Atheism In Decline
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The headlines trumpeted Gallupâs claimsââAtheism is on the rise on a global level.â But, is it really? Concerning atheism, Gallupâs twin claims are [1] 13% of the worldâs population are âconvinced atheists,â and [2] since 2005, âthe number of people around the world who claim⦠atheism rose 3%.â This suggests a rise from 10% atheists in 2005 to 13% in 2012. Yet, looking deeper into Gallupâs report, we find that the number of âconvinced atheistsâ rose from 4% in 2005 to 7% in 2012. Yet this last figure (7%) is almost half the previous claim of 13%. So, whatâs going on? Do atheists represent 13% of the worldâs population or only 7 %, or (perhaps) even less? Again this shows how âshakyâ these figures are. In the âsmall printâ weâre told only 40 countries were polled in both 2005 & 2012, so Gallupâs claim that âatheism rose 3%,â is based on 40 countries, not 57. Obviously dropping 17 countries has a marked effect on the results. Again this suggests that Gallupâs dramatic claims are based on tenuous data; they lack a solid basis.
Global Atheism is NOT on the Rise
The World Christian/Religions Database (WCD) has been collecting data for decades on religious & non-religious affiliation for all the worldâs countries. They pool all the relevant survey data from all available sources; hence their data is more reliable than Gallupâs. WCD figures consistently show that globally the number of atheists has been virtually unchanged since 2000. They estimate that in 2000 there were 140 million atheists (2.3% of global population). By 2012 this number had declined slightly to 136.6 million. Since the worldâs population grew, atheistsâ share declined to under 2% (1.9% to be exact). These WCD data refute claims based on Gallupâs results that the âNumber of atheists around the world is risingâ and that relatively, âAtheism is on the rise on a global level.â Although âno religionâ and atheism may be on the rise in the developed world (like Canada), trends in the âthird worldâ of developing nations are more important (given their large populations) in determining the global share of various religions & non-religions. In fact, on the global level, Christianity in general and evangelical Christians in particular, is growing faster than the worldâs population and more rapidly than either atheism or agnosticism. Gallup will need much more survey data and better survey methods in order to overturn these well-established observations.
http://churchintoronto.blogspot.com/2012/08/global-atheism-on-rise-really.html
Global Atheism is NOT on the Rise
The World Christian/Religions Database (WCD) has been collecting data for decades on religious & non-religious affiliation for all the worldâs countries. They pool all the relevant survey data from all available sources; hence their data is more reliable than Gallupâs. WCD figures consistently show that globally the number of atheists has been virtually unchanged since 2000. They estimate that in 2000 there were 140 million atheists (2.3% of global population). By 2012 this number had declined slightly to 136.6 million. Since the worldâs population grew, atheistsâ share declined to under 2% (1.9% to be exact). These WCD data refute claims based on Gallupâs results that the âNumber of atheists around the world is risingâ and that relatively, âAtheism is on the rise on a global level.â Although âno religionâ and atheism may be on the rise in the developed world (like Canada), trends in the âthird worldâ of developing nations are more important (given their large populations) in determining the global share of various religions & non-religions. In fact, on the global level, Christianity in general and evangelical Christians in particular, is growing faster than the worldâs population and more rapidly than either atheism or agnosticism. Gallup will need much more survey data and better survey methods in order to overturn these well-established observations.
http://churchintoronto.blogspot.com/2012/08/global-atheism-on-rise-really.html
Data from the highly regarded General Social Survey, a cumulative and nationally representative survey conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago found that with each additional year of education:
â The likelihood of attending religious services increased 15%.
â The likelihood of reading the Bible at least occasionally increased by 9%.
â The likelihood of switching to a mainline Protestant denomination - Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian USA or United Methodist - increased by 13%.
So stop making up "fairy tales" and use actual data to support your claims. This study proves that the more educated you are, the more likely you are to be religious.
This Data would also seem to point out that you have no formal education past high school.
OH SNAP! GOTCHA!
It is sad and borders on child abuse to brain wash our youth in believing religious myths. A man living inside a fish, all the land animals and birds travel from all over the world to ride in a boat, the water level rises above the low oxygen content of the highest mountain tops the boat grounds close to where it launched and all the animals and birds traveled back across the globe to repopulate the earth. A man living over 900 years. A lady turning to salt. Geezus H Christ if people believing in this ancient mythology are increasing that is sad indeed.
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What is the third world?