by Zoë Pollock
Tom Rees summarizes the work of political scientist Daniel Treisman:
are also highly likely to say they are worried about the others. … Belief in heaven tended to lower fear somewhat, but belief in hell had a dramatic and opposite effect. Those countries where a lot of people believed in hell were more fearful across the range of potential threats. …
To me, this looks like good evidence that putting the fear of God into people actually makes them more fearful of everything else—and that, of course, has a number of interesting political and social ramifications.
(Image: "America's Joyous Future" by Erika Rothenberg)
The Dish 