By Christy Barritt

Study Explores Connection between Wealth and Religion

A new study found a disparity among the world’s rich and poor when it comes to religion.

RedC Opinion Poll, part of WIN-Gallup International, recently completed the “Global Index of Religiosity & Atheism.” As a part of the study, they interviewed more than 51,900 people from 57 countries on five continents.

The study showed that the world’s poorest countries were the most religious, while the wealthiest countries were often the least religious.

“It’s interesting that religiosity declines as worldly prosperity of individuals rises,” the report stated. “If citizens of each of the 57 countries are grouped into five groups, from the relatively poor to relatively rich in their own countries, the richer you get, the less religious you define yourself.”

The most religious countries include Ghana, followed by Nigeria, Armenia, Fiji, and Macedonia.

Christian Ministers Volunteer at Olympics

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, a group of approximately 300 religious volunteers in London wore blue baseball caps and offered a helping hand to those around wherever needed.

The volunteer ministers were not officially a part of the Olympics, though they had permission to be there. The ministers were deployed at airports and train stations, among other places, and simply wanted to be on hand in case someone needed them.

“They’re not giving out tracts and Bibles,” said organizer Mike Freeman. “They’re giving out a listening ear.”

According to reports, the ministers were well received.

“People would come up and ask us why we are there, they found out what we do, and suddenly they’ve got a story,” Alan Ratliff, an American minister with International Sports Chaplains, told the news website The Blaze. “The conversations just started from there.”

Psychologists Often Anti-Conservative

A new study has revealed that a significant number of psychologists would, if given a choice, discriminate against conservatives in the areas of funding grants, publishing, and hiring.

Nearly one-quarter of psychologists would discriminate against conservative researchers in awarding grant money, while nearly 20 percent would recommend against publishing conservative research, and more than one third would pass over a conservative in hiring if an equally qualified liberal psychologist were available.

The study was published in the September issue of the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science. Psychologists surveyed were a part of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.

Missouri Passes “Right to Pray” Amendment 

In August, voters in Missouri approved a state constitutional amendment concerning religious freedom.

Amendment 2, also known as the “Right to Pray” amendment, gives Missourians the right to express religious beliefs in public without fear of reprisal. It also protects voluntary prayer in public schools and gives students the right to say no to academic assignments or educational presentations that violate their religious beliefs.

The amendment won by a landslide margin—617,224 voted in favor while only 162,404 voted against it.

Republican State Representative Mike McGhee introduced the measure and told Fox News the amendment stems from a 2006 case where a Missouri State University class assignment was to write and sign a letter to the state legislature to support gay adoption. 

Groups focusing on separation of church and state fought against the measure but were ultimately defeated.

Christy Barritt is an award-winning author, freelance writer, and speaker living in Chesapeake, Virginia. She and her husband Scott have two sons. 
www.christybarritt.com