tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051713021757781960.post1919114426736286784..comments2010-03-11T13:16:04.657ZTomas Reeshttps://profiles.google.com/115024388411221181739noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051713021757781960.post-73724601121536115352010-03-11T13:16:04.653Z2010-03-11T13:16:04.653ZI think that's quite possibly true. Another thought that occurred to me is that Catholics and women might be 'expected' to go to Church - i.e. to face social pressures to conform. If that were the case, you might expect a small increase in anxiety in those people who did not feel able to go to church (because they cannot convince themselves that god exists).Tom Reeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05420404206189437710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1051713021757781960.post-40034612918614137852010-03-09T00:03:01.391Z2010-03-09T00:03:01.391ZWhen I was younger and I concerned myself with these things, I concluded that religions were organic. By that I mean they evolved from and within their various human ecosystems. Not necessarily an original idea, no doubt, but to explain it a bit further, conditions that influence religions vary from the characteristics of different languages to the ever-changing limits of scientific understanding in various cultures. I bring it up because the simplest explanation seems to me to be Catholicism in Northern Ireland has evolved to appeal to anxious women. In other words, conditions in Northern Ireland have cause women to suffer from anxiety, and so the brand of Catholicism that is practiced in Northern Ireland has evolved to appeal to these women by relieving their anxiety.Edwardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04295927435118827266noreply@blogger.com