I'm not even going to try to argue against this stupidity. I say that anyone who wants to put their faith in the healing powers of the divine should simply do so ... and never see any doctor... ever, including a dentist. In fact, they shouldn't even take aspirin.
In a few generations that 57 percent number should drop waaaaay down.
I think your hypothesis about that number going way down doesn't quite work -- people deeply into divine intervention as the only means of hope don't believe in birth control either. The few people that I have known personally that embrace this philosophy have many, many children -- quite often more than 10. If that holds, this demographic could outpace other demographics, assuming the children stay within the denomination.
I would think that the 57% also includes those who are mildly 'open' to the possibility of intervention, but are not banking on it as the sole means of healing.
One of the greatest successes of modern medicine is a decline in infant mortality. It's true that many biblical literalists avoid birth control and breed like animals, but without modern medicine a whole lot of those kids wouldn't survive to adulthood.
Good to hear from you Denis. I didn't know you were still out there.