Do Atheists die sooner?

This topic has 6 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 1 month ago by zn.

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August 23, 2019 at 3:17 pm #104218

wv
Participant

So, i read this quote in a book on surfing:

“…while 18 recent longevity studies showed that those spiritually inclined lived up to 30 percent longer than atheists. For years these health benefits have been attributed to socioeconomic, environmental and psychological factors, but a number of these metaanalyses have been designed to remove all of these elements and the results remain the same…” West of Jesus: Surfing, Science and the Origins of Belief. 2006 Steven Kotler

w
v

August 23, 2019 at 3:47 pm #104220

zn
Moderator

from Do Religious People Really Live Longer?

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-human-beast/201302/do-religious-people-really-live-longer

…the apparent health benefits of religion are not found in some other developed countries. In states like Denmark and the Netherlands, where religiously active individuals are in the minority, any health advantages of religion shrink to vanishing point as illustrated by research on clinical depression . (Depression is strongly related to heart disease and hence to mortality.)

In the U.S. some health researchers are fond of giving religion the credit for boosting life expectancy. Yet despite being a nation with a large religious majority, Americans have much lower life expectancy than is enjoyed by secular countries at a similar level of economic development such as Japan and Sweden.

If religion really promoted longevity, how could people have such short life expectancy in sub-Saharan Africa where virtually everyone is deeply religious?

August 23, 2019 at 6:35 pm #104222

wv
Participant

Yeah, I dont buy into the notion that ‘belief’ adds up to more years on the planet, but, fwiw, and not that it matters, but in the Surfing book, the guy is not talking about ‘religion’ really. He’s talkin about ‘spirituality.’ Spirituality of surfing, being that feeling of ‘oneness’ when surfers are on a wave. Ya know. The ‘ego’ disappears and the surfer becomes the wind/water/sunlight/whatever.

He goes on to write about the ‘TCI’ or temperament and character inventory which measures among other things ‘self-transcendence.’ Self-transcendence being defined as composed of
(1)’trans-personal identification’ (Big Empathy – empathy with animals, plants, humans, etc)
(2) ‘mysticism’ – interest in ‘beyond-logic’ stuff
(3) ‘self-forgetfulness’ –penchant for getting lost in the moment, being in the ‘zone’ of art, sports, whatever.

Blah, blah.

w
v

August 23, 2019 at 10:13 pm #104227

Zooey
Moderator

Not only do atheists die earlier, they also don’t get to go to heaven.

August 24, 2019 at 10:47 am #104235

wv
Participant

Zooey wrote:

Not only do atheists die earlier, they also don’t get to go to heaven.

=============

So where will Nittany go when he dies?

w
v

August 24, 2019 at 1:29 pm #104240

nittany ram
Moderator

wv wrote:

Zooey wrote:

Not only do atheists die earlier, they also don’t get to go to heaven.

=============

So where will Nittany go when he dies?

w
v

What makes you think I’m going to die?

What makes you think I can die?

August 24, 2019 at 1:41 pm #104242

zn
Moderator

wv wrote:

He goes on to write about the ‘TCI’ or temperament and character inventory which measures among other things ‘self-transcendence.’ Self-transcendence being defined as composed of
(1)’trans-personal identification’ (Big Empathy – empathy with animals, plants, humans, etc)
(2) ‘mysticism’ – interest in ‘beyond-logic’ stuff
(3) ‘self-forgetfulness’ –penchant for getting lost in the moment, being in the ‘zone’ of art, sports, whatever.

Blah, blah

I buy the idea that ego reducing, more tranquil and planet-connected living can overall increase a lifespan. In fact, in spite of mysticism…it’s logical.
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