Irreligion may be defined as 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 agnostic, atheist, secular humanist, and people who answer 'none' or 'no religious preference' when asked an open-ended question about what is their religious preference. However, at the same time, it is also estimated that 40 to 50% of the people in this highly disparate grouping have a stated traditionally "theistic" belief in God, deities or a Higher Power.[3] Some evidence suggests that the fastest growing religious status in the United States is "no religion".[4]
[edit] Demographics
Gallup Religiosity Index 2009 (light colour indicates religious, dark non-religious
[5]
[edit] Irreligion in the world
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^
- "Irreligion as presented in 26 reference works". http://onelook.com/?w=irreligion&ls=a.
- "Definition including hostility and indifference", Compact Oxford Dictionary, http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/irreligious?view=uk
- "Definition including lack and indifference", Collins Dictionary, http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/irreligion
- "Irreligion", Encyclopedia of Religion and Society, http://hirr.hartsem.edu/ency/irreligion.htm, retrieved 2012-02-18 Includes rejection.
- Colin Campbell, "Irreligion", Encyclopedia of Religion and Society, http://books.google.ca/books?id=6TMFoMFe-D8C&pg=PA239&lpg=PA239&dq=Active+rejection+religion&source=bl&ots=TrBEswcqH4&sig=mDW9ShJZLLUHXd8Fz3wJl0iQdHo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=vExAT7O-EoiviQKM2qi3AQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Active%20rejection%20religion&f=false, retrieved 2012-02-18
- ^ Campbell, Colin. 1971. Towards a Sociology of Irreligion. London:McMillan p. 31.
- ^ Major Religions of the World Ranked by Number of Adherents
- ^ American Nones: The Profile of the No Religion Population A Report Based on the American Religious Identification Survey 2008
- ^ 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 am an ao Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)(Japanese)
- ^ Gallup poll
- ^ [1]
- ^ a b c d e f Zuckerman, Phil. "Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns", from the Cambridge Companion to Atheism, edited by Michael Martin, University of Cambridge Press, 2007
- ^ "Albania". State.gov. 2006-09-15. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71364.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-04. US Department of State - International religious freedom report 2006
- ^ L'Albanie en 2005
- ^ "Adherents.com". Adherents.com. http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_472.html. Retrieved 2011-02-04. Some publications
- ^ UK National Statistics Bureau (2011 census)
- ^ "Adherents.com". Adherents.com. http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_473.html. 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. http://www.fowid.de/. Retrieved 2011-09-12. German Worldview Research Group (2010)
- ^ [2] 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.
- ^ "96F0030XIE2001015 - Religions in Canada". 2.statcan.ca. http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/analytic/companion/rel/contents.cfm. Retrieved 2011-02-04. Canada 2001 census
- ^ US Religious Landscape Survey
- ^ "Table Of Statistics On Religion In The Americas". Prolades.com. http://www.prolades.com/amertbl06.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-04. Gallup-Argentina survey, April 2001
- ^ [3][dead link] Güney Afrika 2001 census
- ^ "This is Ireland. Highlights from Census 2011, Part 1" (PDF). March 2012. http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/census/documents/census2011pdr/Census%202011%20Highlights%20Part%201%20web%2072dpi.pdf. Retrieved April 2012.
[edit] Further reading
-Zanaq.png){kind=small}
