God: No magic required

[Simon Moon]

Hi Simon,

Firstly, here, again, are the links I originally posted (for convenience):

http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/sp...ive-longer

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1305900/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19949046

I think that it's pretty evident that the preponderance of evidence supports the conclusion that religious people are happier, healthier, and live longer than non-religious people.

Yes, I misread some of the info in the links you posted.

Social support is almost certainly part of it, but why do church goers have better social support than non-church goers?

Because that goes along with belonging to a church.

A Baptist can move to a new city and have a place to go with like minded people with the same beliefs.

Are atheists socially isolated because they are intrinsically unpleasant people who can't make friends...or what? I'm really curious as to what the explanation would be for this.

The answer is simple.

There are no atheist 'churches'.

The other aspect is, the only thing that all atheists have in common, is the lack of belief in gods.

So why is religiosity any less rational than yoga classes or eating healthy foods or having a hobby?

Because there are known, non supernatural, mechanisms as to why those things cause better health and longevity.

Non of those things requires an irrational belief in a deity or deities.

it's been shown that people who attend church regularly have lower levels of biochemical and physical stress markers.

As I've been saying, I don't deny that. I'm only stating that it's likely that a big part is the 'attending church' part that is responsible for most of the positive results. What about people that are extremely religious but don't attend religious services? I'll bet they don't have the same benefits as those that attend services.

But if you read the links I posted, there are studies that show just as much health and longevity associated with strong social structure. No god belief necessary.

If I could do something simple and pleasurable to prevent cancer, I'd do it, even if I couldn't satisfy myself of a provable mechanism for the benefit, particularly if said activity provided other important benefits, as well.

Not so irrational.

No, it's still irrational.

Just because you believe you are getting benefits from irrational beliefs, does not make them any less irrational.