# Majority atheist world: How far away are we? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 31, 2011, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913 "2011-12-31T03:19:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/21 "2011-12-31T18:18:11Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Believing in a life force isn’t theism. Believing in a God is theism. Believing in a life force or some sort of supernaturalism isn’t atheism either. It may not be traditional theism, but it’s not atheism. ---
**Author:** ![auRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@auRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auRa)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/22 "2011-12-31T18:31:45Z")
> [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](#): > > I think Americans vastly overestimate the number of atheists in Europe. In my home country of Finland 80% of the population are members of the state church. In Sweden the corresponding number is 70%. Yes, but I think you vastly overestimate the number of people belonging to the Ev.Lut. Church who actually ever think about religious matters at all vs. those who were christened as babies and have since then been to church once when they were confirmed and then that other time when their cousin got married. Let’s face it, we have the word “tapakristitty” for a reason. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/23 "2011-12-31T18:33:35Z")
> [@SDMBKL](#): > > Um… so what’s the point of having the majority of the population’s being atheist? I do not think that religion will ever die out. Religions provide thoughtful philosophies of life, and people live according to those philosophies of life. Religions console people’s fears and focus more the people’s spiritual relationship with the god(s). Now, there is nothing wrong with being an atheist either. I think that being an atheist person frees one from following one set of philosophies and allows the said person to enjoy whatever works. I agree. I think atheism and religion like so many other things represent the duality of human nature-- **yin & yang**. The exuberance of the one owes itself to the steady pushback of the other. Could there even be atheism without religion? Could a thing exist without its opposite? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/24 "2011-12-31T18:38:22Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > The closer you come, tyhe farther away you’ll get. Eventually, you’d just substitute bad religion for good, including superstition and state worship. Doesn’t apply to the great many self-ID skeptical humanists/agnostics/atheists I’ve met. Why would it apply if they were in the majority? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/25 "2011-12-31T18:40:53Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Descendants. You have an interesting definition of “entirely possible”, especially since it is unlikely there is a “religious fanaticism” gene. Hey, if there is a [“God part of the brain,”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurotheology) it must be gene-coded and it must, therefore, be possible to . . . tweak it. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/26 "2011-12-31T18:41:17Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Believing in a life force or some sort of supernaturalism isn’t atheism either. It may not be traditional theism, but it’s not atheism. Is it animism? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/27 "2011-12-31T18:42:34Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Also, there is no good religion. [_ahem_](http://www.subgenius.com/) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/28 "2011-12-31T18:43:34Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > As for the OP, I suppose if you consider Western Europe to be “majority atheist”, then all you have to do (ha!) is introduce Western European culture to the majority of the globe. Done. Next? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/29 "2011-12-31T18:48:02Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > Could there even be atheism without religion? Certainly. That is, a post-religious society is conceivable. Strident atheists would be few if any because they would be beating the bones of the dead. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/30 "2011-12-31T18:52:52Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Hey, if there is a [“God part of the brain,”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurotheology) it must be gene-coded and it must, therefore, be possible to . . . tweak it. For the sake of humanity, I hope not! If someone figures out how to “tweak” the God part of the brain, that opens a door to other things. Mengelian-type things. If the God part of the brain can somehow be deactivated, then somewhere down the line it will be possible to deactivate other aspects of human neuroanatomy other Josef Mengele-analogues may find offensive. Like homosexuality. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/31 "2011-12-31T19:02:54Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Certainly. That is, a post-religious society is conceivable. Strident atheists would be few if any because they would be beating the bones of the dead. To decisively rid mankind of the religious impulse and the need to worship, you must annihilate mankind. Either that or use science to twist humanity into something non-human. Sub-human. ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/32 "2011-12-31T19:04:54Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > … Then again, if we blow ourselves up then the world _will_ technically be 100% atheist; rocks and ash don’t believe in gods. > [@kanicbird](#): > > Even that is in dispute: > > _**Originally Posted by Luke 19:40 > “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”**_ > > So I suggest you have to get rid of the rocks too unless you wish to put forth a differentiation between rocks and stones 😃 Very good, kanicbird. So… predictable! _ **True Blue Jack, the Boner of Salvation, and One True Og** _ ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/33 "2011-12-31T19:09:33Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > To decisively rid mankind of the religious impulse and the need to worship, you must annihilate mankind. Either that or use science to twist humanity into something non-human. Sub-human. Or into Gods! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/34 "2011-12-31T19:31:04Z")
This thread, like many on this board, seems to be conflating ‘religion’ with ‘monotheism’, particularly one of the three great monotheist religions that originated in the Middle East. > [@kanicbird](#): > > Perhaps, but can atheism and spirituality play well together? Yes. I find it astonishing the question would even be raised. Of course they can. In fact, one could argue that belief in a personalized god, or even adherence to any organized religion, must necessarily inhibit true spirituality. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/35 "2011-12-31T19:59:58Z")
I may be missing something here: Where do we look for societies that are majority atheist with relatively high birthrates? (The inverse case being, of course, rather easy to find.) It seems as if the current trend is very much _away_ from a majority atheist world. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/36 "2011-12-31T20:36:39Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Of course they can. In fact, one could argue that belief in a personalized god, or even adherence to any organized religion, must necessarily inhibit true spirituality. While I can see this, particularly for a organized religion, how would spirituality effect atheism? I could see that spirituality would ‘derail’ a atheistic society, in that it involves a personal journey of growth and questioning what we have learned, and possibly individual enlightenment (such as the Buddha) One can argue that a Buddhist society is atheistic, but is that the way we commonly think of what a atheistic society would be. And is that atheistic in the sense of the OP? ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/37 "2011-12-31T21:24:13Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > I agree. I think atheism and religion like so many other things represent the duality of human nature-- **yin & yang**. The exuberance of the one owes itself to the steady pushback of the other. Could there even be atheism without religion? Could a thing exist without its opposite? See Buddhism, and specifically Nagarjuna, where he demonstrates that “opposites” may not actually be so (and not, “they aren’t mutually exclusive after all,” but more like “only logic makes them seem to be opposed.”). ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/38 "2011-12-31T22:27:18Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Hey, if there is a [“God part of the brain,”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurotheology) it must be gene-coded and it must, therefore, be possible to . . . tweak it. Three words: “ice pick religiotomy.” What a wonderful world it would be! ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/39 "2011-12-31T22:52:16Z")
Not for a while. Depends on if all the wishy-washy Christians/Muslims/Jews/etc. drop the charade, people abandon the New Age shit, and just openly admit they’re atheists/agnostics/deists. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913/40 "2011-12-31T23:14:11Z")
Alright, but _you_ get to explain it to my mother. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/majority-atheist-world-how-far-away-are-we/607913.md?page=3)