Regarding the Feb. 3 commentary “Why Goodness Depends on God,” Bishop Barron seems to have overlooked some recent research comparing the religious and non-believers. For example: “Religion does not make one moral,” published in the Sept. 11, 2014, edition of “Science”; “Secular family life is at least as moral and ethical as religious family life,” published in the Jan. 14, 2015, edition of the Los Angeles Times; and by that same author, Phil Zuckerman: “Democratic countries with the lowest levels of religious faith and participation today – such as Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Belgium and New Zealand – have among the lowest violent crime rates in the world and enjoy remarkably high levels of societal well-being, and when it comes to nearly all standard measures of societal health, including homicide rates, the least theistic states within the USA generally fare much better than the most theistic” (Los Angeles Times, Oct. 30, 2015).
Tom Rafferty lives in Charlotte.