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Week 6 [07.05-13.05.2018] Atheism and modernity


The religion has always played an important role in the history of the mankind, starting from paganism until modernity. It has been expressed in many different forms in various parts of the world.
Nowadays we are facing an interesting fact when religious feelings are developing in two totally different directions, which are atheism and fanaticism. This video presents the most atheistic countries of the world.
  1.  Did you know that Asian countries are more atheistic than the rest of the world? In your opinion what can be the reason of this fact?
  2. What is the future of Europe in terms of religion?
  3. Do you think there is any possibility that atheists develop radical feelings/attitudes similar to those of fanatics?



Comments

Unknown said…
1. Well your video stated that 76% of Asia-Pacific population is non-religious. I wasn’t expecting that since India’s population is even higher than that of China. The reasons where stated in the video. Specifically, China’s Confucius philosophy and their communist ideology.
2. I hope and from what I can see the percentage of non-religious people will be increasing. I’m myself agnostic or apatheist.
3. Obsession over denial of theism goes only so far. I don’t think we can observe any such cases where atheism resembles fanaticism.
Jakub Nietupski said…
I think that China is the biggest factor that contributes to the fact that South East Asia is the most atheistic region in the world. As it was stated in the video, communist government of People's Republic of China has a history of prosecuting religious groups.
I think it is impossible to predict future of Europe or any other region in the world but I hope that our continent will increase in its worldview openness and everyone will be able to hold any religious affiliation they desire (or lack of thereof).
It is possible that any ideology develops into fanaticism and because of that it is important that our governments hold firm position on keeping their worldview neutrality and the separation of church and state.
Unknown said…
I didn't know about it. I think that reason why Asian countries have a bigger percentage of atheistic people is related to cultural norms of those countries. Like it was mentioned in video "Shinto" for example is not technically a religion but rather a philosophical concept of life perception. Asian countries just have a slightly different vision of what religion is all about and their system of beliefs is different from ours.
Well, I don't qualified enough to answer that question. But future of religion in Europe it certainly depends on different cultural factors.
I don't think so, I think it is religious people who are most likely to develop fanatical attitudes and feelings, but still, it is not always related directly to religion but rather to the way religion is presented to people.
Andrzej Gulak said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Filip Sawicki said…
The main reason, at least for China was the cultural revolution started by Mao. The communist government wanted to control every part of citizens life, that included religion. For most of its history all religious groups were persecuted, because of the conflicting ideology with communist regime. In my opinion Europe will become more and more atheistic, however reasons for that are not obvious. I guess people find religion less interesting and helpful in everyday life than it used to be in the past. I don’t think that atheists will develop that kind of radical approaches to any other religious group. Atheists should be indifferent to any religion but at the same time respect everyone’s believe.
Unknown said…

1. I was surprised that those figures are so significant for Asian countries. Reasons for the status quo were outlined in the video. First, is the way of how the religiosity is categorized - on the example of Japan, where most people claim to be atheists, 80 % percent of people practice Shinto religion which is not treated as a religion because it does not rely on central deity. Another reason mentioned in the video is politics - in communist countries like China, North Korea and formerly Czechoslovakia, authorities deny religion in order to have bigger influence on their citizens.
2. In my opinion ratio of atheists to religious people will be increasing in Europe, on the other hand Islam will also be gaining popularity in Europe because of immigration process.
3. I don’t think so. By its nature atheism is netral, there is no god that atheist can pray to so they don’t need to fight and try to convert followers of other religions.
I think that atheists are more educated, strong and clear thinking persons because they don't need to think that there some who who can solve their problems. Religion is a good way to control and manipulate people. People that believe in something always restricted by some rules and sometimes this rules is no good.
Jakub Lisicki said…
I wasn't sure that the Asian countries were the least religious ones, but if I had to guess, I would probably bet for these countries. Why? I had a chance to be in Thailand and while many people there are spritual, the "religion" doesn't seem to be anywhere close to what we perceive as one. They surely believe in ancestors influence, ghosts, offerings to the dead, but it's not really much apart from that. The buddhism itself seems to be more of a life philosophy than any religion in our understanding. Who was Buddha and is he a god? No, he isn't. Neverthless there are a lot of symbols connected to him anyway.
Even though it seems to be pretty fine now, I think that the Europe is going to become less and less religious. The current statistics show that many people become atheists/agnostics or even spiritual instead of blindly following the (pretty often outdated) laws imposed by many various religions. The trend is most noticeable especially among the people with higher education.
It is possible that atheists would develop a hatred-filled culture like that, but that wouldn't be the case for all of them. There are always people among all of the (non-)religious communities which can't stand the fact that other people don't agree with their own beliefs.
Iman Masjedi said…
In my opinion, in every country, if religious power prevails in that country, and corruption in this society is high, the desire of people to become atheist is very high.
Poor and less well educated people are more likely to be religious, while atheists are more likely to be well educated. The significance of that is that well educated people tend to have smaller families than poor and less well educated people. It is projected that in spite of a continuous and growing leakage of people from religious belief to atheism, religious families will have enough descendants for religions such as Christianity, Islam and Hinduism to continue to grow.
The population of atheists will no doubt increase in Europe in future , but whether the global proportion of atheists will increase depends on whether the number of religious people leaving religion is sufficient to balance the relatively smaller families of atheists.
Unknown said…
I didn't know that. I guess, it's because they have so many gods that it's hard to believe in all of them, and if you start to disbelieve in one god from whole pantheon, you will disbelieve others.
I think Europe will become even more atheistic than it is now. And yeah, I guess some atheist are already like fanatics. But i think that it's more USA or eastern and central europe tendency than west Europe
Unknown said…
Did you know that Asian countries are more atheistic than the rest of the world? In your opinion what can be the reason of this fact?
The reason is stated in the video and its due to clasification of there specific kind of religion.
What is the future of Europe in terms of religion?
Well only god knows that. But it's upsetting news for those people who like tech progress.
Do you think there is any possibility that atheists develop radical feelings/attitudes similar to those of fanatics?
I believe that most atheists don't care that much and the way of religion propagation itself push people towards radicality due to tendency of motivate people more than peaceful.
Unknown said…
1. I know that Asians are atheists. Even I know that there is such a myth that the Chinese gods were killed for bad actions, they learn this myth in their childhood, so they do not think that the missions died for the sins of other people, and this happened because they themselves were sinful. And of course, they are developing countries and they adhere to that "universal laws" are subject to the universe, and not to God alone.
2. My observation from life leads to the conclusion that there will be more Muslims in Europe, and the total number of atheists will decrease but will increase where it already exists: the Czech Republic, France. But the religion of Buddhism probably can disappear in 70-80 years, because the new generation no longer strives to know itself, everyone wants to know the world.
3. No, I think that atheists try not to express their point of view since in the soul, all the same, fear the retribution for words, but different religions: Islam and Christianity can attract fanatics.
Asian countries are more atheistic because of the nature of local religions, that are encouraging understanding of oneself and the world arund one, instead of abrahamic religions that were more of a unification and submission tools. I am a believer myself, though i don't associate myself with one certain religion but rather learn about phylosophical and cultural aspects of different religions of the world and thus enriching my own transcendental understanding, i would like such openness towards other religious thoughts to be the future of Europe. That is funny but sometimes atheists are more fanatical than religious fanatics, some atheistic people are prone to judging believers for their views, some even get prone to agressive statements, and others are normal chill guys who don't care about all religious stuff, which is okay. But at least atheists do not form cults yeah?
Vladlen Kyselov said…

It seems to me that this is due to the high level of education and development in Japan, and as science knows, in some sense, an opponent of religions, because daily progress in science helps people understand that everything in the world is not arranged with the help of God's power. As for the radical directions of atheists, everything is possible in full because for people who still believe in God, and then in a few days, months, years, they learn a new scientifically proven fact and their faith begins to crumble. At such moments, groups of dissatisfied people can gather in propaganda groups, which is very dangerous to my mind.
This video made me realize the difference between atheism and apatheism. Honestly, it presented me that there is not only atheism. I really don’t have any idea why Asian countries are more atheistic than the rest of the world but I suppose it’s because of historical reasons.

I am not able to predict the future but I hope that everyone would be able to choose his own religion and doesn’t rely on the fact that his parents/friends/relatives believe in God or not.

It’s all about the perception of it. There is always such a possibility.
Unknown said…
I hadn't idea. Interesting. Perhaps this is due to the fact that there aren't many churches in Asian countries and religion is much less known, which means that there are a lot of atheists? Hard to say.

Nowadays it's hard to say. I think of course that religion will survive and will be present in our lives as it is now.

Everything is possible. But this isn't just about atheists. Any religion can have its own fanatics. It only depends on the man how he will act. Of course, not everyone is concerned and the atheist doesn't mean a fanatic.
Foodocado said…
I didn't know that and to be honest, I have no idea why is like that. I've never been interested in these kinds of topics.

I think, the more society is educated, the more people will become atheists. In the same time, we should respect those people who believe in god.
Unknown said…
I think Asian culture is less atheistic than most countries maybe not Europe.
True to the History i think Europe will stay strong in God. Unless some global even happens and changes our authorities Europe will stay Christian.
I think its possible but not by the nature of atheism (and excluding mentally ill people).
What i mean is when there is someone or a group of people trying to attack your religion or lack of it in this case, a natural reaction is to defend against it. If more and more Christians/believers start actively attacking ostracizing atheists they might develop an radical anti-god side doing what Christians did to them.
Unknown said…
Yes, I agree with what you said in general. Especially what you commented on the second and third question is very up to date taking into account the current circumstances.
Marcin Górski said…
To be honest, I have never interested in Asia, all the more their religion. I really want to go there but it's too expensive for me. First question is too hard for me.
I think that number of atheistic people will be growing up. To be honest, I'm Christian but there are a lot of controversial topics with that religion and I'm sure that it hasn't good impact on that.
It depends on that people but I think that atheistic people are quiet and I have never met a radical one.
I'm an atheist. In fact, I am an agnostic, but it's not important now. I believe that religion is becoming obsolete for the modern man and society. Most scientists and researchers also adhere to atheism. Because sooner or later humanity will be able to explain absolutely all incomprehensible phenomena around us and there will be no room for religion. Of course, religion has a lot of weight in society and the spiritual development of a person. It dictates the morality. I believe that person can do the right thing and good deeds and without regard to religion.
Unknown said…
I'm not an expert of religion, so I have no idea why Asia is the most atheistic region in the world.
I think that European people become less religious nowadays, maybe because we don't have any wars in our region, so we don't have to believe in a better future. Other thing is that people are getting smarter and more open-minded, because of internet access, so they can choose the information they want to receive.
Every ideology might be dangerous and cause fanaticism and I think it all depends on education, because sadly every fanatism is born of manipulation
Illia Kalinin said…
No, I did not expect such a big number of non-religious people. From my point of view the reason of it may be the fact that asians are different than we are.
According to the number of years religion is in Europe I may say that nothing gonna change in our age.

Do you think there is any possibility that atheists develop radical feelings/attitudes similar to those of fanatics?

In my opinion there are always some possibilities in any case. So, I may say that people who are interested in this kind of activity permanently work on their achievements.
Unknown said…
Did you know that Asian countries are more atheistic than the rest of the world? In your opinion what can be the reason of this fact?
Yes, and it's not surprising for me - there is nonreligious China, that is much more populated than some continents. And those regions always were more atheistic than rest of the world.

What is the future of Europe in terms of religion?
I have no idea, and this could change from one generation to another by 180 degrees.

Do you think there is any possibility that atheists develop radical feelings/attitudes similar to those of fanatics?
Well... Isn't it already this way? When atheists are more like anti-theists, attacking (mostly) Christianity and accusing religion of being the tool of mass control... But they are believing in the flat Earth, harmful vaccinations... Or doesn't see, that their actions are harmful for people, they are "trying" to save from the religion.
Bartosz Łyżwa said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bartosz Łyżwa said…
Personally I don't like to talk about religion. It's our own choises, convictions and nobody can tell us it's wrong approach. I haven't known taht Asian countries are more atheistic than the rest of the world but I have no idea why. In my opinion it's a family tradition. I am a catholic because my grandparents are, my parents are - in a greater or lesser extent.
Unknown said…
Totally agree with you.
I've never heard some informations about this topic, because I wasn't interested in it.
I really like your second sentence. I'm not a religious person, I do not believe in any God, but on the other hand - I respect people's beliefs.
Unknown said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said…
1. I know that Asian countries are more atheistic that the rest of the world and I think that it is partly because kind of a comunism which is still working in the China. They successfully persuade that people should belive in their president not in the God.

2. I think that the Europe should wake up and come back to our roots. I don't think that all of us should be a catholics but we shouldn't tolarate laws from another religions on our land. I really don't understand that we allow for something like sharia areas or something like that. We should fight with this because it is a cancer of Europe and another terorrists atack in Paris is the best example that Europe is sick and we should cure this disease.

3. I really don't like such type of atheists who laught from other people that they believe in something. I think that it is your own business if you believe in God or you are a atheist and we shouldn't fight against each other.
Unknown said…
1. Did you know that Asian countries are more atheistic than the rest of the world? In your opinion what can be the reason of this fact?
I find it very surprising, as I though it is the opposite. I always associated Asia with multiple religions and true believers and there you go.. The reasons for this were in fact stated in the video (China for instance).

2. What is the future of Europe in terms of religion?
I honestly don't know, but I think the increase of atheist will continue to the point where only true believers will left and I think it's good.

3. Do you think there is any possibility that atheists develop radical feelings/attitudes similar to those of fanatics?
It is possible, but I find atheists also as a people who don't really care about religion etc. so I guess it is not likely for them to develop such feelings.
Unknown said…
No, I didn't know that. Maybe because religion is not my thing, for me it's more likely to divide rather than unite. Like I mentioned in the other historicalish article - I've never been interested in this kind of knowlage. But if I have to answear, the reason could be indoctrination. In Europe religion was(and maybe still is) priority for some people. In Middle Ages people respected and glorify authorities because of their "connection" to deities. In Asia, people respected authorities because of their power I think - thay was just scard of the consequence of their actions.

I don't know and I don't really need to know.

I don't thinks so, they just want to feel free I belive. They want to live their live like they want and respect moral code rather than some God rules(from any religion, overall)
Unknown said…
Yes, I was aware of that fact. I think the history stands behind it.
Future of Europe religion is one of the topics that wonder me the most recently. I see so many ways that it should follow. We see now a significant increase of different religions in Europe which for sure will affect it. I hope that it won't cause any problems and will only develop our broader perspective and acceptation to other people feelings. I found myself atheistic, with all this though comes from I believe there is zero chance that we would develop any "fanatic behaviour". We don't care about others since they don't care about us.
This comment has been removed by the author.
I didn't know that asian countries are more atheistic than the rest of the world, but I think more valuable is not atheism but religion. And this region have huge religion influence in their lives. So historically they don't have gods, but it does mean that they don't have historical beliefs. I think religion know have large influence on politics, and we have these "free from handling Sundays" and other rules because of it. But here is question, the main goal isn't to make anyone to become religious person/atheist, but to give truly free choice of what to belief.
Unknown said…
I have heard that asian people just call it philosophy. I can't say more, because I don't really know, but it is a really interesting topic, I should find more info about that. I like and dislike to talk about the religion at the same time. Politics and religion are the most controversial things to talk about, so I try to avoid it, especially with the new people. And I am agree with the third statement, because all the radical can't be normal, so if you are obsessed with some idea, no matter if is pro or cons, you can be a fanatic, so radicalism is not a healthy thing. Thank you for your presentation.
Illia Lukisha said…
1. Did you know that Asian countries are more atheistic than the rest of the world? In your opinion what can be the reason of this fact?
No, but I think that religion it's no just belief in God. And they have another culture, that we easily can call a religion.
2. What is the future of Europe in terms of religion?
I don't no. But now we have cultural diversity, and I think it will increase.
3. Do you think there is any possibility that atheists develop radical feelings/attitudes similar to those of fanatics?
I think It's already true, because I've met people that are more enthusiastic in proving that there's no God, that they are much worse than religious people, that don't impose you their beliefs.
Cecylia said…
I have never been thinking about which country is more atheist then another , but i'm surprised about Asia because it like they have temples and stuff but i never thought that its all about nature an spirituality . Its good because its real . they believe in the natures goods so it gives i logical and clean explanation to everything. I live in Poland and its awful if it's about religion . its so much exaggerated . in France its a lot less but then to Arabian immigrant came with their Muslim thing . so i'm afraid that Europe will become a huge conflict and the most stupid is that actually i will be for now reason because believes are only in our head . its not event real. I don't know how to respond at the third question .

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