I credenti vivono mediamente 6.48 anni in più degli atei.

Giuseppe Sandro Mela.

2018-07-16.

«Social Psychological and Personality Science is a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers research in social and personality psychology. Its editor-in-chief is Simine Vazire (University of California, Davis). It was established in 2010 and is published by Sage Publications. The journal is jointly owned by four different societies: the Association for Research in Personality, European Association of Social Psychology, Society of Experimental Social Psychology, and Society for Personality and Social Psychology.

The journal is abstracted and indexed in PsycINFO and Scopus. According to the Journal Citation Reports, its 2015 impact factor is 2.325, ranking it 14 out of 62 journals in the category “Psychology, Social”» [Fonte]

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Quando una rivista scientifica occupa il 14° posto nella graduatoria delle sessantadue altre riviste quotate nella categoria di interesse si è guadagnata una solida posizione di autorevolezza nel mondo dei ricercatori.

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Di recente dr Laura Wallance e Collaboratori sono usciti con un documentato articolo sull’aspettativa di vita delle persone credenti o non credenti.

Laura E. Wallace, Rebecca Anthony, Christian M. End, and Baldwin M. Way.

Does Religion Stave Off the Grave? Religious Affiliation in One’s Obituary and Longevity

Journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550618779820

«Abstract

Self-reported religious service attendance has been linked with longevity. However, previous work has largely relied on self-report data and volunteer samples. Here, mention of a religious affiliation in obituaries was analyzed as an alternative measure of religiosity. In two samples (N = 505 from Des Moines, IA, and N = 1,096 from 42 U.S. cities), the religiously affiliated lived 9.45 and 5.64 years longer, respectively, than the nonreligiously affiliated. Additionally, social integration and volunteerism partially mediated the religion–longevity relation. In Study 2, exploratory analyses suggested that the religion–longevity association was moderated by city-level religiosity and city-level personality. In cities with low levels of trait openness, the nonreligiously affiliated had reduced longevity in highly religious cities relative to less religious cities, consistent with the religion-as-social-value hypothesis. Conversely, in cities with high levels of openness, the opposite trend was observed, suggesting a spillover effect of religion. The religiously affiliated were less influenced by these cultural factors.»

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Il risultato di interesse è questo

«the religiously affiliated lived 9.45 and 5.64 years longer, respectively, than the nonreligiously affiliated»

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«The religiously affiliated were less influenced by these cultural factors»

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Questo risultato indicherebbe nella religiosità uno dei più potenti mezzi per ottenere una vita media sostanzialmente più lunga rispetto la norma. Un aumento mediano di 6.48 anni è risultato di tutto rispetto: non a caso la Ohio State University ne ha fatto oggetto di un editoriale.

Se il risultato è inequivocabile, le interpretazioni del medesimo possono essere molteplici.

«The study provides persuasive evidence that there is a relationship between religious participation and how long a person lives»

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«the study showed how the effects of religion on longevity might depend in part on the personality and average religiosity of the cities where people live»

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«Many studies have shown that people who volunteer and participate in social groups tend to live longer than others»

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«Results showed that this was only part of the reason why religious people lived longer»

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«volunteerism and involvement in social organizations only accounted for a little less than one year of the longevity boost that religious affiliation provided»

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«There’s still a lot of the benefit of religious affiliation that this can’t explain.»

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«It may be related to the rules and norms of many religions that restrict unhealthy practices such as alcohol and drug use and having sex with many partners»

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«The findings showed that a key personality element related to longevity in each city was the importance placed on conformity to community values and norms»

* * * * * * *

«many religions that restrict unhealthy practices such as alcohol and drug use and having sex with many partners».

Tra le molte, valide e possibili, una considerazione emergerebbe di interesse generale.

La religiosità aiuta potentemente ad affrontare e superare tutte quelle situazioni dell’alterna sorte che con grande frequenza spingono all’uso degli alcolici o, peggio, delle droghe, per non parlare poi dell’instabilità affettiva che denatura il rapporto affettivo interpersonale nella ricerca di sempre nuovi partner.

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The Ohio State University. 2018-06-13. One thing you’ll find in the obits of many long-living people

Religious affiliation linked to nearly 4-year longevity boost.

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A new nationwide study of obituaries has found that people with religious affiliations lived nearly four years longer than those with no ties to religion.

That four-year boost – found in an analysis of more than 1,000 obits from around the country – was calculated after taking into account the sex and marital status of those who died, two factors that have strong effects on lifespan.

The boost was slightly larger (6.48 years) in a smaller study of obituaries published in a Des Moines, Iowa, newspaper.

“Religious affiliation had nearly as strong an effect on longevity as gender does, which is a matter of years of life,” said Laura Wallace, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in psychology at The Ohio State University.

The study was published online today in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.

The researchers found that part of the reason for the boost in longevity came from the fact that many religiously affiliated people also volunteered and belonged to social organizations, which previous research has linked to living longer.

“The study provides persuasive evidence that there is a relationship between religious participation and how long a person lives,” said Baldwin Way, co-author of the study and associate professor of psychology at Ohio State.

In addition, the study showed how the effects of religion on longevity might depend in part on the personality and average religiosity of the cities where people live, Way said.

The first study involved 505 obituaries published in the Des Moines Register in January and February 2012. In addition to noting the age and any religious affiliation of those who died, the researchers also documented sex, marital status and the number of social and volunteer activities listed.

Results showed that those whose obit listed a religious affiliation lived 9.45 years longer than those who didn’t. The gap shrunk to 6.48 years after gender and marital status were taken into account.

The second study included 1,096 obituaries from 42 major cities in the United States published on newspaper websites between August 2010 and August 2011.

In this study, people whose obits mentioned a religious affiliation lived an average of 5.64 years longer than those whose obits did not, which shrunk to 3.82 years after gender and marital status were considered.

Many studies have shown that people who volunteer and participate in social groups tend to live longer than others. So the researchers combined data from both studies to see if the volunteer and social opportunities that religious groups offer might explain the longevity boost.

Results showed that this was only part of the reason why religious people lived longer.

“We found that volunteerism and involvement in social organizations only accounted for a little less than one year of the longevity boost that religious affiliation provided,” Wallace said. “There’s still a lot of the benefit of religious affiliation that this can’t explain.”

So what else explains how religion helps people live longer? It may be related to the rules and norms of many religions that restrict unhealthy practices such as alcohol and drug use and having sex with many partners, Way said.

In addition, “many religions promote stress-reducing practices that may improve health, such as gratitude, prayer or meditation,” he said.

The fact that the researchers had data from many cities also allowed them to investigate whether the level of religiosity in a city and a city’s “personality” could affect how religious affiliation influenced longevity.

The findings showed that a key personality element related to longevity in each city was the importance placed on conformity to community values and norms.

In highly religious cities where conformity was important, religious people tended to live longer than non-religious people.

But in some cities there is a spillover effect.

“The positive health effects of religion spill over to the non-religious in some specific situations,” Wallace said. “The spillover effect only occurs in highly religious cities that aren’t too concerned about everyone conforming to the same norms. In those areas, non-religious people tend to live as long as do religious people.”

Way said there are limitations to the study, including the fact that it could not control for important factors related to longevity such as race and health behaviors. But a potential strength was that, unlike other studies, religious affiliation was not self-reported, but was reported by the obituary writer.

Overall, the study provided additional support to the growing number of studies showing that religion does have a positive effect on health, Wallace said.

Other authors on the study were Rebecca Anthony, who is in her final year of medical school at Ohio State, and Christian End, associate professor of psychology at Xavier University.

The study was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

Francia. Massoneria e religione. Lettera aperta ai deputati.

Giuseppe Sandro Mela.

2018-07-09.

Eppure vi sono ancora taluni che asseriscono che la Massoneria francese non interverrebbe nella vita pubblica.

Riportiamo testo e fotocopia dell’ultimo intervento.

Più che un’esortazione sembrerebbe essere un ordine.

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Grand Orient de France.

Lettre ouverte aux Députés du 22 juin 2018

Date parution : 22/06/2018

Les députés ne doivent pas accorder de privilège aux cultes.

Dans le cadre de l’examen par le Sénat du projet de loi pour un Etat au service d’une société de confiance (ESSOC), plusieurs dispositions relatives à la laïcité ont été introduites dans l’article 38 du texte. Le 26 juin prochain les députés vont être saisis en deuxième lecture.

Une des dispositions proposées vise à revenir sur les obligations de transparence établies par la loi du 11 octobre 2013 relative à la transparence de la vie publique, et ainsi à en exonérer les associations cultuelles.

En effet, la loi du 11 octobre 2013 définit dans son article 18-2 les associations à objet cultuel comme des représentants d’intérêts (sauf dans le cadre de leurs relations avec le ministre ou les services ministériels chargés des cultes).

Ces associations ont « pour activité principale ou régulière d’influer sur la décision publique, notamment sur le contenu d’une loi ou d’un acte réglementaire ». Elles entrent ainsi pleinement dans la définition des représentants d’intérêts fixés par la loi. Elles sollicitent régulièrement les administrations publiques, le gouvernement et les parlementaires pour les sensibiliser et tenter d’influencer leur prise de décision sur des sujets majeurs pour la société comme ceux relatifs à la bioéthique, aux droits des femmes, à la fin de vie ou à la PMA.

Les associations cultuelles doivent donc être placées dans la loi sur le même rang que les autres «représentants d’intérêt», et ne doivent jouir d’aucun privilège particulier. Leur capacité d’influence ne doit pas échapper au droit commun imposé à l’ensemble des « représentants d’intérêts » comme les entreprises, ONG, syndicats et associations.

Les Obédiences maçonniques signataires de cette adresse aux députés leur demandent de veiller à ce que le vote ait bien lieu en séance publique et non en prolongation de séance. Leur vote doit empêcher qu’un quelconque privilège soit accordé aux associations cultuelles. La loi doit être la même pour tous les «représentants d’intérêts».

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Grande Oriente di Francia.

Lettera aperta ai deputati del Parlamento europeo, 22 giugno 2018

Data di Pubblicazione: 22/06/2018

I deputati non dovranno concedere privilegi alle religioni.

Nel contesto dell’esame da parte del Senato del progetto di legge per uno Stato al servizio di una società fiduciaria (ESSOC), varie disposizioni relative alla laicità sono state introdotte nell’articolo 38 del testo. Il 26 giugno, i membri saranno alla sua seconda lettura.

Una delle disposizioni proposte mira a rivedere gli obblighi di trasparenza stabiliti dalla legge dell’11 ottobre 2013 sulla trasparenza nella vita pubblica, esentando in tal modo le associazioni religiose.

L’articolo 18-2 della legge dell’11 ottobre 2013 definisce le associazioni religiose come rappresentanti di interessi (tranne che nel contesto dei loro rapporti con il ministro o i servizi ministeriali responsabili del culto religioso).

L’attività principale o regolare di queste associazioni consiste nell’influenzare le decisioni pubbliche, compreso il contenuto di una legge o di un atto normativo. Essi rientrano quindi pienamente nella definizione di rappresentanti di interessi prevista dalla legge. Invitano regolarmente le pubbliche amministrazioni, il governo e i parlamentari a sensibilizzare e a cercare di influenzare il loro processo decisionale su questioni di grande importanza per la società, come la bioetica, i diritti delle donne, la fine della vita o la PMA.

Le associazioni religiose dovranno pertanto essere poste per legge su un piano di parità con gli altri “rappresentanti di interessi” e non dovrebbero godere di privilegi particolari. La loro capacità di influenza non deve sfuggire al diritto comune imposto a tutti i “rappresentanti di interessi”, quali le imprese, le ONG, i sindacati e le associazioni.

Le Obbedienze massoniche firmatarie di questo discorso ai deputati chiedono loro di assicurarsi che la votazione si svolga in seduta pubblica e non in estensione. Il loro voto deve impedire la concessione di privilegi alle associazioni religiose. La legge deve essere la stessa per tutti i “rappresentanti di interessi”.

Russia. Il trionfo della Tradizione. Putin e la religione.

Giuseppe Sandro Mela.

2017-06-04.

Il Presidente Putin onora le Reliquie di San Nicola nella ricostruita Cattedrale.

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«Modern Russia, under Vladimir Putin – the former KGB officer – has made religion, nationalism, patriotism and conservatism cornerstones of the Russian state»

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La scuola di pensiero politico e sociale, filosofico in senso lato, che affonda le sue radici nell’illuminismo prima e quindi nell’idealismo dialetti e storico, ha improntato la mentalità, la Weltanschauung occidentale, per oltre due secoli ed ora sta evidenziando tutte le conseguenze delle proprie contraddizioni: è un edificio in rovina, prossimo al crollo definitivo.

Molti i suoi errori pacchiani, che proprio per la loro grossolanità sono rimasti incomprensibili alla grande maggioranza delle persone.

L’errore sovrano è stato il rigetto della logica formale, l’abiura al principio di non contraddizione.

«Quando i fatti contraddicono la teoria, tanto peggio per i fatti».

Questa frase di Hegel sintetizza in modo mirabile il concetto.

Il modo di pensare e vivere si è disancorato dal reale, liberando ideologie avulse dai fatti, ma proprio per questo illuse di poterli piegare e governare. Gli errori che conseguono alle posizioni di Hegel sono numerosi e tutti letali. Ne riportiamo solo alcuni pertinenti il tema in oggetto.

Ci si è illusi di poter costruire un paradiso sulla terra, ove la persona umana scompare assorbita nell’astratto concetto di ‘società‘ concepita come mero strumento economico: materialismo totale ove il processo burocratico automatizza ogni procedimento decisionale. La società è la sua burocrazia, ed alla fine diventa irrilevante se a governarla siano persone incardinate nello stato ovvero in potentati più o meno privati.

Questo relativismo slegato dal logico non solo ha in uggia un concetto di giustizia ma lo surroga nei fatti con la semplice legge del più forte: quella che i sassoni denominano the power that be.

La tradizione, e con essa la religione che ne è parte integrante e portate, diventa un peso insopportabile, da rigettarsi in toto. Le sofferenze dell’attuale sono giustificabili soltanto pensando a quanto orribile sia stato il passato ed al pericolo che possa ritornare.

Ecco perché quanto è usualmente etichettato in modo fortemente dispregiativo come “populismo” è antitetico alla corrente Weltanschauung: sarebbe il ritorno dei valori della Tradizione che annientano quel poco che resta del sole dell’avvenire. Sarebbe la consacrazione della morte degli idealismi.

Ma non si può pensare che la gente corra in eterno dietro uno straccio: il materiale è importante, ma non l’unica cosa di interesse, e nemmeno la principale. Ed il contro natura si difinisce da sé stesso.

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«One hundred years ago, the Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin dismissed religion as an “abomination”»

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«”Any religious idea, any flirtation with a god,” he wrote, “is the most inexpressible foulness, the most shameful infection.”»

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«Ironically, after Lenin’s death, his successors turned him into a god-like figure, with Lenin portraits and statues, and his embalmed body enthroned in a temple-like mausoleum on Red Square»

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«Dal 1937 al ’41 vennero fucilati 110.700 membri del clero ortodosso, tra cui il locum tenens patriarcale Petr (Poljanskij), recluso da dodici anni in prigione. Nel 1939, sul territorio dell’Unione Sovietica rimanevano aperte non più di cento chiese parrocchiali delle 55.000 funzionanti nel 1917, in cui celebravano circa 500 sacerdoti, contro i 115.000 del 1917» [Fonte]

Per farla in breve, la quasi totalità dei sacerdoti fu semplicemente assassinata. I comunisti pensavano di aver estirpato dalla faccia della terra russa la religione.

Tre generazioni russe furono allevate nel più puro e severo ateismo.

«Once again Russians have been queuing for hours. But this time, not to get into the mausoleum. They’ve been lining up outside Christ the Saviour, the cathedral that the Communists once destroyed, but which was rebuilt from scratch after the collapse of the USSR. The queues have stretched for more than a mile»

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«And so, it seems, does Russia’s president. For Vladimir Putin, too, has visited Christ the Saviour this week to venerate the relics of St Nicholas»

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«The Kremlin leader placed his forehead on to the glass, then, rising, crossed himself three times.

It is remarkable to think that back in Soviet times President Putin worked for an organisation – the KGB – which tried to suppress religion and which persecuted the religious. And yet, today, the Kremlin leader very openly embraces Russian Orthodoxy.»

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«What’s more, under Vladimir Putin’s rule, the Orthodox Church in Russia has grown in power and influence. That’s partly because the loyal Church has helped to strengthen the Russian state and those in power»

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«And, partly, because the Kremlin knows that people need something in which to believe»

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«So, today, the authorities here are constructing a new ideology for Russia – it’s a mixture of nationalism and patriotism, conservatism and loyalty to the state – and all of it underpinned by religious belief»

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Queste modeste considerazioni sarebbero utili per focalizzare un punto centrale della storia di tutti i tempi.

Il retaggio religioso, storico, culturale, linguistico, umano di un popolo, di una nazione, si stratifica nei secoli attorno a dei nuclei che rappresentino delle verità oggettive, vive e vivificanti, che coinvolgono mente e cuore di tutte le persone. Ciò che sia falso, artefatto, tutto sommato contro natura umana, è destinato ad essere caduco: può reggere se imposto con la forza bruta, come fu per il comunismo, ma appena questa forza perde consistenza è destinato a finire nei cascami della storia.

Tutte queste considerazioni avrebbero potuto essere argomentate in via teorica, usando solo logica e forza del pensiero e della mente: ma se non si volesse o potesse far ciò, almeno di creda ai proprio occhi ed alle proprie orecchie.

Hegel aveva torto: alla fine i fatti smentiscono e sberleffano le teorie inconsistenti.

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«the Kremlin knows that people need something in which to believe».

Non ci è dato di sapere se il Presidente Putin sia effettivamente religioso, anche se alla fine non ne resteremmo stupiti più di tanto. Di fatto però ha compreso a fondo la lezione della storia e la sta applicando in modo encomiabile.

Una gran bella lezione per l’Occidente: non qualcosa, però, ma religione vera, tradizione vera. Gli stessi valori che hanno costituito il presupposto dell’elezione del Presidente Trump. Le élite egemoni al momento in Europa stentano a comprendere un qualcosa che eppure è così semplice, e si stanno condannando da soli alla sconfitta. Certo, ci vorrà ancora del tempo, ma sono storicamente battuti.

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→ Bbc. 2017-05-28. Why St Nicholas works wonders for Russians

The Soviet Union turned its back on religion but modern Russia, under Vladimir Putin – the former KGB officer – has made religion, nationalism, patriotism and conservatism cornerstones of the Russian state, reports BBC Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg.

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One hundred years ago, the Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin dismissed religion as an “abomination”.

“Any religious idea, any flirtation with a god,” he wrote, “is the most inexpressible foulness, the most shameful infection.”

Ironically, after Lenin’s death, his successors turned him into a god-like figure, with Lenin portraits and statues, and his embalmed body enthroned in a temple-like mausoleum on Red Square.

Encouraged by this dizzying personality cult, for decades Soviet citizens flocked to Moscow from across the USSR to pay homage to the late great Bolshevik. They would spend up to eight hours queuing outside the mausoleum, waiting for their chance to file past Lenin’s wax-like corpse.

I wonder what Mr Lenin would make of events this week in Moscow?

Once again Russians have been queuing for hours. But this time, not to get into the mausoleum. They’ve been lining up outside Christ the Saviour, the cathedral that the Communists once destroyed, but which was rebuilt from scratch after the collapse of the USSR. The queues have stretched for more than a mile.

It’s here that I meet pensioner Natalya. It’s taken her six hours to reach the front of the queue. Natalya clearly has the patience of a saint. Which is just as well, for it is a saint she has come here to see – and to venerate.

Saint Nicholas the Wonder Worker was a Greek bishop in Asia Minor in the 4th Century. He was famous for his kindness to children and would later inspire the legend of Santa Claus. He is the patron saint of children, sailors, and of prisoners who’ve been wrongly condemned. And he is the saint most cherished by Russian hearts. For according to the Church here, it is Nicholas who has saved Russia many times from catastrophe.

For more than 900 years, his bones have lain in a crypt in the Italian city of Bari. But now, after an historic agreement between the Catholic Pope and the Orthodox Patriarch, one of St Nicholas’ ribs is on loan to Russia.

“I am so excited,” Natalya tells me, “I have butterflies in my stomach. St Nicholas means so much to us.”

In the cathedral, I spot the golden ark, which was transported here from Italy amid great pomp and ceremony. The rib is inside, and I can see it through the glass cover. A long line of Orthodox believers is filing past. As the visitors approach, they make the sign of the cross and bend over the ark. Some place their foreheads on the casket’s transparent top, then kiss the glass and move on.

As they walk away, they’re handed free mini icons of St Nicholas, which have been blessed by the Russian Patriarch himself. Many of the visitors are here with babies and young children. I watch one woman lay her daughter down ever so carefully on her back on top of the ark – as if the mother is hoping that St Nicholas’ miraculous powers will seep into the child’s body from head to toe.

Svetlana is with her little son Vanya, who is rather poorly right now. His arm is hurting. “I’ve brought Vanya here from the hospital,” Svetlana tells me. “I want to give this a chance. Because I really believe in miracles.”

And so, it seems, does Russia’s president. For Vladimir Putin, too, has visited Christ the Saviour this week to venerate the relics of St Nicholas.

The Kremlin leader placed his forehead on to the glass, then, rising, crossed himself three times.

It is remarkable to think that back in Soviet times President Putin worked for an organisation – the KGB – which tried to suppress religion and which persecuted the religious. And yet, today, the Kremlin leader very openly embraces Russian Orthodoxy. He is said to have his own spiritual adviser, Father Tikhon.

What’s more, under Vladimir Putin’s rule, the Orthodox Church in Russia has grown in power and influence. That’s partly because the loyal Church has helped to strengthen the Russian state and those in power. And, partly, because the Kremlin knows that people need something in which to believe. For a time, that was communism and socialism, but those ideas proved shortlived.

So, today, the authorities here are constructing a new ideology for Russia – it’s a mixture of nationalism and patriotism, conservatism and loyalty to the state – and all of it underpinned by religious belief.

Which brings us back to St Nicholas and his rib. By displaying this bone in Moscow, Russia is not only honouring its most beloved saint. It is trying to excite and enthuse and unite the tens of millions of Orthodox Christians in Russia behind a common idea.