Source: Gerry Charlotte Phelps
Why So Much Corruption?
Corruption originates in basic human moral weakness, and is transmitted, not genetically, but through the culture. Cultures arise from their religions and are shaped by them. Of all cultures, those based on Protestant Christianity are the least corrupt.
Here is a list of the most and least corrupt countries from Real Clear Politics: Most Corrupt: Somalia, Afganistan, Mayanmar, Sudan, Iraq, Chad, Usbekistan, Turkestan, Iran, Haiti. Least Corrupt: New Zealand, Denmark, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Iceland. In the list of the 10 least corrupted countries, 9 were countries with cultures based on Protestant Christianity. Of the 10 most corrupt countries, 7 were countries with cultures based on Islam.
Countries affected by Islam seem especially prone to severe corruption. The Spanish culture was also heavily influenced by Islam during the 800 years of occupation by the Muslims. The Spanish language is full of Arabic words, for instance. Latin American Spanish culture, begun about the time the Muslims were ejected from Spain, still retains things like some of the Arabic treatment of women. The chaperone system was still common in Mexico City in the 1960s, for instance, when I was doing research there. Latin American cultures also have some of the dysfunction of the “honor” systems reminiscent of those of the Arabs, more cruel, vengeful and volatile than Anglo cultures. But more hopefully, also more centered on the extended family.
There is also the fact that countries based on Catholic cultures are notably more corrupt than those based on Protestant Christian cultures. That reflects their attitudes toward the Bible in the 15th century. Catholics did not encourage ordinary people to read the Bible. But Protestants did. They promoted literacy too, so more people could read the newly-available cheap printed Bibles. So Protestants had the advantage of more wide-spread literacy, especially in the Bible. More Bible-reading caused ordinary Protestants to try harder than ordinary Catholics to be more moral people. The result was less than normal corruption in Protestant cultures. That was good for business and for more-democratic government. But it came from the inside of individuals rather than arising from any form of government.
The Christian-based culture of the West is the foundational determinant of its being less corrupt. The founders of the American republic did warn us that without “a religious and moral people” their republic would not work. That makes sense. If something on the inside of people does not tell them corruption is wrong, there can never be enough policemen in the world to diminish or stop corruption.
Many efforts have been made to transplant the less-corrupt democracy of the Anglo cultures to non-democracies. Whether it can be done on a permanent basis is still to be seen. Without also transplanting Protestant Christianity, the basis for transplanting a lasting democracy may be doubtful.
It may well be that what is needed to spread non-corrupt democratic governance is more missionaries and more domestic evangelists in the long run. Without that, the transplants may not survive.
In fact, the question for the West is whether having lost so much of its own Christianity, can it hold onto its own waning relatively non-corrupt democracies, or even survive?
Gerry: Why does all my email to you get returned by the postmasters? Whether it's the att address or the gerrycharlotte. etc one, it all gets bucked back. Help!
Posted by: Ben Blankenship November 18, 2009 at 07:07 PM
Another greast post, Rev. Phelps!
Posted by: eay worsham November 20, 2009 at 05:08 PM
There are politicians in our country that have no conscience to speak of...although they disguise it for political reasons by claiming to be members of a particular religious sect.
Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are two such hypocrites. They both have attended churches for their own political advancement but have never shown any of signs of the faith they professed to believe. Obama, if he has any religion at all, is a Muslim irregardless of what he says openly. But he is a Muslim with Humanist beliefs. The Clintons are Humanists irregardless of what they profess.
One characteristic of both Obama and Clinton is that they never appoligise for anything...they are never wrong...they are Humanists. Obama and Clinton are probably the most corrupt politicians this country has ever produced...but they are the creme-de-la-creme of corruptness and like scum they rise to the surface.
Your article was excellent (as usual) and I whoelheartedly agree with your missionary and domestic evangelism ideas...when governments get in the way corruptness ALWAYS follows.
Posted by: Norm December 19, 2009 at 08:34 PM