Irreligion
 | This article possibly contains original research. (September 2009) |
Irreligion is an absence of, indifference towards, and/or hostility towards religion.[3] Depending on the context, it may be understood as referring to atheism, deism, nontheism, agnosticism, ignosticism, antireligion, skepticism, freethought, or secular humanism. Irreligious people may have convictions equal in depth to those of religious adherents. For instance, followers of the life stance of Humanism may regard themselves as just as deeply believing in their life stance as corresponding to any religious belief.
Although people classified as irreligious might not follow any religion, not all are necessarily without belief in the supernatural or in deities;[original research?] such a person may be a non-religious/non-practicing theist or even an agnostic theist.[citation needed] In particular, those who associate organized religion with negative qualities, but still hold spiritual beliefs, might describe themselves as irreligious or agnostic theist.
List of countries by Irreligion
Dentsu Communication Institute provides data for respondents, who stated they have "no religion". Phil Zuckerman uses the strictest definition, citing "atheist and agnostic" proportion numbers. The numbers come from different years, and might not be accurate for countries with governments that require or urge religion or secularism.
| Country | Dentsu[4] (2006) | Zuckerman[5] (2005) |
|---|---|---|
 China |
93% | 8 – 14% |
 Sweden |
25% | 46 – 85% |
 Vietnam |
46% | 81% |
 Denmark |
10% | 43 – 80% |
 Estonia |
76% | 49% |
 Norway |
31 – 72% | |
 Albania |
70% | |
 Japan |
52% | 64 – 65% |
 Czech Republic |
54 – 61% | |
 Finland |
12% | 28 – 60% |
 France |
43% | 43 – 54% |
 Netherlands |
55% | 39 – 44% |
 South Korea |
37% | 30 – 52% |
 Germany |
25% | 41 – 49% |
 Belarus |
48% | 17% |
 Russia |
48% | 24 – 48% |
 Hungary |
43% | 32 – 46% |
 United Kingdom |
31 – 44% | |
 Belgium |
35% | 42 – 43% |
 Ukraine |
42% | 20% |
 Slovenia |
30% | 35 – 38% |
 Latvia |
41% | 20 – 29% |
 Bulgaria |
30% | 34 – 40% |
 Israel |
15 – 37% | |
 Chile |
34% | |
 Luxembourg |
30% | |
 Canada |
26% | 19 – 30% |
 Slovakia |
23% | 10 – 28% |
 Switzerland |
17 – 27% | |
 Venezuela |
27% | |
 Austria |
12% | 18 – 26% |
 Australia |
24 – 25% | |
 Taiwan |
24% | |
 Spain |
16% | 15 – 24% |
 Iceland |
4% | 16 – 23% |
 New Zealand |
20 – 22% | |
 Mexico |
21% | |
 United States |
20% | 3 – 9% |
 Lithuania |
19% | 13% |
 Italy |
18% | 6 – 15% |
 Greece |
4% | 16% |
| Northern Ireland |
16% | |
 North Korea |
15% | |
 Armenia |
14% | |
 Argentina |
13% | 4 – 8% |
 Croatia |
13% | 7% |
 Singapore |
13% | |
 Uruguay |
12% | |
 Kazakhstan |
11 – 12% | |
 Philippines |
11% | |
 Portugal |
11% | 4 – 9% |
 Puerto Rico |
11% | |
 South Africa |
11% | |
 Mongolia |
9% | |
 Cuba |
7% | |
 Dominican Republic |
7% | |
 India |
7% | |
 Ireland |
7% | |
 Kyrgyzstan |
7% | |
 Serbia and Montenegro |
6% | |
 Peru |
5% | |
 Poland |
5% | |
 Turkey |
3% | |
 Romania |
2% | |
 Tanzania |
2% | |
 Iran |
1% | |
 Malta |
1% | |
 Nigeria |
1% | |
 Uganda |
1% |
See also
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- Irreligion by country
- Antireligion
- Atheism
- Agnosticism
- Deism
- Humanism
- Ignosticism
- Nontheism
- Skepticism
- Importance of religion by country
References
- ^ 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)
- ^ Irreligion. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. (accessed: December 14, 2008).
- ^ Dentsu Communication Institute 電通総研・日本リサーチセンター編「世界60カ国価値観データブック Template:Ja icon
- ^ The Largest Atheist / Agnostic Populations Zuckerman, 2005