Those who believe in a higher power do better in terms of morality, gluttony, addiction, etc?
Beats me. I can tell you it makes a difference for me.
Here on a former rez the Native American community is having trouble with youth drug use, gang membership, suicide. It has been suggested that a cause may be a general lack of spirituality with the current generation, Native American spirituality or otherwise. Suffer a social setback, drugs make it feel better. Gangs substitute for family moral support. Suicide when one seems doomed to perpetual failure. Why not when there's nothing beyond how you feel today.
I think you see that in society at large, though not as acutely. Suicide rates have increased steadily since 2000 (NIH). I don't think I have to provide a source showing drug abuse and gang membership have grown markedly during the same period. Pew Research tracked a decline in religious affiliation.
Does the correlation mean anything? I don't know but it would be a good topic for investigation by those who enjoy Sociology.
The key elements in human thinking are not numbers but labels of fuzzy sets. -- L. Zadeh
