How many people worldwide have no religion or describe themselves as atheist or agnostic ?

Question

Please in your answer tell me what your own religion is.

Thank you.

Answer 1

A minority of people are Atheists (an estimated 4% worldwide from 1994 estimates).

People with no religion still tend to believe in God (not all of them are Atheists), and shouldnt be lumped together with Atheists. Agnostics dont know if there is a God (and should not be lumped together with Atheists).

More recent Gallup poll estimates in the US indicate that about 0.4% of Americans view themselves as Atheists (source: "Analysis: Atheism in America," Simon Scott, Weekend Edition, January 10, 2004)

There is evidence that atheism is actually on the decline for instance (in part because more people are becoming aware of the evidence for the existence of God).

I used to be an atheist. Over a period of time however, I grew convinced of the existence of the Christian God, and ultimately committed my life to Christ (e.g., see http://www.godsci.org/gs/chri/testimony/seek.html ).

For scientific and intellectual evidence for the existence of God, see http://www.godsci.org/gs/godsci/evidence.htm

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Based on www.adherents.com (from posts on this thread)-

1.1 billion people categorised as secular / non-religious / agnostic / atheist.

Note:
1. Secular -- does not mean the people do not believe in God;

2. Non-religious -- The majority of people who classify themselves as non-religious are not Atheists (they believe in the existence of some kind of God or the other, but do not participate in an organized church or religion).

3. Agnostics are not Atheists.

Consiering non-theistic faiths:

394 million Chinese traditional religions
These religions believe in the existence of the Supernatural (including spirits; God would be viewed as the highest spirit; so it is invalid to include these among atheists).

376 million Buddhists

The majority of folk Buddhists do believe in spirits (the highest of which would be God); and a very large number of Buddhists believe in polytheistic gods (remember that Buddhism was an attempt at reformation of polytheistic Hinduism).

The other forms of Buddhists are not classical Atheists -- since they believe in a supernatural (that can be reached by meditation) and ultimately the majority of Buddhists believe in an eternal state which is called Nirvana (basically a Hindu concept) or a variant on Nirvana -- not an Atheistic concept...

So adding Buddhists to Atheism would attempt to be an effort to inflate the numbers...

19 million Juche
In Juche, the people were to worship the dictator of N.Korea and his father (who is now dead). This is not a true form of Atheism. And the bulk of the people dont follow Juche voluntarily -- they are forced to follow this religion by their nominally Atheist leaders.

15 million Spiritism
Spiritism believes in the existence of Spirits and the supernatural. The highest spirit would be God. So it is not valid to include Spiritists among Atheists.

2 million Tenrikyo
This is not a form of classical atheism either...

800,000 Unitarian Universalists
I attended the Unitarian Universalist church for a while. The majority of the Unitarian Universalists in the church believed in the existence of some God or the other... If there were any atheists, they were a small minority. Furthermore I have not seen any official statement from the Unitarian Universalist church to say that they are atheist in their theology.

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One of the most influential intellectual atheists in the world has been Prof Anthony Flew (for about 50 years) -- writing many articles and books defending Atheism and attacking Theism... Within the last couple of years or so, he has come to believe in the existence of a deistic God -- in part due to the evidence for Intelligent Design (re the creation of first life, and possibly in part due to the influence of the Scientific Evidence for the fine-tuning of the Universe.)

Also, in response to a couple of other Atheist comments -- please note that ...

As mentioned above, I used to be an atheist. But over a period of time however, I grew convinced of the existence of the Christian God, and ultimately committed my life to Christ (e.g., see http://www.godsci.org/gs/chri/testimony/seek.html ).

Also, for scientific and intellectual evidence for the existence of God, see http://www.godsci.org/gs/godsci/evidence.html

Here are sources that refered to Atheism on the decline:

1. "Analysis: Atheism in America", Simon Scott, Weekend Edition, January 10, 2004 (info/article was on internet in 2004 -- http://www.highbeam.com)

2. "Analysis: Atheism Worldwide in Decline", United Press International, copyright 2005 (info/article was on internet in 2005 -- http://www.washtimes.com)

3. "Atheism becoming Less Popular", CBN News, March 7, 2005 (info/article was on internet in March 2005 -- http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews)

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Cordially,
John

Answer 2

Well if the world population is six and a half billion, even if those with no religion are a minority (which may or may not be true), it would be at least a few billion, maybe 2 billion, which is quite a few people.

I am a Unitarian. I believe in God, and I believe all religions have merit, not just one, and that God cannot be understood by us. I think there are many paths to God, and that one group alone does not hold the metaphorical key. It makes no sense that God would nurture the whole world (not to mention the whole universe), and then let in only one part of it. I started out as a mainstream Christian (Lutheran), became atheist for a period, then agnostic, and have been Unitarian for quite a long time now. I do believe that science and evolution are truth, since we cannot understand God, we also cannot understand how life started, only how it developed.

Answer 3

Agnostic (Atheist by any other name)

I love the way some people link to the most "Biased" websites they can find, to make their point. I guess they don't understand that is the same as telling a lie.

There are many so called "Christians" that I call "Jack" Christians because they are Christian out of convenience not because they are "Deeply Religious" or even believe in God
or go to church.

Also, there are far more "Other" religions, that do not believe that Christians are right. Less than 1/3 of the worlds population consider themselves Christian and of those approximately 55% are Catholic. While Atheists are running approximately 14.7%

The "Rub" here is that People of different Religions see the People of other Religions as "Wrong" about Religion. So, who is right?

The most troubling point in all of this is that the Children of the world are being "Brainwashed" into "Believeing" in some sort of Religion and their heads are being filled with "Religious Babble".
When they should be taught to "Think" for themselves and "Critical Thinking" should be the religion of all Homo Sapiens (Wise Man).

Answer 4

I am an atheist. Just as Christianity is common in the US, atheism and agnosticism is common in certain countries as well. People who grew up in countries in the USSR were often raised non-religious, and many remain agnostics and atheists today. I've found that many well-off and educated members of society in wealthy places to live are likely secular as well. I believe, though not positive, that around 15% of Americans are agnostics or atheists, and maybe 20% are worldwide. Because living a secular lifestyle is becoming more acceptable in most societies, atheism and agnosticism is on the rise. Education could also play a role in the increase.

Answer 5

Even if you are agnostic or atheist, you still have a religion. These people believe that they alone influence their own lives. They alone determine the principles their lives will adhere to. All the things provided by "conventional" religion are discerned individually. So they still have a religion. I'd guess 1 out of 5 are in entangled in this. The old "even though I did not create myself, I can do the rest on my own".

Answer 6

I think that a lot of people consider themselves athiest or agnostic but they actually have no clue what that means. So I would go with a small minority. Myself, I started off a Baptist (raised up) and went through many beliefs from buddhist to satanism. I finally have settled on the "I believe in God and that's where it stops". All I know is what I feel and that's what I trust. Most of my time is spent in research of other religions and faiths.

Answer 7

Atheism is the third largest "religion."

Atheism, the only logical choice.

1. Christianity 2.1 billion (you also have to consider that these 2.1 billion people are divided into tens of thousands of different denominations and can hardly be considered the same religion)

2. Islam 1.3 billion

3. Secular/Irreligious/Agnostic/Atheist 1.1 billion

Based on edsawyer's comment below, iIt would appear that atheists are the largest single unified group based on religious beliefs or non-beliefs.

Answer 8

According to www.adherents.com -

1.1 billion people categorised as secular / non-religious / agnostic / atheist.

This in addition to the following non-theistic faiths:

394 million Chinese traditional religions
376 million Buddhists
19 million Juche
15 million Spiritism
2 million Tenrikyo
800,000 Unitarian Universalists

If you (arbitrarily) say that 50% of these non-theistic religions are atheistic or agnostic, you get about 1.5 billion of us in total worldwide - more than Islam and second only to Christianity.

Answer 9

certain, I do. i do not ever imagine about God and comprise the idea of God in my on a daily basis existence, yet I gained't project to assert definitively that a God does or does not exist. interior of an same way, i visit't definitively say that an orbiting tea pot isn't circling the earth, or that the Flying Spaghetti Monster isn't gazing out for us, or that an invisible purple unicorn isn't holding my soul. the point is; I basically do not have any strong opinion on the topic. I have met non secular agnostics who pray daily, and believe there's a God listening. i do not truly pray, i'm style of "inspite of" about it because I understand the undeniable actuality that as a human being, my attitude of the international is truly constrained. There are not any definitive truths even as it is composed of God, so I stay my existence in an atheistic way, yet leave room for doubt.

Answer 10

There is no way there are 30 million atheists in America. The percentage of Americans that don't believe in a form of God is less than <10%.

Answer 11

I read an article not to long ago that said there are 30 million Atheist in America. As far as the world I have no idea.

I am an Atheist.