Interesting article on the correlation between the prevailing views of heaven and hell in a society and that nation’s crime rate. Of course, the best reason to believe in hell and heaven are because God reveals such truth in His Word. An excerpt from “Belief in Hell Lowers Crime Rate”:
“The key finding is that, controlling for each other, a nation’s rate of belief in hell predicts lower crime rates, but the nation’s rate of belief in heaven predicts higher crime rates, and these are strong effects,” said Azim F. Shariff, professor of psychology and director of the Culture and Morality Lab at the UO. “I think it’s an important clue about the differential effects of supernatural punishment and supernatural benevolence. The finding is consistent with controlled research we’ve done in the lab, but here shows a powerful ‘real world’ effect on something that really affects people — crime.”
