Losing our religion? Two thirds of people still claim to be religious
- 63% of people polled say they are religious
- China is the least religious country with twice the amount of convinced atheists than any other nation (61%) followed by Hong Kong (34%), Japan (31%), Czech Republic (30%), and Spain (20%).
- Thailand is the most religious country globally (94%), followed by Armenia (93%), Bangladesh (93%), Georgia (93%), and Morocco (93%).
New research this Easter shows that worldwide six out of ten (63%) citizens say they are religious, while one in five (22%) say they are not and one in ten (11%) consider themselves convinced atheists. In Africa and the Middle East more than 8 out of 10 people (86% and 82% respectively) portray themselves as religious while 7 out of 10 say so in Eastern Europe and America (71% and 66% respectively) and 6 out of 10 (62%) in Asia, say they are.
The above is a poll from WIN/Gallup, International.
I'm not going to claim there is a causal relationship between war/violence and religion because we know that war can have multiple causes, but there is enough anecdotal evidence in hand garnered over a period of several thousand years to at conclude, at the very least, religion does not for peace make!
That's history speaking.
Now to the moment. At this moment, 63% of the world's people claim to be "religious," whatever that means. The most religious people can be found in Africa and the Middle East where a whopping 80% consider themselves religious. The U.S. of A 66%) comes in line with Eastern Europe (71%).
Tom Cotton will love that. We're not only very religious here in the US of A, but we're war-mongers. So maybe he's right when he argued today that Americans don't dislike war, they just don't like losing wars. What a guy! Jesus loves him. But for any sane person, he's an ignorant and very dangerous son-of-a-bitch!
Sorry about that Cotton bit, I got carried away. Actually, I'm not sorry, but back to the moment.
Obviously, religion per se, today, still does not make for peace. In some areas, it is painfully obvious that religion is indeed the cause of violence. Rather than cast stones, however, we need to look at this country: We still have troops in Afghanistan and some in Iraq. We are now providing military resources (and probably troops - consultants, ya know) to help fight ISIS. We are supporting Saudi Arabia's fight in Yemen. We have military bases and troops and ships and missiles everywhere! War is one of our largest American-made products and exports!
Now, while not all Americans are Christians, a large part of the population does claim to worship the "Prince of Peace." It's fascinating to me to see that so many of these so-called Christians really like war. They'd hang their Prince of Peace in a heartbeat! They hate with a passion - just about anybody who is not "one of them," who is different, who believes in other mythologies, or who believes in none.
Evangelical Christianity, after successfully taking over much of Congress, the U.S. Supremes, the state legislatures, city councils, county commissions and school boards across the land, is licking its collective chops at the prospect of taking over the White House for Jesus so they can take this country "back" (whatever that means!) and start more wars! Maybe even bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.
A final note: If I hear one more time some moron tell me you can't be good, have ethics or morals, without religion or believing in some deity, I'm gonna do some bomb, bomb, bombing of my own. Nah. Just kidding. I really don't believe in that violent stuff.
You can read the full article and all about religious belief around the world HERE.
3 comments:
I find it hilarious that the evangelical right doesn't seem to grasp the notion that the prince of peace would be a liberal: not a fan of rich people, tells his followers to look after the poor and needy, to turn the other cheek instead of pick a fight, to not be a sanctimonious prick... yes, Jesus is a long haired anti establishment hippie with strange ideas.
These conservative "Christians" seem to love everything about Christianity except the pesky Christ fella.
Dear learned Professor, I always learn so much when reading your thoughts, along with those of many of the regulars and of course our role model, the Blogger. I rarely read most blogs, as so many are looking for arguments and enjoy name calling, which I try to avoid. I enjoy learning from you all, as your views and opinions add to my knowledge, regardless of my agreement or not. I hope the next winners of the elections, locally and Nationally, will allow such free expression and find ways to prevent the automatic shouting if suspected of an unpopular question or comment. What a dull world that would be, if we are allowed to live, if expressing such thoughts.
Maybe they don’t like Jews or their parents or even their Gods and rules. They do not dwell on the upbringing, education, language, God, Religion, food and customs of their Lord and Savior as a devout Jew. Years and centuries passed before the religions based on his family and relative’s beliefs and practices became victorious and were established. Some still want to prevent his dietary laws, his circumcision, his marriage customs, funeral practices, etc. Strange isn’t it? Some think he spoke and wrote in English, years before it was anything similar to the English we know today. Could you imagine if the Holy Family were invited to a Christmas dinner for Jesus today, featuring a live or even a dead pig, with an apple in its mouth, with mixed dairy and meat dishes, next to a shell fish salad? How do you say OY VAY in Hebrew or Aramaic?
The real problem with Jesus, is that he did not speak any language heavily used by any people that quote whatever they think he might have or should have, said other than he did not like Jews very much. Pagan Romans became Italians eventually, (even a lot of Jewish ones)They would be surprised if they ever get to the Pearly Gates and have no clue as to what is being said to them in some ancient language, before being put on the down escalator to meet the guy they think of as evil personified. It will be very crowded and noisy down there. You know how loud some of those people can be.
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