Thou Shalt Not Steal?

Maybe the authors simply confused cause and effect during their analysis. It is every bit as valid to suppose that using payday loans causes people to become more religious. Please God, get us out of debt.

In fact, what is most likely is that both observed effects are tied to a completely different factor, namely lower average incomes. Always remember; statistics don't lie, statisticians do.

I would think they might find more scientifically relevant data if they considered average income, indebtedness, and/or other relevant fiscal factors to indicate an actual correlation. Does this trend they supposedly found indicate that less "religious" people have less need of loans? Do those in states not marked red have fewer debts? You cannot separate traditional credit card, and other debt from payday loans as if they are entirely different. While their numbers may have validity, I find their methods and probable intentions suspect (both the author of this article and the "scientists" that created the study.

I can't say how offended I am by this article...there are no words. Have they even considered that Christians are pretty trusting, wanting to believe the best of their fellow man (which this article surely proves WRONG) rather than suggest, as the title does, that Christians OWN these lender places and are bilking poor, hardworking Americans out of their last dollar. This is very shocking, very offensive, and I'm just plain appalled by the lack of judgment on Mr. Enright's part and Newsweek to publish such utter garbage.

I think they're time would be better spent studying the correlation between keno shops, fingernail boutiques and cigarette stores....in every strip mall you'll find all three. Coincidence? I saw nay.

It's about time everyone takes another look at Abraham Lincoln and all the other anti-communists like Ronald Reagan and Joseph R. McCarthy. After all it was a Marxist Lee Harvey Oswald and a communist Sirhan Sirhan who knocked off the Kennedy Brothers. Now check out this awesome book I just read at Amazon.com!

The Epoch Point by Spencer Zimmerman is a religious historical conspiracy thriller that follows evil throughout the existence of mankind, revealing the constant conflict between God and the devil, good and evil. Robert Davis is a young Airman fresh out of Air Force basic training who, after being held captive in China, suddenly finds himself unraveling the most immense conspiracy in history. On duty during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he soon uncovers hidden facts suggesting Russian and Iraqi involvement. While exploring abandoned military barracks at Kessler AFB in Mississippi, Davis and his friends discover the diary of Lee Harvey Oswald. Suddenly the Airmen find themselves the target of mysterious agents. As the clues surface, an evil emerges powerful enough to rewrite the entire history of humanity, not to mention kill two of his good friends. Before long the conspiracy takes on a supernatural form, marked by lightning, tornadoes, hurricanes, and volcanoes, the wrath of God. Davis finds himself torn by the unbelievable realization that God has a message for him. Nothing could prepare him for the final suspenseful twist the story takes, a Da Vinci style revelation that reaffirms his belief in Christ.

here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Epoch-Point-Spencer-Zimmerman/dp/1934248932/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210731193&sr=1-1

In Los Angeles there are thousands of churches, and high rates of crime. In Nome Alaska, there are only a few hundred churches, and a low crime rate. Therefore we must assume that Churches cause crime. That is if you follow the logic of this story.

Of course there's a corrolation, but its not because conservative or evangelical Christians or Mormons approve of, or frequent this kind of business. Its because these groups also tend to be opposed to government intrusion, oversight or limitations on what they view as "free market' and/or private property matters. That would include any government limits on payday lenders. And there are many places around the nation where these groups over decades have succeeded in rolling back various government oversights. That they have been used as pawns by corporate America to strip power from government and put it squarely in the hands of big business and their money lenders is another matter altogether.

j

i've been screwed over in business by too many christians. when i'm doing a deal with someone and they start blithering on about jebus i run a mile in the other direction. i'm afrais for me reborn = lobotomised by christ.

These professors need to find real jobs, ones that don???t steal from US taxpayers and university supporters. Their superior leftist bias is clearly showing, and Newsweek shamelessly advertises this non-story as a ???surprising correlation.??? They try to wash their hands of leading foggy-headed Christian-bashers to the conclusion that those Christians are thieves, but their ???research??? is only a string of holes, lacking any evidence of trends at all. Look at their map, critically, and notice how many states do NOT exhibit this purported correlation at all: NV, OK, AR, TX, VA; plus GA, WV and NC, where even tho there are lots of conservative folks, payday lending is illegal. IF this map actually did show any correlation, I would suggest that highly Christian states are more likely to value personal rights over government intrusion, so those states have fewer regulations of all kinds. Possibly an actual correlation might be found between these states and any form of restrictive regulation. That does not make those people stupid or thieves, by the way, just patriots who value freedom.