Prayer as Meditation - or as Insult

I've rewritten this page on prayer, removing half of the content and expanding the section on meditation.

What is prayer for? It doesn't change outcomes, because God's plan is perfect and prayer can't change which is the best action for God to take. Prayer doesn't work against individual ailments, nor does it change national outlooks (even on health). So what's the point?

Prayer still has positive uses. It gives us a quiet-time to think slowly, and let ideas and resolutions come to us. It can also create social togetherness and consolidarity, as can all shared rituals. With these advantages, although theists call it "prayer" - others, more accurately, call it meditation, which actually does have some positive results on one's own health.

The contents menu for "Prayer is Pointless, Except as Meditation" by Vexen Crabtree (2023) is now:

1. Prayer Tells God Nothing
2. Praying Doesn't Change What Course of Action it is Best for God to Take
3. Praying is Best Considered Meditation and Introspection
4. Prayer as a Passive Aggressive Activity

Prayer Across the World (Who Prays the Most?)

A new page! "Prayer in World Religion".

Daily prayer is most common in Central America (77%), Africa (75%) and The Caribbean (74%). The least prayerful countries are China (01%), UK (06%), Austria (08%), Switzerland (08%) and Czechia (09%). Does prayer work? All of the larger studies on prayer, and the well-controlled ones, show that prayer has no effect on the world.

The contents menu is:

1. Which Regions of the World Pray the Most and the Least?
2. Which Countries Pray the Most and the Least?
3. Does Prayer Work?
4. In the Theistic Viewpoint, Prayer Can't Change God's Perfect Plan
5. Prayer in Christianity
6. Prayer in Islam

The average immigration rate in Europe is 14%. Of the countries with over 1m population, the highest immigrationrate is Switzerland (29.6%), Austria (19%) and Sweden (17.6%). Ireland is 8th in the list, the UK is 15th. For a full list, see: www.humantruth.info/europe_migration.html by Vexen Crabtree of the Human Truth Foundation.

Buddhism, Confucianism, Humanism, Jainism, Taoism, Raelism, Scientology and other movements are all religious but don't have a belief in god(s). This confuses westerners in particular, who often equate religion with god-belief to such an extent that they can't imagine being religious without it. "Atheist Religions"

The contents menu is:

1. An Introduction to Atheism and Secularism
2. Introductions to Some Atheist Religions
   1. Buddhism is an Atheist Religion
   2. Confucianism
   3. Humanism
   4. Jainism
   5. Taoism / Daoism
   6. UFO Religions
3. Atheist Religions Tend to be Kinder and More Compassionate Than Theist Religions

www.humantruth.info/the_values_of_liberalism.html divides liberal values into three categories (social, political & economic), which together stem from the 17th century Enlightenment. But note that someone who holds liberal ideas in one domain doesn't have to be liberal in another - an individual may be socially liberal but not economically; others may be liberal overall, but not when it comes to politics.

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: The Freedom of Expression

A new page! Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights grants us the ability to speak freely as long as we don't infringe on other rights. Political extremists and traditional religions have been effective and stalwarts opposition to free speech, enforcing censorship, victimisation and blasphemy laws against those whose opinions they don't want to hear. "Freedom of Expression"

The contents menu is:

1. About Human Rights in General
2. Commentary on Freedom of Speech
3. Limits
4. Opposition to Free Expression
5. Press Freedom Index
6. Blasphemy and Censorship: In Christianity and Islam

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Human Rights and Freedom in Ethiopia

The first round of international treaties on human rights began in the 1940s after the founding of the United Nations. For the following few decades, Ethiopia regularly signed and ratified almost all such treaties, except a few. However since 1989, it has signed only two, and, ratified only one.

For full details and statistics, see: Human Rights and Freedom in Ethiopia by Vexen Crabtree.