" If your theory were correct, China would have solved its population problem when it drove religion out of the country decades ago, and they wouldn't need draconian laws to keep the population down."

As far as I remember Tom, China had it's huge population long before the communists ever came to power and put any restrictions on religion (which were later cut back by the way). But, if you notice, my original rant on religions didn't target Buddhism, the predominant faith in China. That philosophy doesn't deal with some omnipotent God telling its adherents to go forth and multiply. It's a faith of personal fulfillment far from the idiocy of the Catholics and Mormons.

Tell you what. You go into Mexico or India and try telling the populations there that there should be restrictions (either voluntary or forced) on the number of offspring people can have and see how soon it is before some emissary of the major religion takes your ass out. Try telling your Mormon neighbor down the street how their having 12 children is a drain on society and see how peaceful your neighborhood remains. You'd have teenagers in ties on bicycles throwing Molotav cocktails at your window.

It would figure that your mindset would be that it's poverty that causes overpopulation and not the other way around. That's almost as boneheaded as saying babies cause pregnancy. This just might be a new low.

Art