Although most religious traditions call on the faithful to serve the poor, a large cross-sectional survey of U.S. physicians found that physicians who are more religious are slightly less likely to practice medicine among the underserved than physicians with no religious affiliation.

Researchers from the University of Chicago and Yale New Haven Hospital report that 31 percent of physicians who were more religious—as measured by “intrinsic religiosity” as well as frequency of attendance at religious services—practiced among the underserved, compared to 35 percent of physicians who described their religion as atheist, agnostic or none.

Physicians have many compelling reasons to avoid spending the bulk of their time caring for the poor. It can mean forgoing professional prestige, free time and academic opportunities. It often comes with reduced salaries, decreased support staff and constant bureaucratic interference.

I doubt if any of the excuses after “reduced salaries” really count for much at the country club.



  1. Mister Mustard says:

    >>Let me get this straight, your argument is that “truly religious”
    >>people are more like to provide medical care to the needy than
    >>heathens. First, you offer no proof of that.

    That’s not “my argument”, jerk-face. I’m just taking what’s in the linked story and running with it. Read the story, then get back to me.

  2. Jerk-Face says:

    31. “That’s not “my argument”, jerk-face. I’m just taking what’s in the linked story and running with it. Read the story, then get back to me.”

    I read the article and at no point does it ever use the phrase “truly religious.” Those were your words, thus it is your argument.

  3. Mister Mustard says:

    #29 – Bobbo. Thanks, Grasshopper. Soon, you will learn The Way.

    As to why “God bashing is a bad thing?” wtf?? Ipsa res loquitur, as I’ve said before. It’s kind of like me telling you that your wife is ugly, or your kids are stupid. As long as I’m not bothering you, leave me the fuck alone to worship God as I please. You’ve got an ugly wife and stupid kids, I have my spiritual values. As Rodney King asks, can’t we all just get along?

    I’m sorry that the Southern Baptists declined to repaint OFTLO’s Voyager, but is that really their responsibility? Madeleine Murray O’Hare declined to leave me $1,000,000 in her will, but do you see me busting her balls?

    If you don’t like Howard Stern, change the station. If you don’t like God, stay out of church and pray to a hedge fund. This is (or at least WAS, until King Dumbya assumed the throne) a free country. If what I do isn’t having any effect on you, just leave me the fuck alone.

    Capisce?

  4. Mister Mustard says:

    >> I read the article and at no point does it ever use the phrase
    >>“truly religious.” Those were your words, thus it is your
    >>argument.

    Jerk-face, if you hadn’t been home-schooled, perhaps you might have learned to read:

    “Physicians who strongly agreed that their religious beliefs influence their practice of medicine were more likely to report practice among the underserved. ”

    Again, I’m sorry about the mini-van. If you start an online fund for its repainting, I’ll donate five dollars. Those Southern Baptists just get a little nutty with all the chronic, don’t you know?

  5. Jerk-Face says:

    34. God, you simply do not get it. You’ve totally proven my point.

    “Physicians who strongly agreed that their religious beliefs influence their practice of medicine were more likely to report practice among the underserved. ”

    Well duh. That’s circular. It sheds no light on the issue of whether theists are “more” likely to help the needy. If you are defining your phrase of “truly religious” as someone whose “religious beliefs influence their practice of medicine” your result will necessarily follow.

  6. Mister Mustard says:

    >>And one last thing, atheists do not insist that god doesn’t exist.

    Uh, again with the home-schooling thing. God damn, j-f, was it really worth it?

    “Atheism, as a philosophical view, is the position that either affirms the nonexistence of gods[1] or rejects theism.[2]” (from wiki-something-or-other).

    You stick to your religion, I’ll stick to mine.

    And good luck on the GED!!

  7. Mister Mustard says:

    >>Well duh.

    That about sums it up, j-f. I thought Bobbo was posting just to read his own words, but you take the motherfucking cake. If you’re not going to accept the word of a self-described person who “strongly agreed that their religious beliefs influence their practice of medicine” as a person who strongly agreed that their religious beliefs influence their practice of medicine , I think you better concentrate on getting that mini-van repainted.

    My $5 offer for the online fund still stands.

  8. Mister Mustard says:

    >>God, you simply do not get it. You’ve totally proven my point.

    Oh, like wow, man! Dude, you have so totally proven MY point, that is like so “WOW”. Totally. Wow.

    I didn’t know until now that there was such a thing as “Valley Boys”. But you have, like, totally opened my eyes.

  9. Jerk-Face says:

    36. (from wiki-something-or-other).

    Let me get this straight, you base your definition on a user-created wiki?! Do you dispute the definition of theist? Do you dispute what the prefix “a” means?

    But then again, you base your entire life on a book claimed to be an authority despite only being written by men, so I guess it’s not really surprising.

    “You stick to your religion, I’ll stick to mine.”

    So the lack of a belief is a religion?! So is your lack of belief in fairies a religion too? Or do you actually belief in fairies. I guess either way, you practice the religion of fairies. Kind of asinine isn’t it. But then again, it is your argument.

  10. Jerk-Face says:

    “Oh, like wow, man! Dude, you have so totally proven MY point, that is like so “WOW”. Totally. Wow.”

    You do realize that even way before valley-speak “totally” was and still is synonymous with “completely”? Right? Do you even own a dictionary? Or did you rely on a valley-speak wiki for your worldly information?

    I also note how you don’t respond to my argument, which I’ll take as a concession on your part. Finally!

  11. Mister Mustard says:

    >>So the lack of a belief is a religion?!

    No, the lack of a belief is agnosticism.

    The utter, unassailable, inviolable, self-assurance that there is no God, nothing other than Jerk-Face, his unpainted mini-van, and Dvorak Uncensored….now THAT is a religion. And you’re a congregant at that altar, dude. You’re rolling holy in it. Like it or lump it, but your BELIEF makes you a religious guy. No proof, just blind faith. Sound anything like the Southern Baptists?

    Perhaps you should pray to your non-god for some funds to underwrite the re-paint job at one of those discount places.

    Keep me posted on how the GED studies are going….

  12. Mister Mustard says:

    >>I also note how you don’t respond to my argument,
    >>which I’ll take as a concession on your part. Finally!

    Sorry. With all the confusion of you rolling on the ground, speaking in anti-God tongues, and all that snake handling, I guess I missed your “argument”.

    Could you refresh my memory? I tried reviewing your posts, but all the verbal diarrhea started getting to me.

  13. Mister Mustard says:

    >>Let me get this straight, you base your definition on
    >>a user-created wiki?!

    Well, why don’t you wow me with your home-schooling, and post something right out of the Atheists’ Bible, defining what belief system you adhere to?

    ps: you could probably get a good deal on the mini-van paint job at earlscheib.com

  14. Jerk-Face says:

    42. “Could you refresh my memory? I tried reviewing your posts, but all the verbal diarrhea started getting to me.”

    If you don’t understand simple logical fallacies such as circular arguments, I won’t explain them too you here. You can do some research on that valley-speak wiki you love so much.

    However, my guess is that you really do understand the concept of circular arguments and why they are logically invalid, but cannot get around the fact that you used one. So, rather than admit defeat, you’ll attack me instead. Which, by the way, is called an ad hominem attack and is also a logical fallacy.

  15. Jerk-Face says:

    43. “post something right out of the Atheists’ Bible, defining what belief system you adhere to?”

    Why do you assume we need a belief system?

  16. bobbo says:

    That guy said it well last week:

    Not collecting stamps is to a hobby like
    Not believing in God is a religion.

    Pretty good stuff?

    But I have to agree==people that say religion strongly enfluences their life “should” be more likely to practice among the poor, AND atheism I think can fairly be called a belief system if not a religion.

    time for another beer.

  17. Jerk-Face says:

    46. “atheism I think can fairly be called a belief system if not a religion”

    So the lack of a belief can constitute a religion. I’m still trying to understand that. Back in 39 I asked MM if he was part of the fairy religion. Because whether you believe in them or not, it constitutes a religion right? MM wouldn’t respond, maybe you will. Are you a part of the fairy religion?

  18. bobbo says:

    47–any fair read of the entire Post #46 clearly says atheism is NOT a religion. What you quote is only slightly ambiguous. In context, not ambiguous at all.

    Time for beer #2. I’ll be ready to confront Mr Mustard in another beer or two.

  19. Jerk-Face says:

    48. So when you wrote “atheism I think can fairly be called a belief system if not a religion” you were referring to some “I” other than yourself?

  20. Mister Mustard says:

    >>Not collecting stamps is to a hobby like
    >>Not believing in God is a religion.

    And having a belief system that you’re willing to accept, without any proof, in spite of any evidence to the contrary, and are willing to call non-non believers “fairies”?

    That seems to go even beyond “religion” Atheism is a MegaReligion.

    I just hope that J-F gets his fucking mini-van repainted. He’ll be in a much better mood then.

  21. Mister Mustard says:

    >>Which, by the way, is called an ad hominem attack

    Oooh, love the Latin, J-F. You’re not a Roman Catholic by any chance are you? Or a lawyer? Those are the only two religions I know of that speak Latin (other than Renaissance dudes, which it’s painfully clear YOU are not a member of the group).

    Keep us posted on the mini-van and the GED, won’t you?

    Toodles.

  22. Jerk-Face says:

    50. “I just hope that J-F gets his fucking mini-van repainted. He’ll be in a much better mood then.”

    Today is a great day. I finally got MM to concede he’s wrong. He won’t actually come out and admit it it, of course. He’s too dogmatic for that. But his refusal to respond to arguments or to specific questions all while continuing to drop ad hominem attacks like bombs is basically the same thing. I’ve waited a long time for this, and it is nearly as satisfying as I’d hoped. Thanks MM. Thanks a lot! 🙂

  23. Mister Mustard says:

    >>So the lack of a belief can constitute a religion.

    No, Jerk-Face. Are you really an idiot, or do you just play one on TV?

    As I’ve pointed out more times than I should have, “lack of a belief” is agnosticism.

    Belief and blind faith in something (God, no God, the mini-van as God, whatever), THAT is a religion.

    And YOU, m’hijito, are a devout worshipper at that altar. Suck it in and deal with it. And maybe you can get a sub-prime loan to get the mini-van repainted, if your persecution of the Southern Baptists doesn’t come through.

  24. Mister Mustard says:

    >>Thanks MM. Thanks a lot!

    Are you really Genital Warts (GW) Bush in disguise? You seem to have the same level of education. Could you please post a .wmv file of you saying the word “nuclear”?

    If you ever had a “specific argument”, I would have responded to it about 75 posts ago. Desafortunadamente, you wallow in the cesspool of making fun of Wiki-something-or-other, and pretending not to know the definition of “atheist”.

    Down on your knees, Believer! Worship the God of No Gods! Blind Faith will SET YOU FREE!!

    Can I get a Hallelujah???

  25. Jerk-Face says:

    53. “Belief and blind faith in something (God, no God, the mini-van as God, whatever), THAT is a religion.”

    So you admit it, you are a part of the fairy religion. Either you believe in fairies, which makes you a part of it. Or you don’t, which makes you a part of it.

    So do you guys get together every Sunday to practice your faith or what?

  26. Mister Mustard says:

    >>So you admit it, you are a part of the fairy religion.

    Oh, Jerk Face. Oh Jerk Face, oh Jerk Face, oh Jerk Face.

    You are sounding more and more like a Southern Baptist with every post! Have you had sex with a crystal meth male prostitute? Have you offered an undercover cop a blow job for $20????

    Answer truthfully, now. You may have split off from the Southern Synod, but even the God of your Atheism is watching you. Don’t you be lying now, boy.

  27. Jerk-Face says:

    54. “Are you really Genital Warts (GW) Bush in disguise?”

    Why do you claim that anyone who disagrees with you is GW? You have more in common with him than anyone who disagrees with you.

    “If you ever had a “specific argument”, I would have responded to it”

    First, I never said “specific argument.” You’re deliberately misquoting me. I wrote: “arguments or to specific questions”

    But, ignoring your attempt to change what I wrote, I did make an argument. I called your argument circular. You can respond it or not. But I take your refusal to respond as a concession. Once again, thanks!

    “pretending not to know the definition of “atheist””

    I do know the definition and I’ve gave the definition. You just seem to ignore it. A theist is someone with a belief in god. The prefix “a” means without. Thus, an atheist is someone without a belief in god. It’s really that simple. In the same vein, an agnostic is someone without a belief in gnosticism. An asexual organism is an organism that reproduces without sex. I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. I also think you’ll chose to ignore it.

  28. Mister Mustard says:

    >>So you admit it, you are a part of the fairy religion. Either
    >>you believe in fairies, which makes you a part of it.

    Jesus Christ, Jerk-Face. Talk about the Mother Of All Non Sequiturs! I’m sure you know what a non sequitur is, speaking Latin as well as you do.

  29. Jerk-Face says:

    56. “You are sounding more and more like a Southern Baptist”

    This is turning out to be quite possibly the most fun I’ve ever had on this blog. Once again MM refuses to respond to what I wrote and uses ad hominem attacks instead. How many of these concessions are you going to make?! It doesn’t matter, even one is as sweat as candy.

  30. Jerk-Face says:

    58. “Talk about the Mother Of All Non Sequiturs! I’m sure you know what a non sequitur is, speaking Latin as well as you do.”

    Keep the candy coming. This is great! 🙂


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