Atheism and the end of the world

S.A.M.

S.A.M.

uniquely dreadful
Valued Senior Member
Infertility is killing off the secular world

In the former Soviet empire, where atheism reigned as state policy for generations, the United Nations forecasts extreme declines in population by 2050, ranging from 22% for the Russian Federation to nearly 50% for the Ukraine.

Secular western Europe will lose 4% to 12% of its population, while the population of the churchgoing United States continues to grow.


Is secularism at fault? The numbers do not suggest otherwise.

Humankind cannot abide the terror of mortality without the promise of immortality. In the absence of religion human society sinks into depressive torpor. Secular society therefore is an oxymoron, for the death of religion leads quickly enough to the death of society itself.


A visual comparison of population growth rates and degree of religious belief shows strong correlation.

The World Christian Database (www.worldchristiandatabase.org) reports the percentage of individuals declaring themselves "atheists" or "non-religious" in more than 200 countries, as well as economic and demographic data.

Using the 2005 population projections published in February by the United Nations Economic and Social Council,these are a number of measures of population growth to the data for religious belief.

The results are shown below.


spengler-population-growth.gif
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/GH02Aa01.html

Discuss.
 
According to the article, adult literacy rate affects the regression more than three times the amount secularism does.

[edit]
So that r-squared of 61% must also include secularism.
 
Nonetheless, religious belief (measured by the log of the percentage of non-religious in the population) remains a strong predictor even when adult literacy is introduced as a control variable (at the nearly 100% confidence level).
Click to expand...

Same article.
 
What this proves is that statistics can be used to prove anything. My guess is that, if you dig out the statistics, the countries with the very highest birth rates also have the highest death rates, infant mortality rates, lowest literacy rates, etc. I further surmise that most of these will be in Africa. Conclusion: countries with the highest birth rates have far more to think about than whether God exists or not.

Wait, let me dig out the statistics and see if I'm right or not..

http://www.aneki.com/lists.html

Yes, of course I am.

Some interesting anomalies: Italy, Monaco and Malta are 'low birth' countries with devout Catholic populations. Malta is the world's most Catholic population with something like 95% being devotees. Germany has one of the world's largest Christian populations in terms of numbers - 60,712,000 - but the world's lowest birth rate.

In any case, I'm distrustful of official statistics on religious affiliation (according to which I'm a Protestant, as noted previously). Only self-reported affiliation is of any real use in these matters.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/GH02Aa01.html

Humankind cannot abide the terror of mortality without the promise of immortality, I have argue in the past. In the absence of religion human society sinks into depressive torpor. Secular society therefore is an oxymoron, for the death of religion leads quickly enough to the death of society itself.
Click to expand...
It does come as something of a shock to the system when it hits you that there's no God. It's a bit like finding out that there's no Santa Claus. Some magic is lost. Nevertheless secularism is on the rise and the most secular societies appear to be doing reasonably well. Death there seems far from imminent. Is this wishful thinking on the author's part?
 
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Nevertheless secularism is on the rise and the most secular societies appear to be doing reasonably well
Click to expand...

Wonder how you would define secular societies. Most of the ones used as examples are post-WWII and have already undergone their ethnic cleansing to reach a more or less stable demographic where ethnicity/race is concerned. Multiculturalism in such places is also not easy considering the discrimination faced by immigrants and the laws being formulated against religious groups.

So secularism is secondary to an established demographic. Will it survive ethnic influx from different cultures? Europe does have the worst history of racial intolerance after all.
 
I'm puzzled as to why the correlation, between secularism and population growth, is even relevant.
secular societies are usually at higher educational levels, so it would go without saying, they would concider all the variables before bringing a child into this world.
it's not a case of infertility is killing off the secular world, it's a case of the secular world is concidering the future, and over population, global warming, green house gases, ice caps melting. extinction, etc.....

on the opposite end, because of a lack of education, theres a lack of care, a lack of empathy for our planet and people, an ignorance, thus the complete opposite is occuring, non-secularists parents, just dont concider the possible pitfuls first.
 
Geezer is right. The better educated have fewer children than the uneducated.

Also many of the devout follow rules/guidelines that prohibit certain things such as contraception, abortion or place more importance in boys for example and so keep on going until they get one, (there's a rabbi that lives down the road who has 6 daughters. He's still after a son).

I for one would happily see the world less populated but smarter as opposed to mass populated and stupid.
 
samcdkey said:
Infertility is killing off the secular world

In the former Soviet empire, where atheism reigned as state policy for generations, the United Nations forecasts extreme declines in population by 2050, ranging from 22% for the Russian Federation to nearly 50% for the Ukraine.

Secular western Europe will lose 4% to 12% of its population, while the population of the churchgoing United States continues to grow.


Is secularism at fault? The numbers do not suggest otherwise.

Humankind cannot abide the terror of mortality without the promise of immortality. In the absence of religion human society sinks into depressive torpor. Secular society therefore is an oxymoron, for the death of religion leads quickly enough to the death of society itself.


A visual comparison of population growth rates and degree of religious belief shows strong correlation.

The World Christian Database (www.worldchristiandatabase.org) reports the percentage of individuals declaring themselves "atheists" or "non-religious" in more than 200 countries, as well as economic and demographic data.

Using the 2005 population projections published in February by the United Nations Economic and Social Council,these are a number of measures of population growth to the data for religious belief.



Discuss.
Click to expand...

This doesnt surprise me at all. We atheists have never made up a big percentage of the world and never will IMO.
 
No - Europe is mostly Christian.
England is predominantly Church of... er... England.
Spain is predominantly Catholic.

Not sure of the others - but certainly Christian.
 
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