ApfelGanja Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 The religiously unaffiliated people make up the third largest group around the world after Christians and Muslims. This group estimates roughly 16 % of the world’s population and is heavily concentrated in Asia and the Pacific. According to a report conducted by ‘The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life’ the largest religious group is represented by Christians with 2.2 billion people (32% of the world’s population), second largest – Muslims with 1.6 billion people (23%), placing the religiously unaffiliated group in third place with 1.1 billion ( 16%) , followed by 1 billion Hindus (15%), nearly 500 million Buddhists (7%) and 14 million Jews (0.2%). The figures relate to 2010. People who practice folk or traditional religions are estimated at 400 million ( 6%) , while approximately 58 million people ( 1%) belong to other religions, such as the Baha'i faith, Jainism, Sikhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Tenrikyo, Wicca and Zoroastrianism. The geographical distribution of groups varies. Christians are dispersed all over the world, the Muslims mostly populate the Asia-Pacific region, Middle East and Africa and the Hindu group is concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region. More than three-quarters of the religiously unaffiliated reside in Asia, the majority in China with more than six-in-ten (62%) of all religiously unaffiliated people, and more than one-in-six people in Europe (18%) and North America (17%). The study reveals that Czech Republic is the first in the list of countries where the religiously unaffiliated make up the majority of the population, followed by North Korea, Estonia, Japan, Hong Kong and China. The unaffiliated group includes atheists, agnostics and people who do not identify themselves with any particular religion presented in the surveys. Many people from the group do have some religious beliefs, such as a belief in a higher power, and they do engage in certain kinds of religious practices, the report finds. Age differences are reflected in the geographical location of religious groups, for instance developing countries tend to have younger populations. Globally the median age of the religiously unaffiliated is higher (34) than the median age of overall global population (28); Jews have the highest median age (36), the lowest belongs to the Hindus (26) and Muslims (23); Christians have a median age of 30, according to the report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolf Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 The number of religious people I know (and spoke to last month) can be counted on one hand. And my social life isn't that bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krayzie Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 No religion right here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApfelGanja Posted December 19, 2012 Author Share Posted December 19, 2012 No religion right here. Same here although I do follow a 'jewish culture' so to say as my mother is Jewish and we celebrate Hannukah and such and go to Synagogues and things, even though I am a non-believer. The number of religious people I know (and spoke to last month) can be counted on one hand. And my social life isn't that bad. I live in Cyprus, where there is a high % of Orthodox Christians so I know quite a few but most of my friends are 'non-practicing christians'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefke Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 The number of religious people I know (and spoke to last month) can be counted on one hand. And my social life isn't that bad. I know a lot catholics and every time I see them I end up in a discussion/fight with them... (the reason I avoid seeing them as much as possible) This doesn't mean I don't respect their beliefs, although I don't share it. It's more that they don't respect my opinion on the matter (and start the argument , forcing me to defend) Anyway, I'm not raised with a religious view to begin with (my mom isn't religious, my grandparents aren't). Well, not in a 'die hard' way that is. I am baptized and that thing you do at age of 12 (can't be bothered to look up the English term ) But I haven't been to the Church since the age of 12, think I was 13-14 when I was completely done with it. Dunno why, it's just the case... In the end I don't care what people belief, I will respect their opinion if they respect mine. This unfortunately is often not the case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolf Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 (edited) Over 50% here in the Netherlands is non religious. And although I know slightly more than 10 people ( ), many of them don't have a religion. But in my experience that occurs more often in the city and on (technical) universities, I know a lot of regions in the Netherlands where that isn't the case. I know a lot catholics and every time I see them I end up in a discussion/fight with them... (the reason I avoid seeing them as much as possible) This doesn't mean I don't respect their beliefs, although I don't share it. It's more that they don't respect my opinion on the matter (and start the argument , forcing me to defend) For me it's the same, I just don't know many religious people. Although I've been invited (and accepted) to go this Sunday to a Monastery for a Christmas diner. Having a girlfriend puts you in weird situations Edited December 19, 2012 by rolf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwarren Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 I was brought up Christian. Church every Sunday for 16 years. While I am atheist, I still follow some traditions, although I have re-purposed them. Christmas (for example) is celebrated in my house as a time for giving. Not just the giving of gifts to family, but giving to my fellow man. Volunteering at soup kitchens, shelters, and with disadvantaged kids. Being atheist is difficult at times. That difficulty comes mostly from family. I have always respected their belief system. Somehow, they can't see their way to respect mine. My closest blood relative is 1600 miles away. But I still get pushback from them when I visit my hometown. My mother had my kids stay overnight on one visit. Their cousins were staying also. At dinner, my mother told them thsy have to pray at meals and taught them to say grace. Their cousins were encouraged by my mother to, in my opinion, ridicule my kids for not knowing any prayers. I have always allowed my mother to say grace before dinner when she visits at my home out of respect for her beliefs and have taught my kids that in any religous situations to be respectful and just sit there quietly. And they do. But what my mother did was totally unacceptable and I let her know it. You see...... to me, it's about respecting other people's beliefs. But it seems that most organized religions can't leave it alone at that. I am not an atheist out of ignorance. I can still quote (and understand) bible verses easily. I have studied the histories of other religions and understand them. Tolerance, respect, the conscious to do right vs. wrong. It is a basic natural thing. Religion seems to make it murky and actually ends up showing very little of these basic things. Bottom line for me..... I don't try to infringe on other's belief systems...... don't infringe on mine. Too much to ask? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFighter Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 so 5 on 6 people have religion : / that certainly not match in holland, most people dont have a religion here. or they have maybe from house out but never do anything with it. im catholic from origine but frankly not believe in much more then myself I think that is the case with the most people in Holland. From origine we have a faith but do nothing with it or don't believe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwarren Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 so 5 on 6 people have religion : / that certainly not match in holland, most people dont have a religion here. As evidenced by what I just did looking at your avatar pic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApfelGanja Posted December 19, 2012 Author Share Posted December 19, 2012 I was brought up Christian. Church every Sunday for 16 years. While I am atheist, I still follow some traditions, although I have re-purposed them. Christmas (for example) is celebrated in my house as a time for giving. Not just the giving of gifts to family, but giving to my fellow man. Volunteering at soup kitchens, shelters, and with disadvantaged kids. Being atheist is difficult at times. That difficulty comes mostly from family. I have always respected their belief system. Somehow, they can't see their way to respect mine. My closest blood relative is 1600 miles away. But I still get pushback from them when I visit my hometown. My mother had my kids stay overnight on one visit. Their cousins were staying also. At dinner, my mother told them thsy have to pray at meals and taught them to say grace. Their cousins were encouraged by my mother to, in my opinion, ridicule my kids for not knowing any prayers. I have always allowed my mother to say grace before dinner when she visits at my home out of respect for her beliefs and have taught my kids that in any religous situations to be respectful and just sit there quietly. And they do. But what my mother did was totally unacceptable and I let her know it. You see...... to me, it's about respecting other people's beliefs. But it seems that most organized religions can't leave it alone at that. I am not an atheist out of ignorance. I can still quote (and understand) bible verses easily. I have studied the histories of other religions and understand them. Tolerance, respect, the conscious to do right vs. wrong. It is a basic natural thing. Religion seems to make it murky and actually ends up showing very little of these basic things. Bottom line for me..... I don't try to infringe on other's belief systems...... don't infringe on mine. Too much to ask? Hear, Hear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clan Friend SunLight Posted December 19, 2012 Clan Friend Share Posted December 19, 2012 So 1 out of 3 is Christian, or they just say they are Christian, because I know a lot of people who, when asked, they say (as if it was obvious) they believe in such and such religion, but looking at what they do in practice, I am not sure if they actually believe. If I see someone handling a box without care, and I am told that he truly believes a powerful bomb is in there, I'm always skeptical Personally I value things like spirituality, ethics, seeking for truths about us and the universe, but I don't think religions are always the right place where to look for those things 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajnl Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 (edited) I was brought up Christian. Church every Sunday for 16 years. While I am atheist, I still follow some traditions, although I have re-purposed them. Christmas (for example) is celebrated in my house as a time for giving. Not just the giving of gifts to family, but giving to my fellow man. Volunteering at soup kitchens, shelters, and with disadvantaged kids. Being atheist is difficult at times. That difficulty comes mostly from family. I have always respected their belief system. Somehow, they can't see their way to respect mine. My closest blood relative is 1600 miles away. But I still get pushback from them when I visit my hometown. My mother had my kids stay overnight on one visit. Their cousins were staying also. At dinner, my mother told them thsy have to pray at meals and taught them to say grace. Their cousins were encouraged by my mother to, in my opinion, ridicule my kids for not knowing any prayers. I have always allowed my mother to say grace before dinner when she visits at my home out of respect for her beliefs and have taught my kids that in any religous situations to be respectful and just sit there quietly. And they do. But what my mother did was totally unacceptable and I let her know it. You see...... to me, it's about respecting other people's beliefs. But it seems that most organized religions can't leave it alone at that. I am not an atheist out of ignorance. I can still quote (and understand) bible verses easily. I have studied the histories of other religions and understand them. Tolerance, respect, the conscious to do right vs. wrong. It is a basic natural thing. Religion seems to make it murky and actually ends up showing very little of these basic things. Bottom line for me..... I don't try to infringe on other's belief systems...... don't infringe on mine. Too much to ask? I don't see how Christianity has made right/wrong murky. But anyways, as a Christian I think the reason why other Christians have a hard time dealing with others not being Christian especially they raise is because a couple different reasons. 1. If you truly believe in Christianity, then you should automatically want everyone else to as well. Think about it, if you have something extremely great and important to tell people and it is something you want everyone to know and believe then you would also seem a bit pushy. 2. Again assuming you truly believe in Christianity, you would believe that some1 who is not Christianity would not get saved right, and why would want some1 not be saved? So obviously you are going to try and tell everyone. Now no one can get you to believe or not, all we can do is tell people about what we believe and why. These above to arguments/reasons did not come from a Christian, but from an atheist. He said to me, "if what you believe is true, then you should be a lot more excited about it, and you would want to tell anyone and everyone." Anyways, this is why Christians can seem pushy. I'm sorry that your family hasn't been accepting. But I think that your mom probably feels like failure, considering that as a parent you feel responsible to bring up your kids in the correct way and Christianity is a big part in that. I'm just saying. So 1 out of 3 is Christian, or they just say they are Christian, because I know a lot of people who, when asked, they say (as if it was obvious) they believe in such and such religion, but looking at what they do in practice, I am not sure if they actually believe. If I see someone handling a box without care, and I am told that he truly believes a powerful bomb is in there, I'm always skeptical Personally I value things like spirituality, ethics, seeking for truths about us and the universe, but I don't think religions are always the right place where to look for those things You are right, there are some people who say they are Christian and who aren't. But also Christians are just people, so yes we mess up and do the wrong things too. Never said we were perfect... so 5 on 6 people have religion : / that certainly not match in holland, most people dont have a religion here. or they have maybe from house out but never do anything with it. im catholic from origine but frankly not believe in much more then myself I think that is the case with the most people in Holland. From origine we have a faith but do nothing with it or don't believe 49% of the people in the Netherlands are not religious. Roman Catholicism is the highest at about 25% Edited December 19, 2012 by ajnl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwarren Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 I don't see how Christianity has made right/wrong murky... Murky? Christianity promotes the values of respect, tolerance, and right vs. wrong in it's teachings, yet practicing those things is a different story. More people have been killed in the name of Christianity than anything else since recorded time. ..."feel responsible to bring up your kids in the correct way"... Your use of "correct" implies that raising children in a non-Christian way is incorrect. That right there is the lack of tolerance and respect that I am trying to describe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wifestein Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 so 5 on 6 people have religion : / that certainly not match in holland, most people dont have a religion here. or they have maybe from house out but never do anything with it. im catholic from origine but frankly not believe in much more then myself I think that is the case with the most people in Holland. From origine we have a faith but do nothing with it or don't believe We have people with common sense in Holland :] Other countries seems to lack a lot of it rofl rl Wish there was no religion at all in this world, would have been so much better... less hate towards things. I'm not going to talk any more about religion now, I'll just end up only saying bad words, words can't describe how much I even hate it plus there's nothing positive about religion 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinfulRaevyn Posted December 19, 2012 Share Posted December 19, 2012 100% Agnostic. Neither side, Atheist or Theist can prove nor disprove the other.... You'll find out when you're dead. Secondly.... this shit needs to stop. And by that, I mean Religious/Political/Gun/Whatever topics that you normally shouldn't bring up in mixed company. There is no room for it here. All it does is bring up pointless arguments from both sides, and eventually turns friends into enemies. Keep these stupid discussions off of a gaming forum. -.- 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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