Jump to content

Irreligion

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 207.119.111.247 (talk) at 03:57, 12 February 2011 (Marxism: adding citation). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Irreligion is an absence of, indifference towards, or hostility towards religion.[1] Depending on the context, it may be understood as referring to atheism, nontheism, agnosticism, ignosticism, antireligion, skepticism, freethought, antitheism, apatheism, non-believer, secular humanism, Marxism or simply those who believe in God or a higher spiritual power, but do not participate in religion itself. Deism is also included in this group. Irreligion is not synonymous with Atheism.[2] Worldwide, half of the people who answer "No Religion" in polls and studies are further identified as theistic but not religious.[3]

Marxism

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels outlined the irreligion aspect of the Marxist ideology in their work The Communist Manifesto:

But communism abolishes eternal truths, it abolishes all religion, and all morality, instead of constituting them on a new basis; it therefore acts in contradiction to all past historical experience...The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a communist revolution.[4]

Marx often advocted the irreligion view:

Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness.[5]

However, the Marxist stance on religion was not a new position having been advocated just 15 years earlier by Adam Weishaupt founder of the Illuminati.[6]

Worldwide

Atheists, agnostics and nonreligious, by the Dentsu Institute (2006) and Zuckerman (2005)[7]
Gallup Religiosity Index 2009[8]
Irreligion on the World
Country Percentage of population that classifies themselves as irreligious Source
Estonia 75.7 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Azerbaijan 74 Gallup poll[10]
Albania 60 US Department of State - International religious freedom report 2006[11]

L'Albanie en 2005[12]
Some publications[13]

China 59-93 Some publications[14]
Czech Republic 59 (8% did not make any choice) Czech statistical bureau (2001 census)[15]
Japan 51.8 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Russia 48.1 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Belarus 47.8 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Sweden 46-85 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)[16]

Vietnam 46.1 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Netherlands 44.0 Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau[17]
Hungary 42.6 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Ukraine 42.4 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Latvia 40.6 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
South Korea 36.4 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Belgium 35.4 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
New Zealand 34.7 (from 87.3% who answered the optional question) Statistics New Zealand (2006 census)[18]
Chile 33.8 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Germany 32.7 German Worldview Research Group (2004)[19]
Luxemburg 29.9 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Slovenia 29.9 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
France 27.2 (23.9% of women, 30.6% of men) INSEE (2004 survey)[20]
Venezuela 27.0 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Slovakia 23.1 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Mexico 20.5 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Lithuania 19.4 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Denmark 19 Eurobarometer(2005)[21]
Australia 18.7 (from 88.8% who answered the optional question) Australian Statistics Bureau (2006 census)[22]
Italy 17.8 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Spain 17 Socialogical Research Centre (2005)[23]
United Kingdom 16.8 (from 92.7% who answered the optional question) UK National Statistics Bureau (2001 census)[24]
Canada 16.2 Kanada 2001 census[25]
Argentina 16.0 Gallup-Argentina survey, April 2001[26]
South Africa 15.1 Güney Afrika 2001 census[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) US-American Religious Classification Research (2001), US Census Bureau [28]
Croatia 13.2 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Austria 12.2 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Finland 11.7 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Portugal 11.4 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Puerto Rico 11.1 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Bulgaria 11.1 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Philipines 10.9 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Turkey 10.5 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
India 6.6 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Eski Serbia and Montenegro 5.8 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Ireland 4.5 Central Statistics Bureau of Ireland 2006 census[29]
Poland 4.6 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Iceland 4.3 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Greece 4.0 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Romania 2.4 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Tanzania 1.7 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Malta 1.3 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Iran 1.1 (Atheism and Agnosticism is forbidden) Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Uganda 1.1 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Nigeria 0.7 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]
Bangladesh 0.1 Dentsu Communication Institute Inc., Research Centre for Japan (2006)[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Irreligion. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. (accessed: December 14, 2008).
  2. ^ http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html#Nonreligious
  3. ^ http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html
  4. ^ Marx, Engels, The Communist Manifesto, 1848
  5. ^ Marx, K. 1976. Introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right. Collected Works, v. 3. New York
  6. ^ Catholic Encyclopedia [Illuminati http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07661b.htm]
  7. ^ Based on the data of the Dentsu Communication Institute and the data of Zuckerman. Largest values taken.
  8. ^ 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)
  9. ^ 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 Template:Ja icon http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/~honkawa/9460.html
  10. ^ https://worldview.gallup.com/default.aspx
  11. ^ "Albania". State.gov. 2006-09-15. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  12. ^ http://www.membres.lycos.fr/instantanesdalbanie/image/dossierdepresse.pdf
  13. ^ "Adherents.com". Adherents.com. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  14. ^ "Adherents.com". Adherents.com. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  15. ^ [1][dead link]
  16. ^ http://www.pitzer.edu/academics/faculty/zuckerman/atheism.html
  17. ^ [2][dead link]
  18. ^ [3][dead link]
  19. ^ "fowid - Forschungsgruppe Weltanschauungen in Deutschland: Home". Fowid.de. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  20. ^ "Insee". Insee.fr. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  21. ^ "Eurobarometer on Social Values, Science and technology 2005 - page 11" (PDF). Retrieved 5 Mayıs 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  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.
  23. ^ [4][dead link]
  24. ^ http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=293
  25. ^ "96F0030XIE2001015 - Religions in Canada". 2.statcan.ca. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  26. ^ "Table Of Statistics On Religion In The Americas". Prolades.com. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
  27. ^ [5][dead link]
  28. ^ [6][dead link]
  29. ^ "Microsoft Word - PDR 2006.doc" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-02-04.