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revert ... please stop ... one of your sources actually explicitly differentiates between some of unaffiliated and the "irreligious" ... use the talk page and stop pushing your POV
rv - please see discussion on talk page, as stated previously, and address your concerns there
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'''Irreligion''' is an absence of, indifference towards, or hostility towards [[religion]].<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/irreligion Irreligion]. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. (accessed: December 14, 2008).
'''Irreligion''' is an absence of, indifference towards, or hostility towards [[religion]].<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/irreligion Irreligion]. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. (accessed: December 14, 2008).
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Defined as hostility to religion, it includes [[antitheism]] and [[antireligion]]. Defined as indifference to religion, it includes [[apatheism]]. Defined as the rejection of religious belief it includes [[atheism]] and [[secular humanism]]. Defined as the absence of religious belief it may include some people who would be included under [[agnosticism]], [[ignosticism]], [[nontheism]], [[religious skepticism]], [[freethought]], [[non-believer]]. Irreligion may even include forms of [[Theism|theism]] depending on the religious context it is defined against, like for instance in 18th Century Europe where the epitome of irreligion was [[Deism]].<ref>Campbell, Colin. 1971. ''Towards a Sociology of Irreligion''. London:McMillan p. 31.</ref>
Defined as hostility to religion, it includes [[antitheism]] and [[antireligion]]. Defined as indifference to religion, it includes [[apatheism]]. Defined as the rejection of religious belief it includes [[atheism]] and [[secular humanism]]. Defined as the absence of religious belief it may include some people who would be included under [[agnosticism]], [[ignosticism]], [[nontheism]], [[religious skepticism]], [[freethought]], [[non-believer]]. Irreligion may also encompass those who are [[unaffiliated]].<ref name=Unaffiliated>{{Cite web|title=The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=YR4RAQAAIAAJ&q=unaffiliated+irreligious&dq=unaffiliated+irreligious&hl=en&ei=1m6uTdDDLKLa0QGT5KHCCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAg|quote=With respect to understanding the irreligious, however, the relevance of data on apostates depends upon the orientation they have adopted by the time they are studied (such as unaffiliated religious belief, no stated religious ...
|publisher=[[Prometheus Books]]|author=Tom Flynn; Richard Dawkins|accessdate=13 November 2010}}</ref><ref name="Definition of Unaffiliated">{{cite web|url = http://pewforum.org/Topics/Religious-Affiliation/Unaffiliated/|title=Unaffiliated|publisher=[[Pew Research Center]]|quote=Pew Forum publications—including public opinion polls, demographic reports, research studies, event transcripts and interviews—about people who are unaffiliated with any particular religion. This group includes atheists, agnostics and people who describe their religion as “nothing in particular.”|accessdate=2010-12-02}}</ref><ref name="Corrie E. Norman, Donald S. Armentrout">{{cite web|url = http://books.google.com/books?id=aHSqIWYQWjUC&pg=PA127&dq=unaffiliated+irreligious&hl=en&ei=YnOuTa6sKuPZ0QGM2J2QCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=unaffiliated%20irreligious&f=false|title=Religion in the Contemporary South: Changes, Continuities, and Contexts|publisher=[[University of Tennessee Press]]|quote=Unaffiliated persons are not necessarily hostile to religion or even irreligious. Yet, as the proportion of unaffiliated persons grows, it will be increasingly difficult to assume that there is a religious base, such as Reed's orthodox Protestant consensus, supporting southern culture.|accessdate=2010-12-02}}</ref> Irreligion may even include forms of [[Theism|theism]] depending on the religious context it is defined against, like for instance in 18th Century Europe where the epitome of irreligion was [[Deism]].<ref>Campbell, Colin. 1971. ''Towards a Sociology of Irreligion''. London:McMillan p. 31.</ref>


1.1 billion people (16% of the world population) are considered non-religious.<ref>[http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html </ref> Some evidence suggests that the [[Claims to be the fastest growing religion|the fastest growing religious status]] is actually "no religion" in the United States.<ref>[http://www.americanreligionsurvey-aris.org/reports/NONES_08.pdf American Nones: The Profile of the No Religion Population] A Report Based on the American Religious Identification Survey 2008</ref>
1.1 billion people (16% of the world population) are considered non-religious.<ref>[http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html </ref> Some evidence suggests that the [[Claims to be the fastest growing religion|the fastest growing religious status]] is actually "no religion" in the United States.<ref>[http://www.americanreligionsurvey-aris.org/reports/NONES_08.pdf American Nones: The Profile of the No Religion Population] A Report Based on the American Religious Identification Survey 2008</ref>
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==Studies==
A comprehensive study by [[Harvard University]] professor [[Robert Putnam]] found that religious people are three to four times more likely than their nonreligious counterparts to "work on community projects, belong to voluntary associations, attend public meetings, vote in local elections, attend protest demonstrations and political rallies, and donate time and money to causes -- including secular ones."<ref name="Relgion & Charity">{{cite web|url = http://pewforum.org/Religion-News/Religious-people-make-better-citizens-study-says.aspx|title =Religious people make better citizens, study says |publisher = [[Pew Research Center]]|quote=The scholars say their studies found that religious people are three to four times more likely to be involved in their community. They are more apt than nonreligious Americans to work on community projects, belong to voluntary associations, attend public meetings, vote in local elections, attend protest demonstrations and political rallies, and donate time and money to causes -- including secular ones. At the same time, Putnam and Campbell say their data show that religious people are just "nicer": they carry packages for people, don't mind folks cutting ahead in line and give money to panhandlers.|accessdate = 2007–10–18}}</ref><ref name="Relgion and Charity">{{cite web|url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-11-15-column15_ST_N.htm|title =Religious people are 'better neighbors'|publisher = [[USA Today]]|quote=The scholars say their studies found that religious people are three to four times more likely to be involved in their community. They are more apt than nonreligious Americans to work on community projects, belong to voluntary associations, attend public meetings, vote in local elections, attend protest demonstrations and political rallies, and donate time and money to causes — including secular ones.|accessdate = 2007–10–18}}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 17:52, 21 April 2011

Part of a series on
Irreligion
Irreligion
Atheism
Forms and variations
Aspects
Agnosticism
Deism
People
Books
List of irreligious organizations
Related topics
"Irreligious" redirects here. For the album by Moonspell, see Irreligious (album).

Irreligion is an absence of, indifference towards, or hostility towards religion.[1] Defined as hostility to religion, it includes antitheism and antireligion. Defined as indifference to religion, it includes apatheism. Defined as the rejection of religious belief it includes atheism and secular humanism. Defined as the absence of religious belief it may include some people who would be included under agnosticism, ignosticism, nontheism, religious skepticism, freethought, non-believer. Irreligion may also encompass those who are unaffiliated.[2][3][4] Irreligion may even include forms of theism depending on the religious context it is defined against, like for instance in 18th Century Europe where the epitome of irreligion was Deism.[5]

1.1 billion people (16% of the world population) are considered non-religious.[6] Some evidence suggests that the the fastest growing religious status is actually "no religion" in the United States.[7]

Demographics

Main article: Irreligion by country
Atheists, agnostics and nonreligious, by the Dentsu Institute (2006) and Zuckerman (2005)[8]
Gallup Religiosity Index 2009[9]
Irreligion on the World
Country Percentage of populations
who classify themselves as irreligious 		Source
Estonia 75.7 [10]
Azerbaijan 74 [11]
Albania 60 [12]

[13]
[14]

China 59-93 [15]
Czech Republic 59
(8% did not make any choice) 		[16]
Japan 51.8 [10]
Russia 48.1 [10]
Belarus 47.8 [10]
Sweden 46-85 [17]
Vietnam 46.1 [10]
Netherlands 44.0 [18]
Denmark 43-80 [17]
Hungary 42.6 [10]
Ukraine 42.4 [10]
Latvia 40.6 [10]
South Korea 36.4 [10]
Belgium 35.4 [10]
New Zealand 34.7
(from 87.3% who answered the optional question) 		[19]
Chile 33.8 [10]
Germany 32.7 [20]
Luxemburg 29.9 [10]
Slovenia 29.9 [10]
France 27.2
(23.9% of women, 30.6% of men) 		[21]
Venezuela 27.0 [10]
Slovakia 23.1 [10]
Mexico 20.5 [10]
Lithuania 19.4 [10]
Australia 18.7
(from 88.8% who answered the optional question) 		[22]
Italy 17.8 [10]
Spain 17 [23]
United Kingdom 16.8
(from 92.7% who answered the optional question) 		[24]
Canada 16.2 [25]
Argentina 16.0 [26]
South Africa 15.1 [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) 		[28]
Croatia 13.2 [10]
Austria 12.2 [10]
Finland 11.7 [10]
Portugal 11.4 [10]
Puerto Rico 11.1 [10]
Bulgaria 11.1 [10]
Philippines 10.9 [10]
Turkey 10.5 [10]
India 6.6 [10]
Serbia and Montenegro 5.8 [10]
Ireland 4.5 [29]
Poland 4.6 [10]
Iceland 4.3 [10]
Greece 4.0 [10]
Romania 2.4 [10]
Tanzania 1.7 [10]
Malta 1.3 [10]
Iran 1.1
(Atheism and Agnosticism are forbidden) 		[10]
Uganda 1.1 [10]
Nigeria 0.7 [10]
Bangladesh 0.1 [10]

Studies

A comprehensive study by Harvard University professor Robert Putnam found that religious people are three to four times more likely than their nonreligious counterparts to "work on community projects, belong to voluntary associations, attend public meetings, vote in local elections, attend protest demonstrations and political rallies, and donate time and money to causes -- including secular ones."[30][31]

See also

References

  1. ^ Irreligion. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. (accessed: December 14, 2008).
  2. ^ Tom Flynn; Richard Dawkins. "The New Encyclopedia of Unbelief". Prometheus Books. Retrieved 13 November 2010. With respect to understanding the irreligious, however, the relevance of data on apostates depends upon the orientation they have adopted by the time they are studied (such as unaffiliated religious belief, no stated religious ...{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "Unaffiliated". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2010-12-02. Pew Forum publications—including public opinion polls, demographic reports, research studies, event transcripts and interviews—about people who are unaffiliated with any particular religion. This group includes atheists, agnostics and people who describe their religion as "nothing in particular."
  4. ^ "Religion in the Contemporary South: Changes, Continuities, and Contexts". University of Tennessee Press. Retrieved 2010-12-02. Unaffiliated persons are not necessarily hostile to religion or even irreligious. Yet, as the proportion of unaffiliated persons grows, it will be increasingly difficult to assume that there is a religious base, such as Reed's orthodox Protestant consensus, supporting southern culture.
  5. ^ Campbell, Colin. 1971. Towards a Sociology of Irreligion. London:McMillan p. 31.
  6. ^ [http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html
  7. ^ American Nones: The Profile of the No Religion Population A Report Based on the American Religious Identification Survey 2008
  8. ^ Based on the data of the Dentsu Communication Institute and the data of Zuckerman. Largest values taken.
  9. ^ 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)
  10. ^ 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 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)Template:Ja icon
  11. ^ Gallup poll
  12. ^ "Albania". State.gov. 2006-09-15. Retrieved 2011-02-04. US Department of State - International religious freedom report 2006
  13. ^ L'Albanie en 2005
  14. ^ "Adherents.com". Adherents.com. Retrieved 2011-02-04. Some publications
  15. ^ "Adherents.com". Adherents.com. Retrieved 2011-02-04. Some publications
  16. ^ Czech statistical bureau (2001 census)[dead link]
  17. ^ a b 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)
  18. ^ Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau[dead link]
  19. ^ Statistics New Zealand (2006 census)[dead link]
  20. ^ "fowid - Forschungsgruppe Weltanschauungen in Deutschland: Home". Fowid.de. Retrieved 2011-02-04. German Worldview Research Group (2004)
  21. ^ "Insee". Insee.fr. Retrieved 2011-02-04. INSEE (2004 survey)
  22. ^ "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. Australian Statistics Bureau (2006 census)
  23. ^ [1][dead link] Socialogical Research Centre (2005)
  24. ^ UK National Statistics Bureau (2001 census)
  25. ^ "96F0030XIE2001015 - Religions in Canada". 2.statcan.ca. Retrieved 2011-02-04. Canada 2001 census
  26. ^ "Table Of Statistics On Religion In The Americas". Prolades.com. Retrieved 2011-02-04. Gallup-Argentina survey, April 2001
  27. ^ [2][dead link] Güney Afrika 2001 census
  28. ^ US-American Religious Classification Research (2001), US Census Bureau [dead link]
  29. ^ "Microsoft Word - PDR 2006.doc" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-02-04. Central Statistics Bureau of Ireland 2006 census
  30. ^ "Religious people make better citizens, study says". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2007–10–18. The scholars say their studies found that religious people are three to four times more likely to be involved in their community. They are more apt than nonreligious Americans to work on community projects, belong to voluntary associations, attend public meetings, vote in local elections, attend protest demonstrations and political rallies, and donate time and money to causes -- including secular ones. At the same time, Putnam and Campbell say their data show that religious people are just "nicer": they carry packages for people, don't mind folks cutting ahead in line and give money to panhandlers. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  31. ^ "Religious people are 'better neighbors'". USA Today. Retrieved 2007–10–18. The scholars say their studies found that religious people are three to four times more likely to be involved in their community. They are more apt than nonreligious Americans to work on community projects, belong to voluntary associations, attend public meetings, vote in local elections, attend protest demonstrations and political rallies, and donate time and money to causes — including secular ones. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

External links

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