Secularists have nothing better to offer

[doubtingthomas]

Hit and miss.

Regards,
MG

Can you link to a study showing that LDS are happier?

But make sure the study controls for income and nationality.

[IHAQ]

Interestingly, some of the happiest countries (Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden) are among the most secularist countries.

Since 2002, the World Happiness Report has used statistical analysis to determine the world's happiest countries. In its 2021 update, the report concluded that Finland is the happiest country in the world. To determine the world's happiest country, researchers analyzed comprehensive Gallup polling data from 149 countries for the past three years, specifically monitoring performance in six particular categories: gross domestic product per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make your own life choices, generosity of the general population, and perceptions of internal and external corruption levels.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/count ... -the-world

Top 10 Most Secular Countries in the World (by percentage of non-religious citizens, Win-Gallup 2017)

China — 90%
Sweden — 73%
Czech Republic — 72%
United Kingdom — 69%
Belarus — 64%
Azerbaijan — 64%
Vietnam — 63%
Australia — 63%
Norway — 62%
Denmark — 61%

https://worldpopulationreview.com/count ... -countries

So perhaps secularists DO have something better to offer - increased happiness!

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

I thought this response on r/exmo to a woman who questioned why they’re anxious after leaving the Mormon “church” was appropriate for this thread:

Because you are a normal person. You are not an individual soul learning to operate a physical body. You are a multi-cellular organism. Your brain has many lobes that each specialize in different aspects of cognition. They have largely evolved to work together, but still operate somewhat independently.

You know how in a ward, there are diverse personalities? Some people are confident, while others are nervous wrecks? Some self-confident people do 80% of the leading, while 80% of the people are just trying to keep up and avoid being put in the spotlight? Some people argue about everything while others just want to have peace? That's pretty-much how brains work too. Your conscious mind is not even aware of all the debating and negotiating and deliberating that occurs in the back rooms of your subconscious mind.

The very fact that you even managed to pull off such a major correction to the high level direction of such a complex organization as your mind is an amazing feat and a testament to how well-functioning your brain is. Most people will live their whole lives and never do anything as courageous as change religious beliefs. They would rather pass all that turmoil and tension on to the next generation rather than deal with it themselves. You're doing fantastic! The fear and anxiety you are dealing with in your mind is fear and anxiety that will not be perpetuated for others to have to deal with. You're not broken. People like you who absorb and deal with hard problems and change directions even when it's hard are the reason society itself is still moving forward rather than backwards.

I think Dousin’ Dan once again shows how shallow his understanding of people are. He certainly doesn’t possess a an academic understanding of human psychology and physiology. When people undergo the stress of leaving their faith and community, of course they’re going to have a wide range of reactions that don’t align with the Mormon view of the world and how people should act. They’re going to make a lot of mistakes now that they’re outside of a strict total system.

Is “secularism” better than “Mormonism”? What are we even talking about? One of the things that bother me to no end about faith-based discussions is the tendency by the faithful to talk in vague platitudes that don’t really mean anything on a practical level. How can we compare vague concepts that aren’t rife with personal bias? For example:

Mormonism - I get to visit people that believe in Mormonism he way I do! It makes me happy!

Secularism - I get to visit with people that believe in a secular society like I do! It makes me happy!

How does one quantify the happiness level of each individual? It’s subjective. Why even start a conversation about how happy you are versus how unhappy you perceive others to be? It seems hubristic and myopic.

- Doc

[IHAQ]

Dan is once again just telling people he’s better than them.

[Gadianton]

Maybe the problem starts with having a sales pitch. Nothing better to offer? What are you trying to sell me? If you need to sell me, maybe I should think twice about what you are peddling.

Great point. DCP is riding an easy wave. His church is at the height of its power and material prosperity and he's lived a protected life. By his accounts he was born into wealth, married into more wealth, was very bright and with a lot of confidence, the perfect voice to calm his fellow travelers with "all is well in Zion" and then he can jet-set until the end.

What did the Donner party offer potential converts? What were the advantages of being Christian during Nero's reign?