status report
Here are some intriguing statistics from the seriously statistical dudes from the World Christian Encyclopaedia. Go God!!
Hat tip to Wolfgang and Mercy Simson from Friday Fax.
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I’m actually surprised at the number of atheists… over 150 million. Plenty of apathy and agnosticism in the West… I’m a bit surprised there’s so many people who call themselves atheists.
More proof I need to get out more.
Yes, well, it depends on your definition of atheism and religion doesn’t it?
I have had a number of people challenge me on calling theravada buddhism a religion because theravadins acknowledge no god(s) and under a narrow definition are technically atheist. But this is plain stupid. It is an unduly western-centric definition of religion that tells me more about the parochialism of the person making the claim than anything about theravadin buddhism.
In a similar vein I have met many people who have no belief in God yet actively seek guidance from the spirit world in terms of seances, tarot and ghost encounters. Sound like ideological materialists to you? Not to me. Consequently I prefer a broader definition of religion in terms of acceptance of an unseen / spiritual dimension to reality.
I would have to see what questions were acually asked to make a judgement call on that question.
But this is interesting all the same. Just need to figure out how to interpret the results.
I wonder if the figures are skewed too by members of the Communist party in China, Vietnam, Cuba, Korea (and any other communist countries left)… it would be the “politically correct” answer.
I notice “agnostic” doesn’t make a category… that might make some tip more toward calling themselves “atheist”.
Is there some kind of breakdown of the figures somewhere?