Yes and in fact studies done even show that religion perse is better for you with better outcomes in health and wellbeing and child rearing. Its like Pascals wager. Your better off living that way just in case as the teachings are good for people and society. Its certainly worth a try and won't hurt.
Well "religion" is what it is and is somewhat helpful, I think mostly for giving a soul hope for a good outcome of your life.
But what is most interesting, had to do with a study and I dont have it memorized, and I am not sure I can even describe it's findings correctly. But I will try.
So on one of the studies (Barna?) about who what % of americans today has a " Biblical world view" and comparing churches/ the church, and how often they read the Word, just breaking the nation down by biblical peices and finding statistics . Like 60% +of Americans think they should "go to heaven" and only abt 20-30% believed that they " believed in God " as they defined it ( generic spaghetti's monsters, Christ spirits , and new age " cosmic energy" probably included , and throw in all other religions undoubtly). So when it came to the marriage part . They started to see something interesting!
I hope I can discribe this part correctly, I was so excited about what they were finding, and all kinds of verses were coming into my head that I will do my best to break it down , but I could not memorize it for others sake.
So do you know the statistics which say that " the Church has the same divorce rate as the world ". Well now even the worldly studies show that the same people keep marrying and divorcing so that about 25% of Americans are marrying and divorcing many times bring statistics up to 50/50 chance of having a ( good, by their own standards, so good enough to not divorce ) marriage.
Well it turns out the church even has more than the worldly of these " justified sinners " justified in their divorces" , "MY GOD WANTS ME TO BE HAPPY! CREW. " These may or may not go to church regularly but seldom do they really have biblical world veiw. So these (?20 to 30 %? ) have horrid marriages, do not pray together, do not have a biblical worldview veiw and do divorce many times. But say they are happy..
So that group is the pharisees like group that are not in relationship with the Lord and with the Holy Spirit. They are of the 50% unwise virgins crew. But the more than % 50 had great marriages, they pray together, stay together , read the word together and in him are very happy and contented. So the " religious " were not really content though they usually say they are , but dig and they are not, they were not happy, and. their divorces showed it.
But those in real relationships with each other, with their churches, and with Jesus and with the Word and with the Holy Spirit were truly content with their lives. Have more sex etc.
And the worldly don't really count the ones shacking up as marriages ( but God does.) And if they add those to the worldly marriages. They divorce / commit adultery at a rate nearly 100 %.
So THOSE IN A relationship with The Lord our creator and with the body of Christ, and with his Word, AND WITH HIS VALUES with the Spirit, WITH lights fully on , his truth fully embraced, gratitude fully realized , was where real hope lives. But are the rest pharisees like ? Just enough God , and just enough Word to justify themselves ?
IT IS WHY AMERICA WAS ONCE BLESSED, BECAUSE IF ONE PRAYING CAN PUT A THOUSAND TO FLIGHT, THEN TWO CAN PUT TEN THOUSAND, THEN HOW MANY (enemies of their soul ) CAN THE UNIFIED BODY OF CHRIST AND IN THE HOLY SPIRIT PUT TO FLIGHT ?
I didn't have that marriage , I had that other one up there ^^^ but I didn't know that .... 8(
Yep GOALS,