No they do not. And that is even before taking into consideration that quite a big proportion of the population in Europe is actually agnostic or atheist.
First europe country is not the world itself, so it mostly will be "yes they are". And second in a places like Spain, Italy, Bosnia, Albania, and some other europe country it might stand like 50:50 or even mostly the population are religious or lightly religious. I was have a friends from Spain, she is an atheist, a teacher, and her environment still can't accept her as an atheist and it break her relation even with her own mother. So it really hard to decide.
And sometime, unconsciously we group US population along with europe. While also that is not quite true. In America the agnostic maybe more stronger, but in Latin America and other country in America continent I don't think so.
But lets not busy ourselves with these matters I suggest. Both of us not stand here in this forum as representative of most population of the world or in some continent, it really a fallacy for me. Let just stand for our own selves or specific group of ism or ideology even for that also it's not quite right.
Well, yes, I can stand here as agnostic.
I think you can. But in a note, not all agnostic have a view like you also, take for example Neomega, and not all muslim have perspective like me, maybe for example someone like Karzai if he still muslim.
There people are not free to be agnostic. What kind of religion is yours that fears dissent so much that it must repress it with threats of death? Until I see people free to lead secular lives side by side with the religious people in those countries I will continue to regard Islam as the most intolerant and dangerous of all the big religions.
I encounter atheist or as you call agnostic, many of them. And in Islam we just simply call them disbeliever or kafir, just like christian, jew, hindust and other. In Quran and hadith I never encounter an exact ruling on what is the position of agnostic. But idol or thagut in Islam or ilah, that peoples take as another God except God, it can be many form. It can be an angel, it can be djinn, it can be statue, it can be bishop, it can be ulama or it can be ideology for example democracy can also be a
thagut or idol to worship.
Take for example this surah :
Al-Quran 9:031
“Instead of Allah they accepted their scholars, their monks, and (above all) Jesus son of Mary, to be their gods. In fact, they were commanded to worship (none but) the One (true) God. There is no god but He. Exalted is He, far above the partners they associate with Him.”
Here it address scholars, monks also can be a form of idol or
thagut. After this ayah reveal a christian come to the Messenger and argue with him says, we don't take our scholar and bishop as God we only take Jesus as our God. And the Messenger say "did your scholar and monks make forbidden what God allow you and you follow?" they say "yes". Then the Messenger continue "did your scholars and monks permit you what God forbid you and you follow?" then they say "yes". Then the Messenger say "then they already act as your God beside God"
If you follow something in
taqlid or in full of obedience without questioning, without doubting, and you just listen and obey, and this something already act as your God to you in Islam definition of Theism. And it not work only for non-muslim also for muslim. If we take from our
ulama or scholars any of their decision even it contradict with Al Quran and Hadith, then we already make them our God beside Allah. If we listen to what ever Obama say and follow it, and we don't listen to what God ordain us to do and reject it, then Obama already act as a God.
Naudzubillah min zhalik
So practically even in your definition mostly peoples are agnostic, but in Islamic terms and definition they can be a very religious idolaters to their own idol. It can be their ideology, it can be their leader, it can be their father, it can be their wife or husband, it even can be their own selves the one that their worship. As it state in the Quran :
Hast thou seen him who chooses for his god his own lust? Would thou be guardian over him? Or deem thou that most of them hear or understand? They are but as the cattle---nay, but they are farther astray." (Al-Qur'an 25:43&44)
In this ayah, even peoples worshiping their own lust as their God beside God. It is because :
And who goes farther astray than he who follows his lust in the place of guidance from Allah. Lo! Allah guides not such oppressors." (Al-Qur'an 28:50)
So as long as I understand, we treat atheist like we treat another non muslim. But you must note this is my understanding and observation. Because also in Quran, there lots of disbeliever that been picture as atheist. As they mock that theism is nothing but an old stories, also they not believe peoples will gather in the day of judgement. While a common idol worshipers do believe these things but the different is they make a syirik or taking another companion beside God. Beside you maybe not fully an agnostic according to Islam definition. Maybe you can worship your own lust and desire, what ever please you and serve your interest than that is the truth. Maybe you can worship your government, what ever they told you, you believe and obey. Maybe you can worship money and status. Maybe you can worship some particular ideology or person. Those can be your God when you follow them without thinking, without verification, when you hear them, then you believe and obey.
Wa sami'na wa taotna : We hear and we obey. That is only the
haq or the right of God. While God is one, there no God but God.
That's a philosophical point which is perfectly reasonable to argue as far as I'm concerned. But the source of the universe was never a big challenge posed by modern science to the worldviews of the ancient religions. It was the special place of men in that universe that got challenged. One species that can be explained as the result of long chain of accidents, in one planet orbiting a star among uncountable number of stars in the universe... and we are the ones the creator of the whole thing is giving a damn about?
It is such a preposterous claim that the people who accept the modern scientific view of the universe invariably become agnostics.
Well you say it yourselves, it is a fallacy to say someone who give appreciation to science vis a vis with agnostic. Take for example Fritjchof Capra, Maurices, Charles Eaton, Laing and many other scientist and philosopher that is a appreciator and well known to be theis. At this point I agree with you.
This was the main source or modern agnosticism and modern forms of theism dissociated from the religions of old. Most religions had, after centuries of fighting it, come to terms with this modernity, accept that their social hegemony was finished and they'd have to coexist with plenty of atheists and agnostics. This has yet to happen to any meaningful extend in many of the muslim countries, where becoming an atheist or an agnostic is a state-prosecuted crime! Islamists there are fighting war to maintain their absolute social hegemony that they cannot win, a war against reality. One they should have lost and come to terms with long ago. And their countries will remain weak, poor and backwards until they lose.
In which Islamic country that becoming Atheist is state persecuted crime? And let me correct also some of things that you maybe miss. As european or at least someone who grow in european culture you always see or generalize another religion with Christianity. As the European meet success as their common thinker claim because the separation of the state from religion also the spirit of protestant that been fought with peoples like Max Webber or Voltaire who try to minimize the hegemony of the old religion. You also make a same generalization with Islam, while Islam is entirely a different matters.
Historically the muslim raise because their holding Islam and they fall because they release it. Who is Arab before Islam? who is Turk before Islam? who is Berber before Islam? when the Abbassid caliphate drunk with this world and its wealth and away from the doctrine of Islam and the Caliphate been rule by someone like Musthasim who surround by peoples of the world and whisper things only pleasing his ear, unlike the Pious Harun Ar Rasyid, then the Caliphate fall. When the Ottoman been effected by a writer like Arthur Lumney and erase, changes Islamic law with early modern law, and make a differentiation of the law according to Turk and non Turk not muslim and non muslim then this was the falling of Ottoman.
While Christianity in more popular theory they fall to darkness when their ruling according to the law of the church and they goes to renaissance when they separate with the church. But this is Christianity not Islam. As you can't use Berlin map to travel in Baghdad so you also can't generalize this matters. That is what I believe.
It's not the evil western imperialists abusing them that keep them back. Those are just taking advantage of the situation. It's their own lack of capacity, so far, to adapt to the modern world. Only the Turks did it to a large extent and collected the benefits. And we have yet to see if they won't be stupid enough to go backwards now.
Who is them? us muslim? or our government? It is a fact that western imperial abusing muslim country. Yesterday they plant drugs in Gujarat and sell it to China today they plant it to Afghanistan and sell it to the world. Yesterday they form Hindia Belanda government that been lead by puppet government and puppet king and Sultan and rob Indonesian wealth. Now they installing the same puppet in Indonesia and all of their oil, gas, gold, every mine are belong not to Indonesian peoples but to western TNC (Trans National Company) and MNC (Multi National Company). So what is the difference? nothing. So far the western still the old imperial as it does before but today they have better PR and think thank to convince the crowd that they are free while they are enslave.