[Doctor State]

That is, that it consciously enacts laws based on Christian values for example?

I take it from this wording that you consider America's Puritan morality codes to be unconscious?

[telluro]

America's Puritan morality laws?! LOLOL

Do you mean the prostitution, pornography, ever-rising crime and violence, teenage pregnancies, abortions, divorces, loose clothing, idolisation of superstars with immoral lifestyles, gay parades...? Those Puritan morality laws?

[Doctor State]

I mean liquor laws, dry counties, obscenity laws, FCC obscenity fines, statutory rape laws, common law marriage, and bans on gay marriage, yes. I don't know why you mentioned crime and violence, unless you're trying to suggest crime is legal here. And not to go further off topic, but crime has been on a downward trend in the past few decades, with a recent rise coinciding with the recession.

[Kman]

Christians in the west have everything going for them except for their lower average intelligence.

Yeah us christians are so stupid, that is why christian nations throughout world history have been the most free and just societies.

I'm more fascinated by the unique pro-Christian, anti-Muslims bent of this forum. I saw it on that thread about the Muslim cartoons (is it 2006 again?) and here's the other half.

Why the sympathy for Christianity here?

Because its a religion that has proven itself to deliver great results, while Islam hasnt? Its simply a question of looking at reality and using reason, a concept not used in the wider society these days.

I can imagine that its odd for you to meet intelligent people when you get blasted with stupidity 24/7 by the news networks and rest of society.

[Doctor State]

Yeah us christians are so stupid,

I did say "average." Among people of average intelligence I don't think there's any skew. The disparity comes in the extremes: highly intelligent people are disproportionately irreligious, and highly unintelligent people are disproportionately religious.

that is why christian nations throughout world history have been the most free and just societies.

They've become more free in inverse proportion to their declining religiosity.

Because its a religion that has proven itself to deliver great results, while Islam hasnt? Its simply a question of looking at reality and using reason, a concept not used in the wider society these days.

Post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy. Don't fall for the temptation to ascribe European success to all of Europe's many attributes. Only a handful are actually responsible. Islam preserved higher learning during Europe's Dark Ages. Furthermore, we'd probably all be speaking Chinese today if their emperor hadn't enacted an isolationist policy out of the blue 600 years ago.

I can imagine that its odd for you to meet intelligent people when you get blasted with stupidity 24/7 by the news networks and rest of society.

I find the caliber of debate on this forum lower than my average experience on other forums. I mostly visit for the droll atmosphere, ridiculous rules and ugly color scheme. Tell the intelligent people on this forum to speak up and stop being so shy.

[Kman]

Islam preserved higher learning during Europe's Dark Ages.

Only because there was still scientific traditions left in the countries that had just recently been conquered by Islam, as Islam got more and more embedded into these societies their scientific traditions died out completely.

The disparity comes in the extremes: highly intelligent people are disproportionately irreligious, and highly unintelligent people are disproportionately religious.

Do you have any proof of this or are you just going with gut feeling here?

Tell the intelligent people on this forum to speak up and stop being so shy.

Im not shy

[Paradigm]

There's a mutual tension between atheism and fundamentalism that drowns out any moderate or progressive religious voices. Academia has effectively quarantined all religious discussion to the theology department, ensuring that their voices are never heard by anyone outside of those few individuals who actually want to study theology. Theology is certainly not a subject studied much by fundamentalists. They're more interested in Bible study, and any philosophical framework for understanding God is shunned if it is not pulled directly from the pages of the Bible. So basically, what I see is a mutually supported extremism on both sides, with the moderates getting sidelined.

[Doctor State]

Only because there was still scientific traditions left in the countries that had just recently been conquered by Islam, as Islam got more and more embedded into these societies their scientific traditions died out completely.

The dominance of Christianity in the West was equally happenstance. And modern freedom and scientific advancement owe their existence to the Enlightenment, which we know refers specifically to "lighting" the path for humanity out of the the darkness of the old religious order.