(August 14, 2016 at 2:19 am)Minimalist Wrote: Ask China. They seem to be doing fine.
We have to be careful that we don't confuse an atheistic regime with the idea that the people all, or even most, are atheistic. China actually has an exploding Christian community.
"China has witnessed a religious revival over the past four decades, in particular with the significant increase in Christian believers, accounting for 5 percent of the population, according to Pew Research Center data. The number of Chinese Protestants has grown by an average of 10 percent annually since 1979. By some estimates, China is on track to have the world’s largest population of Christians by 2030." (Council on Foreign Relations website.)
I wish I could remember what book I read it in, but apparently even some Party members are willing to accept Christianity, as long as it doesn't challenge the Party. Their thinking is that if America can be so successful AND be such a religious country, religion - like capitalism - might not only not be all bad, but might even contribute to a more stable society. They have found that Christians tend to be less corrupt, for example, than non-believing managers. Not only that - if people can be allowed their own religious world in which to "let off steam," as it were, they might be less apt to challenge the Party (give unto Caesar . . .).
One of my pet theories is that religious institutions can, in some cases - especially when a society is on the whole corrupt - act as a refuge for people who, by their nature are less corrupt (even if they do attribute that to their religious belief). Just like in any group of dogs there are some that are, by their nature mean and others friendly, in any group of people there will be those whose tendency - for whatever reason - is to be corrupt, and others less so. In some cases, religion might be the only, or perhaps one of the only, refuge from the society as a whole. It sounds like China might be just such an example.
I think it has a lot to do with the cultural character of the people. I can't help but look at how South Korea (another Asian country with a growing Christian population), which had one of the worlds lowest standards of living in the 1940's, has developed in a mere few decades after the Korean War to become an economic powerhouse.
