Category Archives: Atheism

Accurate demographics of atheism are difficult to obtain since conceptions of atheism vary across different cultures and languages from being an active concept to being unimportant or not developed.[1][2] In global studies, the number of people without a religion is usually higher than the number of people without a belief in a God[3][4] and the number of people who agree with statements on lacking a belief in God is usually higher than the number of people who self-identify as "atheists".[3][1]

According to sociologist Phil Zuckerman, broad estimates of those who have an absence of belief in a God range from 500 to 750 million people worldwide.[1] Other estimates state that there are 200 million to 240 million self-identified atheists worldwide, with China and Russia being major contributors to those figures.[3] According to sociologists Ariela Keysar and Juhem Navarro-Rivera's review of numerous global studies on atheism, there are 450 to 500 million positive atheists and agnostics worldwide (7% of the world's population), with China having the most atheists in the world (200 million convinced atheists).[5]

Of the global atheist and non-religious population, 76% reside in Asia and the Pacific, while the remainder reside in Europe (12%), North America (5%), Latin America and the Caribbean (4%), sub-Saharan Africa (2%) and the Middle East and North Africa (less than 1%).[6] The prevalence of atheism in Africa and South America typically falls below 10%.[7] According to the Pew Research Center's 2012 global study of 230 countries and territories, 16% of the world's population is not affiliated with a religion, while 84% are affiliated.[8] Furthermore, the global study noted that many of the unaffiliated, which include atheists and agnostics, still have various religious beliefs and practices.[6]

Historical records of atheist philosophy span several millennia. Atheistic schools are found in early Indian thought and have existed from the times of the historical Vedic religion.[9] Western atheism has its roots in pre-Socratic Greek philosophy, but did not emerge as a distinct world-view until the late Enlightenment.[10]

Discrepancies exist among sources as to how atheist and religious demographics are changing. Social scientific assessment of the extent of "atheism" in various populations is problematic because in most of the world outside of Europe and East Asia many populations for the most part are believers in either a monotheistic or polytheistic system. However, questions to assess non-belief often take the form of any negation of the prevailing belief rather than an assertion of positive atheism and these will then be accounted accurately to rising "atheism".[11][12][13] According to the 2012 WIN/Gallup International Survey, the number of atheists is on the rise across the world, with religiosity generally declining.[14] However, other global studies have indicated that global atheism may be in decline due to irreligious countries having the lowest birth rates in the world and religious countries having higher birth rates in general.[1]

The demographics of atheism are substantially difficult to quantify. Words like, "God" or "atheism" seldom translate well across cultures or languages, and if they are there, they have variant meanings which make cross cultural comparisons tenuous.[1][2] As such, it can be hard to draw boundaries between atheism, non-religious beliefs, and non-theistic religious and spiritual beliefs. Furthermore, atheists may not report themselves as such, to prevent suffering from social stigma, discrimination, and persecution in some countries.[15]

Because some governments have strongly promoted atheism and others have strongly condemned it, atheism may be either over-reported or under-reported for different countries. There is a great deal of room for debate as to the accuracy of any method of estimation, as the opportunity for misreporting (intentionally or not) a category of people without an organizational structure is high. Also, many surveys on religious identification ask people to identify themselves as "agnostics" or "atheists", which is potentially confusing, since these terms are interpreted differently, with some identifying themselves as being agnostic atheists. Additionally, many of these surveys only gauge the number of irreligious people, not the number of actual atheists, or group the two together. For example, research indicates that the fastest growing religious status may be "no religion" in the United States, but this includes all kinds of atheists, agnostics, and theists.[16][17] Non-religious people make up 9.66%, while one fifth of them are atheists.[18]

Statistics on atheism are often difficult to represent accurately for a variety of reasons. Atheism is a position compatible with other forms of identity including religions.[19] Anthropologist Jack David Eller, states that "atheism is quite a common position, even within religion" and that "surprisingly, atheism is not the opposite or lack, let alone the enemy, of religion but is the most common form of religion."[19] Furthermore, he observes that "some atheists call themselves "spiritual", and as we have shown above, atheism in its broadest sense does not preclude other religious concepts like nature spirits, dead ancestors, and supernatural forces."[19] In many cultures, little conceptual or practical distinction is made between natural and supernatural phenomena and the very notions of "religious" and "nonreligious" dissolve into unimportance, especially since people have beliefs in other supernatural or spiritual things irrespective of belief in gods.[2]

Globally, some atheists also consider themselves Agnostic, Buddhist, Hindu, Jains, Taoist, or hold other related philosophical beliefs. Some, like Secular Jews and Shintoists, may indulge in some religious activities as a way of connecting with their culture, all the while being atheist. Therefore, given limited poll options, some may use other terms to describe their identity. Some politically motivated organizations that report or gather population statistics may, intentionally or unintentionally, misrepresent atheists. Survey designs may bias results due to the nature of elements such as the wording of questions and the available response options. Statistics are generally collected on the assumption that religion is a categorical variable. Instruments have been designed to measure attitudes toward religion, including one that was used by L. L. Thurstone. This may be a particularly important consideration among people who have neutral attitudes, as it is more likely that prevailing social norms will influence the responses of such people on survey questions that effectively force respondents to categorize themselves either as belonging to a particular religion or belonging to no religion. A negative perception of atheists and pressure from family and peers may also cause some atheists to disassociate themselves from atheism. Misunderstanding of the term may also be a reason some label themselves differently.

For example, a Canadian poll released September 12, 2011 sampled 1,129 Canadian adults and collected data on the numbers of declared atheists.[20] These numbers conflicted with the latest Canadian census data that pre-supposed that a religious affiliation predisposed a belief in a deity and was based on a poorly worded question. A quote from the study:

The data also revealed some interesting facts about Canadians' beliefs:

Even when people directly claim to not believe in God, they still do not self-identify as atheist. For instance, 41% of Norwegians, 48% of the French, and 54% of Czechs claimed to not believe in God, but only 10%, 19%, and 20% of those respondents self-identified as atheist, respectively.[1] In the United States, only 5% of the population did not have a belief in a god and out of that small group only 24% self-identified as "atheist", while 15% self-identified as "agnostic" and 35% self-identified as "nothing in particular".[13]

Though China is an "atheist country", 85% of the population practice various kinds of religious behaviors with some regularity.[22]

In the Netherlands, beliefs of "convinced atheists" are quite diverse: 41.1% of them believe in telepathy, 21.1% believe in reincarnation, 13.3% believe in life after death, and 1.6% believe in heaven. The percentages on telepathy and reincarnation were similar to the percentages of "religious people" in the Netherlands. Furthermore, the author of the study notes, "Thus, despite the fact that they claim to be convinced atheists and the majority deny the existence of a personal god, a rather large minority of the Dutch convinced atheists believe in a supernatural power!"[23]

A 2004 survey by the BBC in 10 countries showed the proportion of the population "who don't believe in God" to be close to 17% in the countries surveyed, however, 8% of the respondents specifically stated that they consider themselves to be "atheists". Diversity was observed in that "across the entire sample, almost 30% of all atheists surveyed said they sometimes prayed."[24]

A study on global religiosity, secularity, and well-being; notes that it is unlikely that most atheists and agnostics base their decision to not believe in the gods on a careful, rational analysis of philosophical and scientific arguments since science testing scores in societies where atheism or theism is widespread, are just as poor and such societies have widespread supernatural beliefs besides gods.[25] Reviewing psychological studies on atheists, Miguel Farias, noted that studies concluding that analytical thinking leads to lower religious belief "do not imply that that atheists are more conscious or reflective of their own beliefs, or that atheism is the outcome of a conscious refutation of previously held religious beliefs" since they too have variant beliefs such as in conspiracy theories of the naturalistic variety.[26] In terms of apostasy, a greater proportion of people who leave religion, do so for motivational rather than rational reasons and the majority of deconversions occur in adolescence and young adulthood when one is emotionally volatile.[26] Furthermore, Farias notes that atheists are indistinguishable from New Age individuals or Gnostics since there are commonalities such as being individualistic, non-conformist, liberal, and valuing hedonism and sensation.[26] According to Phil Zuckerman, the majority of atheists and other secular people who were raised with a religion, leave their religion and beliefs in their late teens or early twenties while a smaller proportion do so at a mature age.[27]

A study on personality and religiosity found that members of secular organizations (like the international Center for Inquiry) have similar personality profiles to members of religious groups. This study found that members of secular organizations are very likely to label themselves primarily as "atheists", but also very likely to consider themselves humanists.[28] It was also found that secular group members show no significant differences in their negative or positive affect. The surveyed individuals also had similar profiles for conscientiousness (discipline or impulse control, and acting on values like "pursuit of truth"). Secular group members tended to be less agreeable (e.g. more likely to hold unpopular, socially challenging views), as well as more open minded (e.g. more likely to consider new ideas) than members of religious groups. Luke Galen, a personality researcher, writes "Many previously reported characteristics associated with religiosity are a function not of belief itself, but of strong convictions and group identification."[28][29]Catherine Caldwell-Harris notes that "non-believers" are interested in social justice concerns and posits that this is due to their lack of belief in an afterlife, leading to a focus on what can be fixed here and now.[30] Another study by Caldwell-Harris describes atheists as being capable of experiencing awe, which she states debunks stereotypes of atheists as "cynical and joyless".[31] A 2014 study created six different personality profiles of 'types' of nonbelievers and compared them to Big Five personality traits.[32]

According to William Bainbridge's international study, atheism is common among people whose interpersonal social obligations are weak and is also connected to lower fertility rates in advanced industrial nations.[33]

In a global study on atheism, sociologist Phil Zuckerman noted that countries with higher levels of atheism also had the highest suicide rates compared to countries with lower levels of atheism. He concludes that correlations does not necessarily indicate causation in either case.[34] A study on depression and suicide suggested that those without a religious affiliation have a higher suicide attempt rates than those with a religious affiliation.[35] A study into mental well-being in religious and non-religious people found that mental well-being for both religious people and non-religious people hinged on the certainty of their belief, and that previous studies had not controlled for the effect of belonging to a group when studying churchgoers.[36]Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi regarded atheists in Western society to be "much more likely to be a man, married, with higher education", and regarded the personality of atheists to be "less authoritarian and suggestible, less dogmatic, less prejudiced, more tolerant of others, law-abiding, compassionate, conscientious, and well educated. They are of high intelligence, and many are committed to the intellectual and scholarly life".[37] A review of the literature found that being non-religious did not necessarily entail poorer mental health.[38]

Though atheists are in the minority in most countries, they are relatively common in Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, East Asia and present communist states. It is difficult to determine actual atheist numbers. Furthermore, the conflation of terms such as atheist, agnostic, non-religious and non-theist add to confusion among poll data.[citation needed]

According to the Encyclopdia Britannica, 2% of the world's population self-identify as atheists and the average annual global change for atheism from 2000 to 2010 was 0.17%.[39]

A 2002 survey by Adherents.com, estimates that the proportion of the world's people who are "secular, non-religious, agnostics and atheists" at about 14%.[40]

A 2004 survey by the BBC in 10 countries showed the proportion of the population "who don't believe in God" varying between 0% (Nigeria) and 39% (UK), with an average close to 17% in the countries surveyed, however, 8% of the respondents specifically stated that they consider themselves to be "atheists". Diversity was observed in the views of atheists including that "across the entire sample, almost 30% of all atheists surveyed said they sometimes prayed."[24] 65% of those polled in a 2011 survey by the British Humanist Association answered no to the question "Are you religious?"[41]

A 2004 survey by the CIA in the World Factbook estimates about 12.5% of the world's population are non-religious, and about 2.4% are atheists.[42]

A 2005 poll by AP/Ipsos surveyed ten countries. Of the developed nations, people in the United States were "most sure" of the existence of God or a higher power (2% atheist, 4% agnostic), while France had the most skeptics (19% atheist, 16% agnostic). On the religion question, South Korea had the greatest percentage without a religion (41%) while Italy had the smallest (5%).[43]

A 2010 Pew Research global study found that 16 percent of the global population to be unaffiliated with a religion, however, Pew notes that "more than three-quarters of the religiously unaffiliated live in Asia, the majority in China. Many of the people in this group do hold some religious or spiritual beliefs and may even believe in a deity, but they do not identify with a particular faith."[6] Of the global atheist and nonreligious population, 76% reside in Asia and the Pacific, while the remainder reside in Europe (12%), North America (5%), Latin America and the Caribbean (4%), sub-Saharan Africa (2%) and the Middle East and North Africa (less than 1%).[6]

Sociologist Phil Zuckerman's global studies on atheism have indicated that global atheism may be in decline due to irreligious countries having the lowest birth rates in the world and religious countries having higher birth rates in general.[1]

According to WIN/Gallup International, in their 2012 poll of 57 countries, 23% of respondents were "not religious" and 13% were "convinced atheists" and in their 2014 poll of 65 countries 22% were "not religious" and 11% were "convinced atheists".[7][44] However, other researchers have advised caution with the WIN/Gallup International figures since other surveys which use the same wording, have conducted many waves for decades, and have a bigger sample size, such as World Values Survey; have consistently reached lower figures for the number of atheists worldwide.[5]

A Pew 2015 global projection study for religion and nonreligion projects that between 2010 and 2050 there will some initial increases of the unaffiliated followed by a decline by 2050 due to lower global fertility rates among this demographic.[45]

In terms of the United States, a 2012 Pew report showed that 32% of people under 30, 21% of people between the ages of 30-49, 15% of people between the ages of 50-64 and 9% of people over the age of 65 could be characterized as religiously unaffiliated. However, 68% of all the unaffiliated expressed belief in God and out of the whole US population, only 2.4% self identified as "atheist".[46]

A 2013 poll by UPI/Harris showed that three-quarters of U.S. adults say they believe in God, down from 82 percent in 2005, 2007 and 2009. Just under 2-in-10 U.S. adults described themselves as very religious, with an additional 4-in-10 describing themselves as somewhat religious down from 49 percent in 2007. Twenty-three percent of Americans identified themselves as not at all religious, nearly double the 12 percent reported in 2007.[47]

The 2015 Pew Religious Landscape survey reported that as of 2014[update], 22.8% of the American population is religiously unaffiliated, atheists made up 3.1% and agnostics made up 4% of the US population.[48]

A survey based on a self-selected sample of biological and physical scientists of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States found that 7% believed in the existence of God, 72.2% did not, and 20.8% were agnostic or had doubts.[49]Eugenie Scott argued that there are methodological issues in the study, including ambiguity in the questions. A study on leading scientists in the US, with clearer wording and allowing for a broader concept of "god", concluded that 40% of prominent scientists believe in god.[50]

In 1916, 1,000 leading American scientists were randomly chosen from American Men of Science and 41.8% believed God existed, 41.5% disbelieved, and 16.7% had doubts/did not know; however when the study was replicated 80 years later using American Men and Women of Science in 1996, results were very much the same with 39.3% believing God exists, 45.3% disbelieved, and 14.5% had doubts/did not know.[51]

A TNSRMS Cameroun survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 29 October 2012, to 5 November, 2012, found that 3% of Cameroon were "convinced atheists."[52]

In November 2013, al-Sabah estimated that up to 3 million (3.57%) Egyptians were atheists.[53][54]

A TNS RMS Ghana survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 7 November 2012, to 33 November, 2012, found that 0% of Ghana were "convinced atheists."[52]

A Infinite Insight survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on November, 2014, found that 2% of Kenya were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A BJ Group survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on 8 November, 2014, to 19 November, 2014 found that 1% of Morocco were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A Market Trends International survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 13 October, 2014 to 9 November, 2014, found that 2% of Nigeria were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A Topline Research Solutions (TRS) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 24 December 2012, to 2 December, 2012, found that 4% of South Africa were "convinced atheists."[52]

A Infinite Insight survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 5 November 2012, to 6 December, 2012, found that 6% of South Sudan were "convinced atheists."[52]

A Emrhod International survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 24 November 2012, to 2 December, 2012, found that 0% of Tunisia were "convinced atheists."[52]

A ACSOR-Surveys survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 1 November, 2014 to 10 November, 2014, found that 0.33% of Afghanistan were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A MPG LLC (Marketing Professional Group) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on November, 2014, found that 2% of Armenia were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A SIAR Research and Consulting Group survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 16 October, 2014, to 12 November, 2014, found that 0.1% of Azerbaijan were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A SRGB (SRG Bangladesh Limited) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 5 November, 2014, to 25 November, 2014, found that 0.4% of Bangladesh were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A GORBI (Georgian Opinion Research Business International) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 15 October, 2014, to 15 November, 2014, found that 1% of the Georgia were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A DataPrompt International survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 20 October, 2014 to 14 November, 2014, found that 3% of India were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A Deka survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 15 October, 2014 to 5 November, 2014, found that 0.19% of Indonesia were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

According to Moaddel and Azadarmaki (2003), less than 5% of Iranians do not believe in God.[57]

A IIACSS survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 20 November 2012, to 2 December, 2012, found that 0% of Iraq were "convinced atheists."[52]

A Maagar Mochot ltd. survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on November, 2014, found that 8% of Israel were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A NRC (Nippon Research Center) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 31 October, 2014 to 12 November, 2014, found that 32% of Japan were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

According to Inglehart et al (2004), less than 1% of those in Jordan do not believe in God.[57]

A Romir survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 23 October, 2014 to 30 October, 2014, found that 8% of Kazakhstan were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

According to Froese (2004), 7% of those in Kyrgyzstan are atheist.[57]

A REACH (Research and Consulting House) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 17 October, 2014 to 5 November, 2014, found that 2% of Lebanon were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A TNS Malaysia survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 27 October, 2014 to 15 November, 2014, found that 3% of Malaysia were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

According to Barret et al (2001), 9% of those in Mongolia are atheist.[57]

Barret et al (2001) report that 15% of North Koreans are atheist.[57]

A Gallup Pakistan survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 2 October, 2014 to 12 October, 2014, found that 1% of Pakistan were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 2 November, 2014 to 12 November, 2014, found that 1% of Palestine were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A WisdomAsia survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 1 November, 2014, to 15 November, 2014, found that 61% of the People's Republic of China were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A CSG survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 27 October, 2014, to 16 November, 2014, found that 34% of the Hong Kong were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A PSRC (Philippines Survey & Research Center Inc.) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on 9 October, 2014, to 12 November, 2014 found that 1% of Philippines were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

According to Inglehart et al (2004), 24% of those in the Republic of China do not believe in God.[57]

A PARC (Pan Arab Research Center) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on November 2011, found that 5% of Saudi Arabia were "convinced atheists."[52]

Inglehart et al (2004) found that 13% of those in Singapore do not believe in God.[57]

A Be Research (Index Kosova) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 1 November, 2014 to 7 November, 2014, found that 6% of South Korea were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

According to Froese (2004), 2% of those in Tajikistan are atheist.[57]

A Infosearch survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 12 October, 2014 to 13 November, 2014, found that 1% of Thailand were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

According to Froese (2004), 2% of those in Turkmenistan are atheist.[57]

A Romir survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 16 November 2012, to 6 December, 2012, found that 2% of Uzbekistan were "convinced atheists."[52]

A Indochina Research survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on 17 October, 2014, to 31 October, 2014 found that 13% of Vietnam were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

According to a 2010 Eurostat Eurobarometer Poll, 51% of European Union citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", whereas 26% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 20% said that "they don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force" and results were widely varied between different countries.[59]

According to another Poll about religiosity in the European Union in 2012 by Eurobarometer 16% are Non-believers/Agnostics and 7% are Atheists.[60] 72% of EU citizens are Christians and 2% are Muslims.[61]

(*) 13% of respondents in Hungary identify as Presbyterian. In Estonia and Latvia, 20% and 19%, respectively, identify as Lutherans. And in Lithuania, 14% say they are just a Christian and do not specify a particular denomination. They are included in the other category. (**) Identified as "don't know/refused" from the "other/idk/ref" column are excluded from this statistic. (***) Figures may not add to subtotals due to rounding.

According the 2011 Albanian census found 2.5% of Albania were atheists.[64]

A sterreichisches Gallup Institute survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on November, 2014, found that 13% of Austria were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 2% of Belarus were atheists, while 9% stated that they "Do not believe in God".[63]

A iVOX bvba survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 28 October, 2014 to 18 November, 2014, found that 18% of Belgium were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 2% of Bosnia and Herzegovina were atheists, while 4% stated that they "Do not believe in God".[63]

A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 2% of Bulgaria were atheists, while 17% stated that they "Do not believe in God".[63]

A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 4% of Croatia were atheists, while 10% stated that they "Do not believe in God".[63]

A 2010 Eurobarometer poll found that 3% of the Cyprus stated that "I don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".[59]

A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 25% of the Czech Republic were atheists, while 66% stated that they "Do not believe in God".[63]

A DMA/Research survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on November, 2014, found that 12% of Denmark were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 9% of Croatia were atheists, while 45% stated that they "Do not believe in God".[63]

A Taloustutkimus Oy survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 19 October, 2014 to 7 November, 2014, found that 10% of Finland were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A BVA survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 20 October, 2014 to 23 October, 2014, found that 10% of France were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A Produkt + Markt survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on November, 2014, found that 17% of Germany were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 3% of Greece were atheists, while 6% stated that they "Do not believe in God".[63]

A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 5% of Hungary were atheists, while 30% stated that they "Do not believe in God".[63]

A Capacent Gallup survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 29 October, 2014 to 12 November, 2014, found that 14% of Iceland were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A Red C Research and Marketing survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 20 October, 2014 to 27 October, 2014, found that 10% of Ireland were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A DOXA survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 16 October, 2014 to 30 October, 2014, found that 6% of Italy were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A Be Research (Index Kosova) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 1 November, 2014, to 7 November, 2014 found that 1% of Kosovo were "convinced atheists."[55][56]

A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 3% of Latvia were atheists, while 15% stated that they "Do not believe in God".[63]

A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 2% of Lithuania were atheists, while 11% stated that they "Do not believe in God".[63]

More:
Demographics of atheism - Wikipedia

A 37-year-old man has explained how his atheist views led to thedisintegration of his marriage.

The man identified asWilliam* told of how he and his wife decided to go their separate ways after she miscarried their unborn child when the two were in graduate school.

While his wife wasraised in the Assembly of God church and led a devout life, William's religious beliefshadalways beenmore ambivalent, he explained in a series entitled Craigslist Confessional, whereby writer HelenaBaladocuments thestoriesof strangers whom she has met on the USwebsiteCraigslist.Thisdichotomy had never beena problem untilhis wife miscarried their unborn child, he said.

"My wife and I met while we were both away at school, and I knew about her faith but she was never so religious that I thought, 'wow, youre weird.'" (iStock)

William said that after the miscarriage, "well-meaning people" would tell him that "God wanted another angel in heaven,'and Id nod and say 'thank you'but silently, I was livid." He added thatthe idea that there could bea deity that could possibly take someones unborn child from them was "abhorrent.

In the post, which was published by Quartz, William explained how he felt his wifes strict beliefs which included no sex before marriage inhibited their relationship rightfrom the very beginning.

He confessed that "sex barely happened" and that his wife considered it to be purely a means to reproduce.Romance was never on the cards, he explained."Say we were driving someplace and I tried to run my hand through her hairshed swat it away immediately."

Whilst understanding the scientific process behind miscarriages helped William through the terrible tragedy, for his wife it only perpetuated a deeper, more spiritual compulsion.Williamexplained this is what ultimately led him to realise that he was an atheist.

It was only a matter of time until their differing beliefsbeganto chip away at their relationship.

She told me once, 'I dont want to be one of those women who goes to church without her husband.'And we kept on like before, never really talking about God until, around Easter a few years ago, we were getting ready to go to church and I made some offhand comment. My wife asked something along the lines of'why are you always bad-mouthing God?'"

"Thats when I came out as an atheist. I told her, 'because I dont believe'," he said.

He described her response as"a full-blown meltdown" with his wife later telling her mother that William would be going to hell.

William tried to rectify things with his wife by avoiding the topic of religion in day-to-day conversation.

To avoid delicate issues, we stuck to talking about pop culture, TV, kids, and places we wanted to hike."

But despite his best efforts, things worsened and she ended up asking William for a divorce.

The two have since separated and Williams wife is now engaged to someone else. He added that she seems "genuinely happy" and although he thought the relationship would "never" work, her fiancis "exactly the type of guy she was supposed to end up with."

According to a recent surveyofBritish Social Attitudes, atheism in theUK is on the rise, with 48.5 per cent of the population define themselves as havingno religion, subsequently outweighing the 43.8 per cent who identify as Christians, Anglicans and Catholics.

*Names have been changed

Go here to see the original:
Man reveals how atheism ruined his marriage - The Independent

I thought this might provoke a little conversation. it was Jim Daileys offering in response to Geoff Benson on the postWill atheists admit that there is good reason to leave atheism and adopt Christianity?.

Geoff started with:

I dont think theres any accommodation between science and faith, though if you define reason in a broader sense than you do science then its possible to argue theres some level of reasoning can be applied within an already acquired faith.

You cant reason into any religion, but you can certainly reason away from it.

To which Jim replied:

Well your post was provocative enough that I tried to find a better description of how I think it works. Ever fallen in love? It is not possible to love someone without making inquiries of them, speaking with them, knowing something about them. But what would happen if you insisted on knowing all about them? That a condition of love was that you could predict their reaction in every single circumstance, under all conditions? Likely you would never end up walking down the aisle with them? So love indeed demands reason, but on some level, as flawed, limited, imperfect humans with a limited life span, we necessarily have to surrender to love to have a chance at happiness.

Speaking of same, my wife is yelling at me about a beautiful day and chores (a whole series of, for me, contradictions that will never reconcile) so I have to go to ensure any chance I have at happiness.

What do you think?

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Quote of the Day: Jim Dailey on Love and Atheism - Patheos (blog)

This story is part of a series called Craigslist Confessional. Writer Helena Bala has been meeting people via Craigslist and documenting their stories for over two years. Each story is written as it was told to her. Bala says that by listening to their stories, she hopes to bear witness to her subjects lives, providing them with an outlet, a judgment-free ear, and a sense of catharsis. By sharing them, she hopes to facilitate acceptance and understanding of issues that are seldom publicly discussed, at the risk of fear, stigma, and ostracism. Read more here. Names and locations have been changed to protect her subjects anonymity.

William, 37

During my last year of graduate school, my wife miscarried our unborn child. We were heartbroken and traumatized and nothing seemed to make the pain any better. After the miscarriage, well-meaning people would come up to us and say things likeGod wanted another angel in heaven,and Id nod and say thank you but silently, I was livid. The idea that there could exist a deity that, out of its own ego, would take someones unborn child from them was abhorrent. The miscarriage was the catalyzing event that led to my atheism. My atheism, in large part, was also to blame for my divorce.

The trauma of the miscarriage cemented my wifes faith in God. She was raised in the Assembly of God church. Not many people know what that isfor reference, you might have come across some footage online of people speaking in tongues or collapsing after being healed of their diseasesthats Assembly of God. My wife and I met while we were both away at school, and I knew about her faith but she was never so religious that I thought, wow, youre weird. I think that religion was mostly social for her. For me, a lapsed Catholic, her faith was never an issue, and she never communicated to me that my religious ambivalence was a problem for her.

Because of her beliefs, though, we decided not to have sex before marriage, so we were both virgins on our wedding night. She admitted to liking sex, but I could tell that she was very uncomfortable withmaybe even felt guilty abouther sexuality. As time wore on, sex barely happened and when it did, it was to conceive children. She was raised in such a way that made her feel that sex was a bad and dirty thing, and as a result our intimacy suffered. For example, she wouldnt let me touch her in a romantic way. Say we were driving someplace and I tried to run my hand through her hairshed swat it away immediately.

As much as I could, I tried to engage her in conversations about faith, and it never really went well. Personally, especially after the miscarriage, I did a lot of work to figure out my thoughts on God. What helped me get through the tragedy was understanding the science behind itthat when her body knows that something is wrong with a fetus, to protect the mother from giving birth to a stillborn child, it often miscarries. I came to understand that it would have been ten times harder on us had the baby been stillborn. That, to me, provided so much more comfort than god wants an angel in heaven. I read voraciously and eventually, privately, decided that I was an atheist.

But I kept on going to church and respecting our agreement to raise the kids a certain way. She told me once, I dont want to be one of those women who goes to church without her husband. And we kept on like before, never really talking about God until, around Easter a few years ago, we were getting ready to go to church and I made some offhand comment. My wife asked something along the lines ofwhy are you always bad-mouthing God?

Thats when I came out as an atheist. I told her, because I dont believe. She had a full-blown meltdown. She called her mother wailing on the phone that I was a going to hell. She later told me that she felt that the fact that I was an atheist meant that I thought she was stupid. But she thought I was going to hellso, I mean, who should really be offended here?

To avoid delicate issues, we stuck to talking about pop culture, TV, kids, and places we wanted to hike. I started telling other people in my life that I am an atheist, and met with mixed reviews. When pushed on why I dont believe in God, I took to replying: for the same reason you dont still believe in Santa Claus. Our marriage became very intellectually dull even though shes every bit as smart as I. But eventually, as much as wed try to evade issues, the cracks began to show. She told me once that she didnt believe women should be in positions of power; we had to avoid talking about politics or anything that could even remotely lead to a discussion about something serious. The distance between us just kept on growing and, after some infidelity on my part, she asked me for a divorce.

Now shes moved the kids back south with her. She and her new fianc go to church with the kids and her parents every Wednesday and Sunday. Im worried that the kids are getting brainwashed. I look at the guy shes with now and hes the exact opposite of everything I am. But she seems genuinely happy. I used to think, when they first started dating, that it would never work out. But Ive realized now that I was the exception, and this guythis is exactly the type of guy she was supposed to end up with.

Read more Craigslist Confessionals here. To share your story with Helena, email her at craigslistconfessionalqz@gmail.com. Learn how to write for Quartz Ideas. We welcome your comments at ideas@qz.com.

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Craigslist confessional: Atheism caused my divorce - Quartz

There are some 90 million members of Chinas Communist Party, and all of them now have been banned from having religious beliefs.

According to a report in the Hindustan Times, Wang Zuoan of the repressive nations State Administration for Religious Affairs announced that CPC members mustbe atheists.

Party members should not have religious beliefs, which is a red line for all members, he wrote. Party members should be firm Marxist atheists, obey party rules and stick to the partys faith they are not allowed to seek value and belief in religion.

His comments were reported in the CPCs journal Qiushi, which deals with political theory.

According to the Christian Institute in the United Kingdom,Wang promised if there are party members with religiousfaith should be persuaded to give it up, and those who resisted would be punished.

Joseph Farahs newest book, The Restitution of All Things, expounds on what few authors dare to approach, the coming kingdom of God. Available at the WND Superstore.

Se Wei, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Chongqing Committee, responded to Wangs regulations by referring to Christianity as part of Chinas religious problem.

Christianity in China has been accused of being a national security risk, and in the past few years, hundreds of Christian pastors and activists have been arrested, the report continued.

The Christian Institute noted the international freedom watchdog Freedom House said in March that as many as 100 million people in China are facing high or very high levels of persecution under communist rule.

Christianity, however, is surging in China.

The institute said academics predict that by 2030 China will have more than 247 million Christians, which would be more than 17 percent of the population.

Wanginsisted, however, that religious groups should be guided by the state and alter their doctrine to promote socialist core values.

China officially is atheist. But the communist-controlled government recognizes five faiths: Buddhism, Islam, Taoism, Protestantism and Catholicism.

Wangs comments echoed President Xi Jinping.

We must resolutely guard against overseas infiltrations via religious means and prevent ideological infringement by extremists, Xi said.

Wang wrote: We should guide religious groups and individuals with socialist core values and excellent traditional Chinese culture and support religious groups to dig into their doctrines to find parts that are beneficial to social harmony and development.

Joseph Farahs newest book, The Restitution of All Things, expounds on what few authors dare to approach, the coming kingdom of God. Available at the WND Superstore.

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China's communists: Atheism mandatory for members - WND.com

Jerry Coyne has responded to our criticisms (here, here, here and here) of his endorsement of euthanasia for handicapped children. Coyne seems a bit perplexed at the strong criticism he has received for his advocacy for killing babies with birth defects because they would suffer if allowed to live.

For example, he is surprised at the outrage that atheist ethicist Peter Singer has received for advocacy of infant euthanasia:

For these views Singer has been demonized by disability rights advocates, who have called for his firing and disrupted his talks (see my post about thathere). All for just raising a reasonable ethical question that should be considered and discussed!

Coynes message: Dont get all worked up about killing handicapped babies, even if youre one of the class of people he proposes to kill. Cant we discuss this dispassionately, like adults?

But Coynes equanimity has limits.

In 2013, Ball State University professor Eric Hedin taught a course on astronomy that included suggested readings on the possibility that the cosmos manifests evidence ofdesign. Coyne was fit to be tied. He threatened the president of Ball State with legal action:

Its religion taught as science in a public university, and its not only wrong but illegal. I have tried approaching the University administration, and have been rebuffed. This will now go to the lawyers.

Coyne enlisted the Freedom from Religion Foundation to issue a cease-and-desist letter to Ball State.

Coyne:

Hedins classes are not only unconstitutional, but an embarrassment to your university. Even if you disagree with the freedom-from-religion argument, Hedins courses are a discredit to BSU and he should be removed from them or forced to eliminate the religious indoctrination.

Note to others: it appears to be settled law that academic freedom cannot, in a public university, be an excuse to teach any damn thing you want.

As I mentioned earlier, I wrote to the chairman of Hedins department expressing some of the sentiments above, but he blew me off, arguing that his courses had been deemed satisfactory by University officials. Well see if they start singing a different tune now!

Coyne is enflamed not onlyby courses in public universities, but by signs in museums. Heobjected to a plaque in the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History given by a donor that credited creation to God. Coyne wrote a threatening letter to the museum director:

A friend of mine who recently visited the new Nature Lab at your Museum forwarded me the attached sign, which ascribes the existence of animals to God.

As an evolutionary biologist, I object to the invocation of God the invocation of God in a public museum could be seen as be a violation of the First Amendment.

Regardless of what the donor wanted, I think it abrogates our scientific principles to celebrate all of Gods creatures when that statement is, by scientific lights, palpably wrong. Would you have taken the money from someone who insisted that the gift celebrates all of Wotans creatures, or all the creatures created by space aliens? Those signs are just as scientifically supportable as what appears on the sign now I neednt remind you that science is done by ignoring God, and has never given the slightest bit of evidence for the intercession of God in the origin, evolution, and diversification of life.

Consider the irony. When Peter Singer endorsed killing handicapped babies in the crib, at a public lecture in front of the very people he advocated killing, Coyne defended his academic freedom and pleaded: Cant we all just get along?

When a professor raisesthe question of design in an astronomy class, or a museum puts up a donors plaque crediting God for nature, Coyne erupts in rage and calls in the lawyers.

For Coyne, killing babies is a topic for reasoned discussion. Invoking God, or considering scientificevidence of design, is an outrage.

William Fleming had it right: Atheism is a disease of the soul, before it is an error of the understanding.

Photo: Peter Singer, by Mal Vickers via Flickr.

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Euthanasia Reveals Atheism's Moral Confusion - Discovery Institute

In another thread, Dave Armstrong, Catholic blogger here at Patheos, asked this:

Will atheists admit that there is good reason to leave atheism and adopt Christianity?

I find this an interesting question, and it can be split into two areas: the psychologicalreasons for leaving any belief system and the rational reasons. I will deal with the former and then the latter.

I would say that there can be good psychologicalreasons for leaving atheism for religion of any sort. But I would attach lots of caveats. This is person and context dependent. Atheism can be a tough sell for some people, and some find leaving the comfort blanket of eternal life, heaven and ultimate purpose (in a divine sense, not a personal sense) difficult to deal with. Religion, especially if they have once experienced this in some way earlier in life (perhaps),canoffer a psychological comfort to people in need of such. Religion, after all, is functional. It has developed over evolutionary history for a reason its not that it is some weird random hangover from our past it is functional. We (naturalists) rationalise its existence.

Of course, good reason here might perhaps need more closely defining, but certainly, I can see how some or many people might be powerfully psychologically attracted to religion. This is a truism, after all, since literally billions of people believe in religious worldviews, and these are (by and large in the population at large) for psychological reasons. But, you ask, are these psychological reasonsirrational or even a-rational? This might even be part of the definition of psychological in this particular context.

However, in order to give in to psychological persuasion, one must be pretty weak on the rational side of things.

And s we come to the other side. Rationality. I am, for obvious reasons (see my books, chapters, public talks and well over a thousand blog posts), very rationally comfortable in my position of (agnostic) atheism. Indeed, if I were to be someone who went through a torrid time (losing those close to me, getting a terminal illness, etc.), even if I was psychologically tempted with religion, my rational foundations for my atheistic beliefs are so solid that I severely doubt they would crumble.

Moreover, I am very self-reflective: there is always a meta-conversation going on behind the scenes. When I feel or believe or do something, I always reflect on why. I believe that I simply would never have a good reason to leave atheism. In order for me to do so, there would have to be new data. Really very good new data. Because as it stands, for me, I cannot see there possibly being a good reason to leave atheism.

For others, as mentioned, psychologically youcouldargue there might be a good reason, or at least powerful emotional reasons. But otherwise, no. And this is obvious. If I did think, after all, that there was a good reason to be Christian, I would be Christian.

Read more:
Will atheists admit that there is good reason to leave atheism and adopt Christianity? - Patheos (blog)

Angelos Sofocleous is a friend and colleague. We write together a decent amount. I asked about an interview for an ebook, where we would discuss his background. I wanted to diversify the content of the e-book, free one, with not only the articles written with friends and colleagues but also interviews with the writers themselves. Here is Angelos.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen:To begin, we have been writing partners. In fact, youve been one of my more prolific writing buddies, activist work, for about a year coming into a year-and-a-half. It is cool because were on almost opposite sides of the globe, but we work on common initiatives relatively consistently. I wanted to diversify some of the content of this volume with some more diverse interviews with people beginning their active careers. Their lives in other words, so here we are after you agreed to be a willing interviewee (victim). What was early childhood to college life like for you? Was there an activist background? How do you find the developments within the EU throughout your lifetime?

Angelos Sofocleous: Thank you for the opportunity, Scott. You are one of the most active, intelligent, and knowledgeable people I know. It is a joy to be able to work with you on a number of projects.

To begin, I have been through many phases of metamorphoses from early childhood to college life. I can think of periods in my life with which I have very little in common with the person I am now. From a very young age though, I always remember myself going through the encyclopedias in my grandmas house, trying to figure out what interests me; from biology to politics, from astronomy to philosophy. Soon, I found out that I was interested in one thing: Knowledge.

Luckily, I was a very introverted and shy child. This gave me the opportunity to be able to spend my time wisely on what regards social interactions while I very carefully allocated my (limited) energy on things that could benefit me. Hence, I spent a lot of time with myself. And I felt totally fine with it. I never get why people consider it weird for someone to stay at home on a Saturday night, or go to the movies by themselves, or pick a book and sit on a parks bench. I was thus involved in activities through which I would spend time having discussions with myself, exploring my mind, and writing down my ideas and thoughts.

Writing, o writing. I started my anonymous personal blog when I was 14, in which I still write 9 years later, although the person who started the blog is different from the one who still writes on it. Words in my mind have no voice, no physical expressions; they can only be expressed through writing, and this is what I did for most of my life. Had it not been for writing, my mind would be a chaotic mess of unstructured and unorganized thoughts, probably expressed in non-conventional ways. And I wouldnt like that. Writing, thus, saved my mind from going crazy. A mind that cannot be expressed, either stops thinking or stops expressing itself. Both can lead to insanity.

The year when I started writing signified a turning point in my life. Growing up in a right-wing religious family, the opportunity arose through my teenage years, to revolt against what I had grown up with, and explore new ideas, while questioning my own, deeply held at that time, beliefs. I no more consider belief to provide an appropriate basis on which to base arguments What is needed is knowledge, and in case of knowledge is not possible (yet), one must suspend belief until there is appropriate and satisfactory evidence for knowledge. This is science.

Apart from some close friends, I was never able to discuss my atheistic and agnostic beliefs, as well as my opposition to religion and my endorsement of science, with my family or even at school. This is how it is growing up on a small island, with less than 1 million population, which claims to have one of the biggest percentages of religious followers in the European Union. My teenage revolution, then, was not verbal and not physical, it was mental.

That being said, my activist background was limited to sharing my ideas, trying to encourage people through my writings and influence them, while I was doing the same with other peoples writings. No action out in the streets, no discussions outside social media, limited involvement in groups. I would not say, then, that I had any activist background when it comes to my teenage life unless you want to call writing a form of activism.

In any case, I drew myself more and more into skepticism, freethinking, and humanism, and tried to educate myself on these issues, waiting for the time when I would apply this knowledge into the world.

This could not be done after high school though, as I had to spend two years doing mandatory military service. I will not waste much space here to talk about it, as its not worth it. I am ashamed of my country that treats its 18-year-olds in such a way, still having remnants of hegemonic masculinity. There is great potential for encouraging young people to develop themselves, and military service is definitely not a way to do this, at least in my country.

Things had changed, however, when I entered university. Having spent two years of physical and mental inactivity, I decided that it was time for me to become active. At the moment, Im the president of two student societies, Durham Humanists, and Cypriot Society of Durham, while Im a Sub-Editor at my universitys newspaper (Palatinate UK), a writer at ConatusNews.com, and a co-editor at Secular Nation magazine.

I have also just published my second poetry collection. I am therefore active in writing again, this time having the opportunity to meet like-minded people and be active in groups, promoting campaigns and influencing students and the general public to a greater extent. I feel that most of the chains that held me back to my teenage years have broken, and I am now able to take action on the issues that concern me.

Now, moving onto your last question regarding the developments within the EU within my lifetime, I witnessed a major shift in Europe, from conservatism to liberalism and progressivism. Mutual respect and recognition of human rights across Europe, of course, need to take place at a personal level, within societies, but also at a national, and even pan-continental level.

This is what I feel the EU has achieved, bringing European countries closer to each other without erasing any aspect of their unique identities but, in contrast, managing to protect, secure, and enrich each nations identity through mutual recognition and respect for each other nations identity.

Get the best stories from The Good Men Project delivered straight to your inbox, here.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Scott Douglas Jacobsen founded In-Sight Publishing and In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal. He works as an Associate Editor and Contributor for Conatus News, Editor and Contributor to The Good Men Project, a Board Member, Executive International Committee (International Research and Project Management) Member, and as the Chair of Social Media for the Almas Jiwani Foundation, Executive Administrator and Writer for Trusted Clothes, and Councillor in the Athabasca University Students Union. He contributes to the Basic Income Earth Network, The Beam, Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Check Your Head, Conatus News, Humanist Voices, The Voice Magazine, and Trusted Clothes. If you want to contact Scott: [emailprotected]; website: http://www.in-sightjournal.com; Twitter: https://twitter.com/InSight_Journal.

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Skepticism, Humanism, Atheism, and Right Wing Upbringing - The Good Men Project (blog)

The Communist Party of China, the nations governing party, says its members must give up religious beliefs and be firm Marxist atheists.

Wang Zuoan, the director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs, wrote on Saturday that religious members should give up their faith in order to preserve party unity.

Party members should not have religious beliefs, which is a red line for all members Party members should be firm Marxist atheists, obey Party rules and stick to the Partys faith they are not allowed to seek value and belief in religion.

Wang added that foreign forces use religion to infiltrate China and that extremism has threatened national security and social stability.

Religions should be sinicized We should guide religious groups and individuals with socialist core values and excellent traditional Chinese culture and support religious groups to dig into their doctrines to find parts that are beneficial to social harmony and development.

This isnt just one crazy government official banning religion and requiring Marxist atheism. Zhu Weiqun, chairman of the Ethnic and Religious Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, said it is important to remind party members not to have religious beliefs.

Some people who claim to be scholars support religious beliefs in the Party, which has undermined the Partys values based on dialectical materialism.

Here we have the opposite of what we typically see, in the Middle East, for example, where religious governments are imposing bans on atheism and even killing non-believers based on blasphemy laws. Yet it is incredibly similar, too.

Party unity may be the official reason for mandating Marxist atheism, but one thing aboutWangs quotestuck out to me above all else. He said party members must stick to the Partys faith. Faith. This is dogmatic thinking run amok exactly the kind of thing critical thinkers ought to oppose, even when its ostensibly working in our favor. Forcing atheism upon people is no better than requiring people to worship Allah.

This ban on religion by the Chinese Communist Party is no different from what we saw in the Soviet Union. The leaders arent destroying faith; theyre replacing God with themselves and demanding loyalty.

Secular governments are no doubt better than theocracies, but banning religion and threatening punishment for believers isnt the answer. Those kinds of thought crimes have never been successful in the long term. If anything, banning religion empowers religious people, even ifthey gather in secret, and creates a justified sense of persecution among believers outside the country. What China is doing isnt just unethical, its irrational. Its dogma in the guise of atheism. And that should never be defended.

(Image via Shutterstock)

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China's Government Bans Religion, Says Members Must Be Firm Marxist Atheists - Patheos (blog)

If things go as they are going, the last Swedish atheist will get decent care from Christian Chinese nurses.

The good news about global change is that atheism and the religious nones are in decline as a percentage of the global population. Humankind is becoming more brown and religious.

The future could not be brighter. Why?

In China the official atheistic regime has not been able to keep people away from the truth. In this highly educated country, Christianity is booming.

Meanwhile in the North America and Western Europe some oldsters keep reporting on trends inScotland as if the five million Scots matter in the face of 182 million Nigerians. The United States will be smaller than Nigeria in population soon. Isnt it time that our media paid more attention to sub-Saharan Africa and less attention to tiny, shrinking West European countries and their concerns? Of course, some bigots will say they are growing in the civilized world as if China, India, and Kenya were uncivilized but that kind of offensive talk will doubt out.

If the West is to be saved, it will be because new people groups decide Western ideas can be their ideas. We should care about the Indian Supreme Court as much as the US Court to find the future.

This is truly blessed news as the old evils of colonialism, the sick mistakes that tainted the good that European nations did in the world, can finally be laid to rest. Let us see power go to the global South and have those of us who are white and European in background bequiet and listen to the wisdom of most of humankind.

Here is what I hear just now from my global friends:

The world is tired ofus.Everything we do, we broadcast. Western European and secular US culture has become the nearly-senile relative who must trumpet every bowl movement to the entire family. We dont matter nearly as much as we think we do and it is time to sit down, listen, and let the rest of the world teach us what we have failed to learn.

Most of the world thinks we have become deranged on sex. If you are not sex positive, then shame on you is not a message that resonates in the parts of the world still having actual sex that produces babies. While some decadent secularists view babies as a burden, the rest of the world views children as a blessing.

Sanity will win, because sanity knows that the future belongs to those who procreate!

In the West we are presented three tired alternatives: right-wing secularism (individualism!), left-wing secularism (It takes a village!), and strongman rule. Most of the world says no. Normal humans, normals, wantsocial stability, scientific innovation, and liberty with law.

In the West, we have produced no alternative to the bureaucracy of Belgium, the EU state, which would rather regulate a jam than eat one. Normal people look on, from Africa and Asia look and say: No thanks. They come here, they see, and they snicker.

In our futuristic novels too often we have seen Utopia or dystopia in white, Western terms. We have forgotten that if things continue as they are going the last atheist Icelander will get charitable care from the dominant Asian and African monotheistic population.

As the nones fade, as atheism withers away, the important thing is to be gracious in victory, especially white theists. We did some good, but our day is done and what is done cannot ever be undone.

So take good look at the future: religious, African and Asian, and full of jollications.

I cannot wait!

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The Last Atheist Will Get Good Care from A Chinese Christian - Patheos (blog)