"Aggressive secularization" in the Netherlands leads to polygamy, euthanasia, infanticide and a suicide pill.Oh noes, the Netherlands is DOOMED!
Wait a sec, this news report came from Fox News, which is the most "Fair and Balanced" news network in the USA.
Better go check some actual data...
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Divorce Demography
(crude divorce rate per 1,000 total population)
USA = 3.8 (2003)
Netherlands = 1.91 (2004)
Singapore = 0.78 (2004)
Prison Population
(per 100,000 total population)
USA = 701 (2002)
Singapore = 388 (2002)
Netherlands = 100 (2002)
Intentional Homicide
(per 100,000 total population)
USA = 5.8 (2008)
Netherlands = 0.97 (2002)
Singapore = 0.48 (2005)
Infant Mortality
(death per 1,000 live births)
USA = 6.3 (2005)
Netherlands = 4.7 (2005)
Singapore = 3.0 (2005)
Abortion
(per 1,000 women aged 15-44 years)
USA = 20.8 (2003)
Singapore = 12.6 (2004)
Netherlands = 10.4 (2004)
Suicide
(death per 100,000 total population)
USA = 11.1 (2005)
Singapore = 10.3 (2006)
Netherlands = 9.4 (2004)
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Wow, the USA is truly a world "leader" in all these areas!
Let's hope that the Netherlands (and Singapore too) will never follow its "lead" here.
Indeed, Fox News should be proud of their country and their own special style of reporting where the truth is always optional.
Pipette tip to Sandwalk.
Would you like to know more?
- Is Polygamy Really Legal in the Netherlands?
5 Comments:
When I first saw this post, I was actually proud of my Dutch ancestry. I appreciate your inclusion of some important statistical comparisons between the U.S., Singapore and Holland was a good way to drive home the point.
Thanks for dropping by, Mike!
The Netherlands has gotta be cool because that's where Paul Verhoeven comes from! :)
I wrote this blog post because the tone of the Fox news report really ticked me off, and also because there is a debate here in Singapore raised by fundamentalist Christians about "Militant Secularism" whenever the issue of homosexual rights crop up.
"Militant Secularism" is a clever but meaningless label, not created by the traditionalist majority in Singapore (who are mainly Buddhists and Taoists) but clearly a recent import from the conservative right in the USA.
Speaking of Singaporean fundamentalists - I was watching this video at Submitted to a Candid World. How did this vote ever turn out?
It's good of you to reveal the true stats of a supposedly Christian nation as compared with more secular nations. They failed by their own standards.
Singapore scored rather well. I wonder if some of the figures may have more to do with culture than anything, though.
To Mike:
Are you refering to Section 377A of the Penal Code? The Parliament decided to retain it.
In Asia, only a handful of countries (including Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Myanmar) continue to criminalize homosexuality. India technically retains their version of Section 377, but a recent Delhi High Court ruling has decriminalized sex between consenting homosexual adults.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/5721979/India-overturns-148-year-old-law-banning-homosexuality.html
Homosexual relations is not a criminal offense in a large number of Asian countries with a variety of religions and cultures, such as Indonesia (except Aceh), Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, the Philippines, China (both PRC and ROC), Mongolia, Japan and South Korea.
This underscores just how meaningless the term "Militant Secularism" is, especially when used to protest against homosexual rights.
To S.A.:
Well, they can always say that the USA is still not "truly" Christian or Christian enough.
Of course, no country is perfect but what really annoys me are these smug people in the USA who talk as if they have moral superiority over the rest of the world.
They should take a good look at the mirror.
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