Irreligion
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Irreligion is an absence of, indifference towards, or hostility towards religion.[1] Depending on the context, it may be understood as referring to atheism, nontheism, agnosticism, ignosticism, antireligion, skepticism, freethought, antitheism, apatheism, non-believer, secular humanism, marxism, or deism.
It can also mean those who believe in God or a higher spiritual power, but do not participate in religion itself.[2] Deism and Spiritual But Not Religious are two examples of the latter. Irreligion, therefore, is not synonymous with Atheism.[3][4][5] Worldwide, the overall number of irreligious people is in decline.[6]
History
Worldwide
- Main article: Irreligion by country
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f0/Irreligion_map.png/700px-Irreligion_map.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Gallup_Religiosity_Index_2009.png/700px-Gallup_Religiosity_Index_2009.png)
Irreligion on the World | ||
Country | Percentage of population that classifies themselves as irreligious | Source |
Estonia | 75.7 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Azerbaijan | 74 | Gallup poll[10] |
Albania | 60 | US Department of State - International religious freedom report 2006[11] |
China | 59-93 | Some publications[14] |
Czech Republic | 59 (8% did not make any choice) | Czech statistical bureau (2001 census)[15] |
Japan | 51.8 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Russia | 48.1 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Belarus | 47.8 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Sweden | 46-85 | Zuckerman, Phil. "Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns", Part of The Cambridge Companion to Atheism, Michael Martin, modified by the University of Cambridge
Pres: Cambridge, BK (2005)[16] |
Vietnam | 46.1 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Netherlands | 44.0 | Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau[17] |
Hungary | 42.6 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Ukraine | 42.4 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Latvia | 40.6 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
South Korea | 36.4 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Belgium | 35.4 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
New Zealand | 34.7 (from 87.3% who answered the optional question) | Statistics New Zealand (2006 census)[18] |
Chile | 33.8 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Germany | 32.7 | German Worldview Research Group (2004)[19] |
Luxemburg | 29.9 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Slovenia | 29.9 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
France | 27.2 (23.9% of women, 30.6% of men) | INSEE (2004 survey)[20] |
Venezuela | 27.0 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Slovakia | 23.1 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Mexico | 20.5 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Lithuania | 19.4 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Denmark | 19 | Eurobarometer(2005)[21] |
Australia | 18.7 (from 88.8% who answered the optional question) | Australian Statistics Bureau (2006 census)[22] |
Italy | 17.8 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Spain | 17 | Socialogical Research Centre (2005)[23] |
United Kingdom | 16.8 (from 92.7% who answered the optional question) | UK National Statistics Bureau (2001 census)[24] |
Canada | 16.2 | Canada 2001 census[25] |
Argentina | 16.0 | Gallup-Argentina survey, April 2001[26] |
South Africa | 15.1 | Güney Afrika 2001 census[27] |
United States of America | 15.0 (of the 94.6% who answered an optional question, out of a sample of 50,281 households in the 48 contiguous states) | US-American Religious Classification Research (2001), US Census Bureau [28] |
Croatia | 13.2 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Austria | 12.2 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Finland | 11.7 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Portugal | 11.4 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Puerto Rico | 11.1 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Bulgaria | 11.1 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Philipines | 10.9 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Turkey | 10.5 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
India | 6.6 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Eski Serbia and Montenegro | 5.8 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Ireland | 4.5 | Central Statistics Bureau of Ireland 2006 census[29] |
Poland | 4.6 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Iceland | 4.3 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Greece | 4.0 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Romania | 2.4 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Tanzania | 1.7 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Malta | 1.3 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Iran | 1.1 (Atheism and Agnosticism are forbidden) | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Uganda | 1.1 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Nigeria | 0.7 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
Bangladesh | 0.1 | Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9] |
See also
References
- ^ Irreligion. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. (accessed: December 14, 2008).
- ^ http://www.gallup.com/poll/7759/americans-spiritual-searches-turn-inward.aspx
- ^ "Major Religions Ranked by Size". Adherents.com. Retrieved 2011-02-15.
- ^ http://religions.pewforum.org/reports
- ^ http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris/key_findings.htm
- ^ http://www.religioustolerance.org/worldrel.htm
- ^ Based on the data of the Dentsu Communication Institute and the data of Zuckerman. Largest values taken.
- ^ 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 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 Template:Ja icon http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~honkawa/9460.html
- ^ https://worldview.gallup.com/default.aspx
- ^ "Albania". State.gov. 2006-09-15. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
- ^ http://www.membres.lycos.fr/instantanesdalbanie/image/dossierdepresse.pdf
- ^ "Adherents.com". Adherents.com. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
- ^ "Adherents.com". Adherents.com. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ http://www.pitzer.edu/academics/faculty/zuckerman/atheism.html
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ [3][dead link]
- ^ "fowid - Forschungsgruppe Weltanschauungen in Deutschland: Home". Fowid.de. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
- ^ "Insee". Insee.fr. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
- ^ "Eurobarometer on Social Values, Science and technology 2005 - page 11" (PDF). Retrieved 5 Mayıs 2007.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|accessdate=
(help) - ^ "2914.0.55.002 - 2006 Census of Population and Housing: Media Releases and Fact Sheets, 2006". Abs.gov.au. 2007-06-27. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
- ^ [4][dead link]
- ^ http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=293
- ^ "96F0030XIE2001015 - Religions in Canada". 2.statcan.ca. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
- ^ "Table Of Statistics On Religion In The Americas". Prolades.com. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
- ^ [5][dead link]
- ^ [6][dead link]
- ^ "Microsoft Word - PDR 2006.doc" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-02-04.
External links
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