Why is it that the more religious a country is, the poorer it is?

[Anonymous]

Not sure if anyone else noticed this but whenever a country is overly religious and the majority favors spanking kids and thinks psychology is never needed (refuse to cultivate themselves more and rely on the bible as the only source) the poorer that country is. The nation remains a 3rd world country with poverty, multiple children, deliquency and starving people.

Meanwhile on highly developed countries, there are more non-believers, it's a wealthy nation, less people are into corporal punishment on children, less poverty, not too many bible fanatics and it has a lower rate of deliquency.

[MongozDish]

Or could it be that the poorer a country is, the more religious it becomes?

Take Saudi Arabia, for example. It was once a poor country before the discovery of oil and was much more religious by today's standards. However, as Saudi Arabia has grown wealthier, we see fewer people deeply devoted to their religion, although it remains relatively religious and conservative.

I don't believe that the more religious a country is, the poorer it becomes. I believe that the poorer a country is, the more religious it tends to be. I'm sure there's been some research on this, and it would make for an interesting read.

[blackeagle007]

Correction- royal family is rich there. What about the people? It’s still a 3rd world

[MongozDish]

@blackeagle007 As of 2021, the poverty rate in Saudi Arabia is 13.6%. That seems like a relatively low poverty rate, don't you think?

[blackeagle007]

Do the jobs pay good?

[MongozDish]

@blackeagle007 The average monthly salary for workers in Saudi Arabia is around 10,000 SAR, which is roughly equivalent to $2,700. Considering the cost of living there, that seems like a pretty reasonable estimate.

[blackeagle007]

It’s still 3rd world though. Freedoms are restricted especially towards women.

[MongozDish]

@blackeagle007 Based on the definitions of first- and third-world countries, Saudi Arabia can be considered a first-world country and is recognized by the United Nations as one of the world's top 20 economies by size.

[oldpigg]

70% of rich countries are European (no coincidence, they gained their wealth by stealing resources from other continents). Progressivism emerged in Europe, promoting values ​​harmful to society, such as female promiscuity. Furthermore, rich countries have better education, which makes people less easily manipulated, and rich people don't have any real problems, since their lives are based solely on the excessive consumption of resources (which they steal from other countries), so they don't need religion to ask for help.

[Pohjolan]

Plenty of European countries never got to participate in colonial capitalism as the receiving side and most of Eastern Europe was part of USSR and colonies themselves until recently.
Try again.

[oldpigg]

@Pohjolan In Eastern Europe there are only two rich countries, Poland and the Czech Republic, the rest are poor.

[Pohjolan]

@oldpigg
The GDP per capita of Estonia for a example has increased over 10 times since USSR fell.
Over TEN times.
Show me one African country that had a 10x increase in GDP after colonials left.

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

Religion is a direct byproduct of patriarchal influence. Now, is that the sole cause of poverty in a nation? No, but a mismanaged state is absolutely also a byproduct of patriarchal influence so there’s a good overlap there

[MuddyMole]

European and Islamic colonialism mostly.
The most powerful countries stripped others of all their wealth and natural (and human) resources, while missionaries aggressively spread their religions there (often leading to civil wars, which make the countries even poorer).

[AviatorTom]

You might want to try to tell Saudi Arabia that, one of the wealthiest countries.

[Asker]

It used to be poor at one point though.

[DrPepper12]

Secular people are more intelligent? Duh.

Religious people will believe ANYTHING without evidence. That's unintelligent.

[blackeagle007]

I don’t know. I can’t see how religion would make a difference. It’s the gov.

[Anonymous]

Because they're storing up thier riches in heaven.. duh!😜😆

[In_Trance]

because everyone gives their money to the church