The world is a better place because of Christianity

Round theme: http://www.youtube.com...I. The inevitability of religionReligion can best be understood in the anthropological sense as a cultural expression of contact with a supposed supernatural realm. There is a reason that religious systems spring up in every society. Millenia of human experience regarding religion are confirmed by recent surveys which show atheists to actually be more superstitious than the religiously devout. WSJ explains[1]: "'What Americans Really Believe,' a comprehensive new study released by Baylor University yesterday, shows that traditional Christian religion greatly decreases belief in everything from the efficacy of palm readers to the usefulness of astrology. It also shows that the irreligious and the members of more liberal Protestant denominations, far from being resistant to superstition, tend to be much more likely to believe in the paranormal and in pseudoscience than evangelical Christians."Every other explanation lacks explanatory power: it needs to be recognized as fact that humans naturally seek answers and if they aren't provided by established religious doctrine, they seek them elsewhere in other supernatural explorations. Thus to win this debate, my opponent must not only show that Christianity is societally *bad* but also that an alternative would be *good* because *every* society is going to have some kind of mythology. The idea of a secular world, ESPECIALLY historically is a pie in the sky idea--we can only debate within the contraints of reality. This is an enormous mountain for Con to have to climb: society evolves naturally, religion included. Con can wax poetics about how terrible Christianity was in the middle ages, or how bad American fundamentalists are today but unless he proves things would've been different if not for Christianity, he loses the debate. The very fact that Christianity is viewed and practiced so differently across time and space is as good an argument for the effects of culture on religious expression as any. Thus, you presume a Pro ballot: Christianity became and remained popular throughout much of the world because people *liked* it. Christianity is a universalizing and hopeful religion, thus explaining its broad appeal. Con is going to make the argument that many people were forced to "convert" and while this is true, in reality the situation was much more complicated. Most countries that officially converted initially saw only the upper class truly converting while the lower classes and rural populations remained followers of the old ways who were nominally Christians--hence the undeniable pagan influence on the early church. However, Christianity soon became so accepted that the old religions were all but forgotten. Religion is an idea, and ideas can only really survive in a society if that society eventually accepts them. Con needs to prove that his world without Christianity would be better than the world people in traditionally Christian countries actually chose when they were presented the choice between Christianity and other religions. What Christianity is today is a faith that has evolved with Western society for nearly a score of centuries, criticisms of it are best handled by the society itself looking in the mirror. To blame belief in the divinity of Christ for social ills such as stigma against homosexuality is grossly simplistic and unfair.II. The real world effects of ChristianityLet me delve into a few more conventional arguments. Campbell and Putnam explain[2] that over 9 in 10 of the most religious Americans (who are overwhemingly Christian) made a charitable donation in 2009, comapred with 2 in 3 for the most secular Americans, and that the average donation size for the faithful was nearly 3 times as large as for the secular. They point out that this charity edge is not limited to the faithfuls own congregations, but even if it was "local congregations are often on the front lines of providing charitable services to the poor and needy through food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters." Due to the psychological need for religion that I've argued for above, religous people typically have better life outcomes than the irreligious. Forbes explains[3] that people who attend a religious congregation once a week or more live an average of 7 years longer than their counterparts and lists a myriad of other benefits including lower rates of crime and substance abuse. The article goes on to cite an analysis from sociologist Rodney Stark showing that religion benefits the US economy by about $2.6 trillion per year. You can prefer these impacts over my opponents because they directly link to religion in the United States and thus Christianity, unlike my opponents impacts which are largely cultural as I'll discuss in the next round. The resolution is affirmed. Sources: 1. http://tinyurl.com...2. http://tinyurl.com...3. http://tinyurl.com...