Irreligion (adjective form: nonreligious or irreligious) is the absence of religion, an indifference towards religion, a rejection of religion, or hostility towards religion.[1] When characterized as the rejection of religious belief, it includes atheism and secular humanism. When characterized as hostility towards religion, it includes antitheism, anticlericalism and antireligion. When characterized as indifference to religion, it includes apatheism. When characterized as the absence of religious belief, it may also include agnosticism, ignosticism, nontheism, religious skepticism and freethought. Irreligion may even include forms of theism depending on the religious context it is defined against, as in 18th century Europe where the epitome of irreligion was deism.[2]
It has been estimated that 16% of the world population (1.1 billion people) are "non-religious", including agnostics, atheists, secular humanists, and people who answer "none" or "no religious preference" when asked an open-ended question about their religious preference. The Pew report also noted that many of the religiously unaffiliated have some religious beliefs and the majority of religiously unaffiliated come from Asia and the Pacific.[3] A 2012 survey found that 36% of the world population is not religious (including atheists) and that between 2005 and 2012 world religiosity decreased by 9 percentage points.[4] According to one source, it has been estimated that 40–50% of non-religious people hold belief in at least one deity, or in some higher power.[5]
Demographics [edit]
Gallup Religiosity Index 2009 (light color indicates religious, dark nonreligious)
[6]
The tables below order the percentage of a countries population that are nonreligious from highest to lowest.
Although 10 countries listed above have non-religious majorities, it does not mean that majority of the populations of these countries don′t belong to any religious group. For example, 70% of the Swedish population belongs to Lutheran Christian Church, while 58.7% of Albanians declare themselves as Muslims.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^
- ^ Campbell, Colin. 1971. Towards a Sociology of Irreligion. London:McMillan p. 31.
- ^ "The Global Religious Landscape - Religiously Unaffiliated". Pew Research Center.
- ^ "Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism". WIN-Gallup International. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
- ^ "Major Religions of the World Ranked by Number of Adherents". Adherents.com. 2007. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
- ^ The Religiosity Index is a measure of the importance of religion for respondents and their self-reported attendance of religious services. For religions in which attendance at services is limited, care must be used in interpreting the data. (Gallup WorldView)
- ^ a b c d e f g h Zuckerman, Phil. "Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns", from the Cambridge Companion to Atheism, edited by Michael Martin, University of Cambridge Press, 2007
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)(Japanese)
- ^ "Albania". State.gov. 2006-09-15. Retrieved 2011-02-04. US Department of State - International religious freedom report 2006
- ^ L'Albanie en 2005
- ^ "Adherents.com". Adherents.com. Retrieved 2011-02-04. Some publications
- ^ UK National Statistics Bureau (2011 census)
- ^ "Global Index Of Religion and Atheism". Redcresearch.ie. Retrieved 2011-11-01. Publications are taken from Gallup
- ^ "Adherents.com". Adherents.com. Retrieved 2011-02-04. Some publications
- ^ CBS StatLine, Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, Retrieved 2012-06-25
- ^ Statistics New Zealand (2006 census)[dead link]
- ^ "fowid - Forschungsgruppe Weltanschauungen in Deutschland: Home". Fowid.de. Retrieved 2011-09-12. German Worldview Research Group (2010)
- ^ "96F0030XIE2001015 - Religions in Canada". 2.statcan.ca. Retrieved 2013-08-05. Canada 2011 census
- ^ [1] Socialogical Research Centre, January 2012
- ^ "Census shows result of mining boom, with increased cost of housing and higher wages", PIA AKERMAN, The Australian, 21 June 2012.
- ^ “Nones” on the Rise
- ^ "Table Of Statistics On Religion In The Americas". Prolades.com. Retrieved 2011-02-04. Gallup-Argentina survey, April 2001
- ^ [2][dead link] Güney Afrika 2001 census
- ^ "Census 2010; Sistema IBGE de Recuperação Automática SIDRA". Retrieved September 2012.
- ^ "This is Ireland. Highlights from Census 2011, Part 1" (PDF). March 2012. Retrieved April 2012.
Further reading [edit]
