WHY ARE BACKWARD COUNTRIES MORE RELIGIOUS?
Subodh varma
In a world of over 6.7 billion people, some
500 to 750 million people do not believe
in god. These estimates are based on a compilation of several studies over the last decade.
And, what is the trendline? According to Phil Zuckerman of Pitzer College California, atheism appears to be growing in economically advanced countries, including the US. But at the global level this trend gets reversed because religion is sill dominant in underdeveloped countries. These are the countries where the population is larger and growing faster than in the developed world.
These figures are estimates at best because of several factors; except for the advanced countries of western Europe, north America and a few others, large studies have not been conducted; people tend not to give direct answers - in fact often refuse to answer; and there are terminological problems (“absolutely not believe in god” or “I am not into religion”). Even so, the figures do provide a ballpark estimate.
Demographic studies show that atheists are usually younger, male, more educated, pro-choice, support women’s empowerment, and are opposed to corporal punishment.
A BBC survey of 2004 quoted by Zuckerman reported that less than three per cent of Indians did not believe in god, while a pair of British researchers (Norris and Inglehart) found that five per cent of Indians claimed to be non-believers. They also found that 88 percent of people regularly prayed.
Atheism appears to be most widespread in Europe. A Euro-barometer Report (2005) found that 33 per cent of the French, 27 per cent of Belgians, 25 per cent of Germans, and 20 per cent of the British do not believe in god or any sort of spirit or life force. Scandinavian countries show very high rates of non-belief in god. Several studies have found that atheism is becoming more popular in the US. Those calling themselves atheists range from five per cent (Pew 2007 study) to as high as 19 per cent (Harris poll 2008) of the population.
Atheism: Top 7 Countries
(% of total population)
Country Atheists /
Agnostics
1. Sweden 46-85
2. Vietnam 81
3. Denmark 43-80
4. Norway 31-72
5. Japan 64-65
6. Czech Republic 54 -61
7. Finland 26-80
(Source: ßill Zuckerman in ‘Cambridge Companion to Atheism,’ 2007)
(Courtesy: The Times of India, Crest Edition of 5th June, 2010)
