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Homicide
This Thanksgiving I was having dinner with my parents and the topic of crime came up. My dad has a rosy picture of the past where a mass-murder would shock the nation. In his version of the past, murder just wasn't done. He attributes the rise of crime to the increase of secularism in society. This didn't seem quite right to me, so I decided to look up the actual numbers. Then I crunched out this handy little reference table. Enjoy!
Homicide Rate Per Capita (per 100,000 citizens) Compared by Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | President | Murder Rate | Change |
| 1960 | John Fitzgerald Kennedy | 5.1 | |
| 1961 | John Fitzgerald Kennedy | 4.8 | -0.3 |
| 1962 | John Fitzgerald Kennedy | 4.6 | -0.2 |
| 1963 | John Fitzgerald Kennedy | 4.6 | 0.0 |
| Total | -0.5 | ||
| 1964 | Lyndon Baines Johnson | 4.9 | 0.3 |
| 1965 | Lyndon Baines Johnson | 5.1 | 0.2 |
| 1966 | Lyndon Baines Johnson | 5.6 | 0.5 |
| 1967 | Lyndon Baines Johnson | 6.2 | 0.6 |
| Total | 1.6 | ||
| 1968 | Richard Milhous Nixon | 6.9 | 0.7 |
| 1969 | Richard Milhous Nixon | 7.3 | 0.4 |
| 1970 | Richard Milhous Nixon | 7.9 | 0.6 |
| 1971 | Richard Milhous Nixon | 8.6 | 0.7 |
| Total | 2.4 | ||
| 1972 | Richard Milhous Nixon | 9.0 | 0.4 |
| 1973 | Richard Milhous Nixon | 9.4 | 0.4 |
| 1974 | Richard Milhous Nixon | 9.8 | 0.4 |
| 1975 | Gerald R. Ford | 9.6 | -0.2 |
| Total | 1.0 | ||
| 1976 | James Earl Carter, Jr. | 8.7 | -0.9 |
| 1977 | James Earl Carter, Jr. | 8.8 | 0.1 |
| 1978 | James Earl Carter, Jr. | 9.0 | 0.2 |
| 1979 | James Earl Carter, Jr. | 9.8 | 0.8 |
| Total | 0.2 | ||
| 1980 | Ronald Wilson Reagan | 10.2 | 0.4 |
| 1981 | Ronald Wilson Reagan | 9.8 | -0.4 |
| 1982 | Ronald Wilson Reagan | 9.1 | -0.7 |
| 1983 | Ronald Wilson Reagan | 8.3 | 0.2 |
| Total | -0.5 | ||
| 1984 | Ronald Wilson Reagan | 7.9 | -0.4 |
| 1985 | Ronald Wilson Reagan | 8.0 | 0.1 |
| 1986 | Ronald Wilson Reagan | 8.5 | 0.5 |
| 1987 | Ronald Wilson Reagan | 8.3 | -0.2 |
| Total | 0.0 | ||
| 1988 | George Herbert Walker Bush | 8.4 | 0.1 |
| 1989 | George Herbert Walker Bush | 8.7 | 0.3 |
| 1990 | George Herbert Walker Bush | 9.4 | 0.7 |
| 1991 | George Herbert Walker Bush | 9.8 | 0.4 |
| Total | 1.5 | ||
| 1992 | William Jefferson Clinton | 9.3 | -0.5 |
| 1993 | William Jefferson Clinton | 9.5 | 0.2 |
| 1994 | William Jefferson Clinton | 9.0 | -0.5 |
| 1995 | William Jefferson Clinton | 8.2 | -0.8 |
| Total | -1.6 | ||
| 1996 | William Jefferson Clinton | 7.4 | -0.8 |
| 1997 | William Jefferson Clinton | 6.8 | -0.6 |
| 1998 | William Jefferson Clinton | 6.3 | -0.5 |
| 1999 | William Jefferson Clinton | 5.7 | -0.6 |
| Total | -2.5 | ||
| 2000 | George W. Bush | 5.5 | -0.2 |
| Key | |||
| Democrat | Blue | ||
| Republican | Red | ||
| Lower Homicide Rate | Light | ||
| Higher Homicide Rate | Dark | ||
| Summary | |||
| Democratic Change in Homicide Rate | -2.8 | ||
| Republican Change in Homicide Rate | 4.2 | ||
| President with Greatest Increase | Richard Milhous Nixon | ||
| President with Greatest Decrease | William Jefferson Clinton | ||
| Source | |||
Now then, let us make some assumptions. Let us assume that the Republican Party tends to be more religious and the Democratic Party tends to be more secular. According to my father's theory, Democrats would therefore be responcible for the increase in crime, while Republicans would be responcible for the decrease in crime. However, we see that this is indeed not the case.
Secularism causes murder? Religion prevents murder? I'm not impressed.
--- Landon Fox, The Blue Savant
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