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Good Faith
The whole idea of religion as a behavior modification device rubs me the wrong way. Faith is not a coat you throw on to make yourself look and act better. Promoting belief because it might lower the crime rate or have some similar utilitarian benefit is an egregious misunderstanding of religion’s actual importance, and an offense to real believers....

Theoretically, then, in addition to their richer philosophical understandings Christians ought to be registering unusually wholesome earthly outcomes.

Does that happen in practice? The verdict of this issue of The American Enterprise is that, yes indeed, things generally go better with God. Societies are more prosperous and individuals more thriving where faith blooms. For a start, consider some of the social science I was able to pull together quickly on practical results...