, but clearly the people behind it. If we
dealt with mental illness, there's a lot of ground that
we might be able to make up there. And forever
twenty years, I've always a belief that placed directly into
the story. The further removed God is from our society,
the worst the outcomes are. And regardless of one's religious views,
(03:41):
society benefits from the tenets of faith. Even atheists Now
Harvard study published in the American Journal of that Beidemiology
demonstrated powerful results and among those by the age of twenty,
those raised with religious practices average being eighteen percent happier,
thirty percent more likely to help others, thirty three percent
(04:03):
less likely to engage in substance abuse. That's pretty solid, right.
What's more is that those who fared best were those
who prayed daily. So, in other words, having faith in
one's life in any capacity provided benefit. The more involved
with one's faith one was greater the benefit. And it's
obviously not to say that if all children were raised
in religious upbringings we'd suddenly endull mental health issues, but
(04:26):
no doubt we'd make a lot of ground up here
based upon this research. Now you then take a look
at the Department of Education.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Well.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Entering the first full year of the Department of Education
eighty in to eighty one, US second for education outcomes
in the world. Only Australia ranked ahead of US. And
what happened in the first twenty years with the Department
of Education. During the first twenty years, the US slid
from second in education to seventeenth, and we had a
three hundred percent increase in diagnosed depression for school aide's children. Huh,
(05:00):
I mean just all of a sudden, you know, people
like started becoming depressed in matt I mean I do
think that, you know, maybe maybe there's some fallout from
the Jimmy Carter year or some PTSD or something. I
don't know, because the kids actually were We're not really
exposed to Carter at that point. But I'm just I'm
looking for answers here. Why is it we would have
(05:21):
a three hundred percent increase in depression among those of
school age and a twenty year window. Why is it
during the same time we would slide from second in
education at seventeenth.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
By the way, in real time, we're somewhere around thirtieth
in education. It's only continued to get better with time.
So then you start.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Taking a look at another piece of research here that
that plays right into this. According to the Pew Research Center,
only six percent of Americans did not identify with any
religion or faith in nineteen eighty. Well, where are we today,
It's up to seventeen percent. Okay, that looks an awful
lot like that. About three hundred percent increase in diagnosed
(06:06):
depression doesn't it. And then you start taking a look
at where it is greatest young adults, So those born
eighty one or later, you have twenty six percent that
don't identify with any faith or God, and that's where
the issues became the greatest, and also where the diagnosed
depression is greatest. And so then move forward into the
(06:30):
most recent piece of research that I have, and this
is a recent study for the National Institutes of Health
called Associations between Religiosity, aggression and Crime, and it found
this those who are identified as regularly religiously involved were
seventeen percent less likely to commit any crime, thirty percent
less likely to commit a violent crime. And so to
the point of today's note, you're exactly right. When faith
(06:53):
in God is removed from the equation, there's far more crime,
substantially higher rates of violent crime. This is consistent with
what I've long said about faith in society. Even atheists
benefit from the tenets of faith in society. The further
our society attempts to distance itself from faith in God,
the worst the results are going to be. And thankfully
you do have some encouraging signs gen Z starting to
(07:15):
turn back towards God. There have been higher levels of
especially young men attending church pursuing their faith in the
prior generation, and also that trend appears to be happening globally,
so here's to hoping that this is the beginning of
a trend that eventually puts an end to the forty
plus year growth and mental health issues and violence in
society that's associated with the lack of faith in one's life.
Today's QNA the societal benefit of a belief in God.
This is brought to you by Melissa Ash's check Mark
collections each day of future and listener question that is
sent by one of these methods. You may email me
Brian Mudd at iHeartMedia dot com, hit me up on
social at Brian Mud. Radio may also use the iHeartRadio
talkback feature. We'd love it. If you would love us,
(00:22):
go into the app, make us you know one preset,
then bride my show podcast your number two pre set.
While you're in there, look for the little microphone button.
See it, tap it you mainlay down a message right there,
maybe for a future Q and A just like this one.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Hello everybody, This is Chris from Northeast Florida. Democrats ultimate
goal was to remove God from our society. This is
what a godless society will turn into complete chaos when
nobody believes or respects life.
Speaker 1 (00:54):
Yeah, and I appreciated that note. That talkback response one
of many really good ones we received in the wake
of the horrific Minneapolis school shooting last week, and the
message resonated with me because, as I've previously shared, Harvard's
extensive research on the benefit of faith to those who
are believers. But as I've also suggested, even non believers
(01:19):
benefit from our societies.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Judeo Christian founding.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
And what this message led me to consider was a
way to demonstrate the extent of the benefit of the
faithful to society and the view of the possible if
more were to become believers. In twenty eighteen, Harvard produced
the most compelling study today on the factors that relate
to youth depression, violence, substance abuse, and suicide. The study
(01:44):
entitled Religious Upbringing linked to better health and well being
during early child early adulthood. It was never broadly covered
by news video, or for that matter, even widely publicized
by Harvard, and that remains unfortunate, but the information still
as relevant. Ever, there's a common thread that runs through
well intended people across the ideological spectrum today, and that
(02:09):
is that mental health issue is a top concern, right.
I mean, anytime you have like these horrific shootings that
come up, mental health obviously huge part of this tragedy
last week. We've seen this across every age group, gender,
ethnic background, ideological tendency, and we're concerned about doing what identifying,
(02:31):
treating and restricting access to guns.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
I mean, it's almost like one is related to the other. Right.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
One of the things I always like to point out
when people will get into the whole well, gun and
control and gun violence. We had fully automatic weapons that
were available to everybody until eighty four.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Why is it when they were fully automatic and.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Readily available that they didn't get violent all the time, Like, Hey,
I'm automatic, don't you know, I'm just ready to hop
out of here and go. It's a funny thing how
it only seemed to happen when we ended up doing
away with the production of any new automatic weapons starting
in the mid eighties, and we have had a lot
more gun control since now. Obviously we put the focus
(03:16):
on the wrong things so often, the inanimate object that
isn't violent, but clearly the people behind it. If we
dealt with mental illness, there's a lot of ground that
we might be able to make up there. And forever
twenty years, I've always a belief that placed directly into
the story. The further removed God is from our society,
the worst the outcomes are. And regardless of one's religious views,
(03:41):
society benefits from the tenets of faith. Even atheists Now
Harvard study published in the American Journal of that Beidemiology
demonstrated powerful results and among those by the age of twenty,
those raised with religious practices average being eighteen percent happier,
thirty percent more likely to help others, thirty three percent
(04:03):
less likely to engage in substance abuse. That's pretty solid, right.
What's more is that those who fared best were those
who prayed daily. So, in other words, having faith in
one's life in any capacity provided benefit. The more involved
with one's faith one was greater the benefit. And it's
obviously not to say that if all children were raised
in religious upbringings we'd suddenly endull mental health issues, but
(04:26):
no doubt we'd make a lot of ground up here
based upon this research. Now you then take a look
at the Department of Education.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Well.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
Entering the first full year of the Department of Education
eighty in to eighty one, US second for education outcomes
in the world. Only Australia ranked ahead of US. And
what happened in the first twenty years with the Department
of Education. During the first twenty years, the US slid
from second in education to seventeenth, and we had a
three hundred percent increase in diagnosed depression for school aide's children. Huh,
(05:00):
I mean just all of a sudden, you know, people
like started becoming depressed in matt I mean I do
think that, you know, maybe maybe there's some fallout from
the Jimmy Carter year or some PTSD or something. I
don't know, because the kids actually were We're not really
exposed to Carter at that point. But I'm just I'm
looking for answers here. Why is it we would have
(05:21):
a three hundred percent increase in depression among those of
school age and a twenty year window. Why is it
during the same time we would slide from second in
education at seventeenth.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
By the way, in real time, we're somewhere around thirtieth
in education. It's only continued to get better with time.
So then you start.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
Taking a look at another piece of research here that
that plays right into this. According to the Pew Research Center,
only six percent of Americans did not identify with any
religion or faith in nineteen eighty. Well, where are we today,
It's up to seventeen percent. Okay, that looks an awful
lot like that. About three hundred percent increase in diagnosed
(06:06):
depression doesn't it. And then you start taking a look
at where it is greatest young adults, So those born
eighty one or later, you have twenty six percent that
don't identify with any faith or God, and that's where
the issues became the greatest, and also where the diagnosed
depression is greatest. And so then move forward into the
(06:30):
most recent piece of research that I have, and this
is a recent study for the National Institutes of Health
called Associations between Religiosity, aggression and Crime, and it found
this those who are identified as regularly religiously involved were
seventeen percent less likely to commit any crime, thirty percent
less likely to commit a violent crime. And so to
the point of today's note, you're exactly right. When faith
(06:53):
in God is removed from the equation, there's far more crime,
substantially higher rates of violent crime. This is consistent with
what I've long said about faith in society. Even atheists
benefit from the tenets of faith in society. The further
our society attempts to distance itself from faith in God,
the worst the results are going to be. And thankfully
you do have some encouraging signs gen Z starting to
(07:15):
turn back towards God. There have been higher levels of
especially young men attending church pursuing their faith in the
prior generation, and also that trend appears to be happening globally,
so here's to hoping that this is the beginning of
a trend that eventually puts an end to the forty
plus year growth and mental health issues and violence in
society that's associated with the lack of faith in one's life.
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