As Phil Zuckerman writes: …”Religion is often linked in people’s minds with social morality and ethical conduct; it is often assumed and argued that without a strong belief in God or a deep religious commitment, people will have no moral strivings or ethical inclinations, And yet here we see that corruption is extremely low in Scandinavia, and charity extremely high - both clear indicators of a well-developed societal morality, and yet both existing in countries that are quite secular.” p. 28

Of course, the godless nations have well-developed welfare states. So all of this challenges another key conservative credo, namely that large government is pure evil.

Large government is pure evil only in the sense that it destroys religion. For the European welfare state creates a more secure life for ordinary people. This means that they no longer need religion as a balm for life’s miseries.

The atheist in me loves the results of this study, while the anarchist in me wants to throw up.  It leads me to think that if these people are already deeply involved in their community and charities, why the hell do they need the government to run the welfare programs?