Demographics of Atheism

“ ...the imperfect data which exists suggests that between 500 million and 750 million humans currently do not believe in God ...”

It is difficult to make reliable estimates about the prevalence of atheism in the contemporary world. As Phil Zuckerman points out in his recent presentation of the findings of up to date surveys concerning rates of nonbelief in God in various countries worldwide (Atheism: Contemporary Numbers and Patterns, 2007), attempting to work out what percentage of a given society believes in God is beset with methodological difficulties. These include low response rates to surveys, non-random samples of populations, adverse political/cultural climates and terminological problems.[1] Nevertheless, according to Zuckerman's estimates, the imperfect data which exists suggests that between 500 million and 750 million humans currently do not believe in God.[2]

Surveys show that the nations with the highest degree of atheism 'include most of the nations of Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, and Israel', whereas 'it is virtually nonexistent in most of Africa, South America, the Middle East, and Asia'.[3]

There have been various attempts to explain this unequal distribution. As Zuckerman notes, Norris and Inglehart,[4] often regarded as offering the leading explanation, have argued that high levels of atheism in a society are strongly correlated with high levels of societal health, such as low poverty rates and strong gender equality. Societies with adequate food distribution, good public health care, and accessible housing generally show a waning of religiosity, while societies where there is inadequate food and shelter and life is less secure show much higher levels of religious belief.[5] With the exception of Vietnam (81% nonbelievers in God) and Ireland (4%-5% nonbelievers in God) Norris and Inglehart maintain that the results of the available surveys corroborate their theory.[6]

North America would seem to constitute something of an exception here. According to Norris and Inglehart's own estimates, only 6 percent of those in the US do not believe in God, although it is an advanced industrialised nation.[7] However, they argue that the high degree of religious belief in the US can nevertheless be accounted for by the theory, since it is 'one of the most unequal postindustrial societies', with many sectors of US society being exposed to a high degree of economic insecurity, threat of unemployment, fear of sudden illness without adequate health care provision, and vulnerability to crime.[8] (It is doubtful how adequate an explanation this is if taken on its own: the exceptionality of the US case may be better explained by taking into account a variety of historical, cultural, economic, political and sociological factors).

With respect to future trends, it is difficult to give a simple answer to the question of whether worldwide atheism is growing or declining. Worldwide atheism is in decline, but as Zuckerman also points out this has partly at least been attributed to the fact that 'highly religious nations have the highest birth rates in the world, and highly irreligious nations have the lowest' ones.[9] On the other hand, surveys also seem to show that within specific advanced industrialised nations, namely, 'Canada, Australia, and various European countries', loss of belief in God has continued.[10]

References

Norris, Pippa, and Ronald Inglehart. Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Zuckerman, Phil. "Atheism: Contemporary Numbers and Patterns." In The Cambridge Companion to Atheism, edited by Michael Martin. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Bibliography

Footnotes

[1]↑ Phil Zuckerman, "Atheism: Contemporary Numbers and Patterns," in The Cambridge Companion to Atheism, ed. Michael Martin (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 57.
[2]↑ Ibid., 61.
[3]↑ Ibid.
[4]↑ See Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart, Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004).
[5]↑ Zuckerman, "Atheism," 55.
[6]↑ See Ibid., 57.
[7]↑ Ibid., 48.
[8]↑ Ibid., 62., quoting Norris and Inglehart, Sacred and Secular, 108.
[9]↑ Zuckerman, "Atheism," 59.
[10]↑ Ibid., 60.

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