I guess we're all like Son of Sam

The Times (UK) has an article today about the effects of religion entitled Societies worse off 'when they have God on their side':

RELIGIOUS belief can cause damage to a society, contributing towards high murder rates, abortion, sexual promiscuity and suicide, according to research published today.

According to the study, belief in and worship of God are not only unnecessary for a healthy society but may actually contribute to social problems.

The study referenced in the article can be found here. The theme for the study runs along the lines of:

European countries are by and large more secular than the US.
European countries have lower rates of crime, STDs, teen pregnancy, etc.
High rates in the belief of a higher being, combined with low rates of acceptance for Darwinism causes our high rates of crime, STDs, teen pregnancy, etc.

I disagree completely with this premise, indeed I suggest that our rates of crime and other social ills are built on more complex foundations than "more bible thumpers = more murderers". If I graphed data on toy inventories at Wal-Mart or the rise in popularity of bowling leagues I might find a similar correlation. But I would be wrong to suggest that bowling causes murder and AIDS.

The author of the study is Gregory S. Paul, who the Times calls a "social scientist". I wonder if this is the same Mr. Paul who wrote this book, and this article for the Council for Secular Humanism's Free Inquiry magazine? If so, shouldn't the times have mentioned it?

On a side note, I would love to see a debate between this guy and Bill Bennett.

Update - My dyslexia is getting in the way. Son of Sam killed because his dog told him to. Sorry.