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Originally Posted by MattyC
I don't think I would go that far. It's more about a general acceptance of everyone, regardless of religion or whatever. But religions tend to cause friction when they actually hold power in governing people instead of governing those of their faith. So nations that have moved away from theocratic tendencies I would say tend to be more peaceful.
That said, it can be taken to extreme where all religion is effectively banned (like in China). I'm atheist, but I don't think you can ban something as personal as religion. People will always finds something to worship.
Although having religious institutions as tax-free entities obviously holds some potential revenue back. I don't know that it's overly significant in a place like Canada.
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I'm not suggesting it's the reason, and I'm not making an argument for or against its impact. I just thought about it for a second and it got me thinking about how much money is spent in organized religion. Building places of worship, funding, donation, etc. It is likely protected information that does not get released publicly, so I guess we'll never know. To make it clear again, I'm not trying to imply anything here, as it could have a positive, negative or neutral economic impact, just don't want anyone taking it as an attack on religion.