A study of atheism worldwide

[Masquerouge]

http://www.pitzer.edu/academics/faculty/zuckerman/atheism.html

a very interesting read. The conclusion:

Based on a careful assessment of the most recent survey data available, we find that somewhere between 500,000,000 and 750,000,000 humans currently do not believe in God. Such figures render any suggestion that theism is innate or neurologically based untenable. The nations with the highest degrees of organic atheism (atheism which is not state-enforced through totalitarian regimes but emerges naturally among free societies) include most of the nations of Europe, as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Israel. There also exist high degrees of atheism in Japan, Vietnam, North Korea, and Taiwan. Many former Soviet nations, such as Estonia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus also contain significant levels of atheism. Atheism is virtually non-existent in much of the world, however, especially among the most populated nations of Africa, South America, the Middle East, and much of Asia. High levels of organic atheism are strongly correlated with high levels of societal health, such as low homicide rates, low poverty rates, low infant mortality rates, and low illiteracy rates, as well as high levels of educational attainment, per capita income, and gender equality. Most nations characterized by high degrees of individual and societal security have the highest rates of organic atheism, and conversely, nations characterized by low degrees of individual and societal security have the lowest rates of organic atheism. In some societies, particularly Europe, atheism is growing. However, throughout much of the world – particularly nations with high birth rates – atheism is barely discernable.

One thing that bugs me is that this study does not talk about the US. To me the "religiosity" of the US is an "anomaly" in the Western world.

The study is basically a survey of various religious polls worldwide.

Given the above estimates, we can deduce that there are approximately 58 times as many atheists as there are Mormons, 41 times as many atheists as there are Jews, 35 times as many atheists as there are Sikhs, and twice as many atheists as there are Buddhists. Finally, nonbelievers in God as a group come in fourth place after Christianity (2 billion), Islam (1.2 billion), and Hinduism (900 million) in terms of global ranking of commonly-held belief systems.

Below is a list of the top fifty countries containing the largest percentage of people who identify as atheist, agnostic, or non-believer in God.


Country Total Pop.(2004) % Atheist/actual # Agnostic/Nonbeliever in God (minimum - maximum)
1 Sweden 8,986,000 46-85% 4,133,560-7,638,100
2 Vietnam 82,690,000 81% 66,978,900
3 Denmark 5,413,000 43-80% 2,327,590-4,330,400
4 Norway 4,575,000 31-72% 1,418,250-3,294,000
5 Japan 127,333,000 64-65% 81,493,120-82,766,450
6 Czech Republic 10,246,100 54-61% 5,328,940-6,250,121
7 Finland 5,215,000 28-60% 1,460,200-3,129,000
8 France 60,424,000 43-54% 25,982,320-32,628,960
9 South Korea 48,598,000 30%-52% 14,579,400-25,270,960
10 Estonia 1,342,000 49% 657,580

...

44 United States 293,028,000 3-9% 8,790,840-26,822,520

So what do you make of the fact that atheism is mostly present in rich, developed countries (Vietnam being the anomaly)? Is it a consequence, or a cause?

 

[luiz]

Correlation does not imply causation.

It's a consequence, obviously.

 

[Masquerouge]

Correlation does not imply causation.

It's a consequence, obviously.

I agree, of course. So is religion doomed, as countries develop and get richer?

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

I agree, of course. So is religion doomed, as countries develop and get richer?

It's still not above 50% even in most developed countries.

 

[Japanrocks12]

I agree, of course. So is religion doomed, as countries develop and get richer?

wouldn't say so, and I was a little skeptical when I saw that the rate reported for Denmark was 43-80%. No small range there, plus I believe that atheism has more to do with factors that each individual faces as opposed to factors that society as a whole faces.

 

[StarWorms]

Simple: Better education means people no longer look to illogical explanations, and instead look to logical explanations.

 

[luiz]

I agree, of course. So is religion doomed, as countries develop and get richer?

The Churches are doomed to lose the powerful positions they once held (and still hold in some places). But religions will continue forever IMO, though they will be more personal and less political.

 

[Japanrocks12]

Simple: Better education means people no longer look to illogical explanations, and instead look to logical explanations.

some of the best-educated and most logical people I know are religious.

 

[Masquerouge]

It's still not above 50% even in most developed countries.

Is worldwide atheism growing or in decline? This is difficult to answer. On the one hand, there are more atheists in the world today than ever before. Additionally, the nations with some of the highest degrees of organic atheism (such as Great Britain, France, and Scandinavia) have been experiencing a steady increase of atheism over the past century, an increase which shows no indication of abating (Bruce, 2001). On the other hand, worldwide atheism overall may be in decline. This is due to the simple demographic fact that highly religious nations have the highest birthrates in the world and highly irreligious nations have the lowest birthrates in the world. As Norris and Inglehart (2004:25) observe, due to basic demographic trends, “the world as a whole now has more people with traditional religious views than ever before – and they constitute a growing proportion of the world’s population.”

Also of interest:

Concerning suicide rates, this is the one indicator of societal health in which religious nations fare much better than secular nations. According to the 2003 World Health Organization’s report on international male suicides rates (which compared 100 countries), of the top ten nations with the highest male suicide rates, all but one (Sri Lanka) are strongly irreligious nations with high levels of atheism. It is interesting to note, however, that of the top remaining nine nations leading the world in male suicide rates, all are former Soviet/Communist nations, such as Belarus, Ukraine, and Latvia( viii ). Of the bottom ten nations with the lowest male suicide rates, all are highly religious nations with statistically insignificant levels of organic atheism.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

I think we will need to look at the data 100 years from now and compare it to now to draw any conclusions about correlation and causation.

 

[Masquerouge]

wouldn't say so, and I was a little skeptical when I saw that the rate reported for Denmark was 43-80%. No small range there, plus I believe that atheism has more to do with factors that each individual faces as opposed to factors that society as a whole faces.

I disagree. I believe atheism is strongly linked, and caused by, societal factors that in turn allow personal choices to be possible.

some of the best-educated and most logical people I know are religious.

I'm afraid personal experiences are of not much value.
Or,
"some of the best-educated and most logical people I know are atheists."

 

[Japanrocks12]

Also of interest:

other factors that influence rates of suicide are commonly divorce rates, crime rates, things of those sort. I'm inclined not to believe that an atheist facing serious life problems is more disposed to commit suicide, than say, a Christian in the same precarious position.

 

[Pasi Nurminen]

That they listed Viet Nam and South Korea makes it hard for me to take them seriously. Many Asians do not adhere to one religious school of thought, but they are most definitely spiritual/religious.

 

[Masquerouge]

other factors that influence rates of suicide are commonly divorce rates, crime rates, things of those sort. I'm inclined not to believe that an atheist facing serious life problems is more disposed to commit suicide, than say, a Christian in the same precarious position.

Except that suicide is a sin.

 

[Japanrocks12]

I disagree. I believe atheism is strongly linked, and caused by, societal factors that in turn allow personal choices to be possible.




I'm afraid personal experiences are of not much value.
Or,
"some of the best-educated and most logical people I know are atheists."

exactly so we can't make a judgment about whether or not being educated or logical has anything to with being religious, seeing how both religious and nonreligious people are educated from all of our personal experiences combined

 

[Phlegmak]

I agree, of course. So is religion doomed, as countries develop and get richer?

I suspect it'll never disappear. It'll come and go, like a pendulum, for eternity.

 

[Truronian]

Consequence... I expect religion will see a continuing decline, but I doubt we will ever see its disappearence.

 

[Masquerouge]

That they listed Viet Nam and South Korea makes it hard for me to take them seriously. Many Asians do not adhere to one religious school of thought, but they are most definitely spiritual/religious.

Good point. Do you think then the conclusion of their study is flawed?

 

[bhsup]

I agree, of course. So is religion doomed, as countries develop and get richer?

Since God exists, I would have to say no.

 

[StarWorms]

It's still not above 50% even in most developed countries.

I think that's due to a problem in the way people answer the questions, or the way the questions are put.

A lot of people consider themselves Christian because that's how they've been brought up, but may not have been to church since their childhood. I think my mum put us down as Church of England on the 2001 census, but neither of my parents ever went to church, and both my brother and I were atheists. I think that's quite typical of a lot of people - they consider themselves Christian, but are instead agnostic. That really skews polls.