Irreligion
The word irreligion first appeared in English in 1598, borrowed from French terms that had emerged decades earlier. This linguistic history reveals a concept that has evolved alongside human thought for over four centuries. Scholars distinguish between mere absence of belief and active rejection of religious systems. Some definitions describe it as deliberate indifference toward religion, while others frame it as hostility to religious principles. The Oxford English Dictionary once labeled one definition obsolete, describing it simply as want of religion or disregard of religious conduct. Modern usage often treats the term as a synonym for unbelief, yet this equivalence obscures significant differences. A person may identify with a cultural institution without holding its doctrines or participating in its practices. Surveys frequently use lack of identification as a marker, but this approach can be misleading. Individuals might feel reasonable anxieties about giving politically correct answers in either direction. The distinction between secular and religious is culturally unique to the West, where concepts of natural and supernatural were historically undifferentiated.
In 2010, Pew Research Center estimated more than 1.1 billion people identified as religiously unaffiliated, representing about one-in-six individuals globally. China alone held the majority of these unaffiliated people, accounting for approximately 76% of the total. By 2050, projections suggest irreligious populations will decline as a share of world population from 16.4% to 13.2%. This shift occurs because highly religious countries experience faster population growth while less religious nations face shrinking demographics. In 2020, 78% of the global atheist and non-religious population lived in Asia and the Pacific region. Eleven countries now have nonreligious majorities, including North Korea, the Czech Republic, and Estonia. European Union members, East Asian nations, and Oceania consistently rank among the least religious regions worldwide. A 2022 Gallup International Association survey across 61 countries found that 62% of respondents considered themselves religious, while one-fourth said they were not. Only 10% identified explicitly as atheists, with the remainder expressing uncertainty or providing no response. These figures demonstrate how demographic trends vary dramatically across different geographic and cultural contexts.
Determining objective irreligion requires high degrees of cultural sensitivity, particularly outside Western societies where concepts of religion may not exist locally. Many religiously unaffiliated individuals still hold religious beliefs or participate in traditional practices. Scandinavian countries exemplify this complexity: 58% of Swedes identify with the Church of Sweden, yet 47% of atheists living there remain formal members of national churches. In China, about 85% of the population practices various forms of religious behavior regularly despite state atheism policies. Most East Asians who identify as without religion actually practice Shinto or other folk religions rather than Buddhism or Christianity alone. The Muslim world presents another pattern where claiming to be not religious often implies not strictly observing Islam rather than abandoning all spiritual frameworks. American Jews frequently share worldviews similar to nonreligious people while maintaining affiliation with Jewish denominations. Russia shows growing identification with Eastern Orthodoxy driven primarily by cultural and nationalist considerations instead of concrete belief. Cultural religion remains a vivid reality that researchers must account for when measuring secular populations globally.
Political scientists Ronald Inglehart and Pippa Norris developed an alternative thesis called existential security to explain declining religiosity. They argue that increased poverty and chaos make religious values more important to societies, while wealth and security diminish their role. As survival becomes more secure through reduced starvation and higher life expectancy, emotional needs for religious comfort decrease. This theory suggests faith is more emotional than cognitive in nature. From 2007 to 2019, 43 out of 49 countries studied became less religious, reversing earlier trends observed between 1981 and 2007. Only five countries moved toward greater religiosity during this period, with India standing as the most significant exception. Research from 1989 recorded disparities showing Christian and tribal tradition adherents leaving religion at greater rates than Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist followers. The decline correlates with reduced social need for traditional gender and sexual norms that all world religions historically instilled. Lower levels of corruption and murder appear in less religious countries, challenging assumptions about religion's necessity for public morality. These findings suggest development creates conditions where high birthrates encouraged by religion become less socially necessary.
In 1993, the United Nations Human Rights Committee declared article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights protects atheistic beliefs alongside theistic ones. The committee stated freedom to adopt a religion necessarily includes the right to replace current beliefs with another or to adopt atheistic views entirely. Signatories to the convention are barred from using threats of physical force or penal sanctions to compel believers or non-believers to recant their convictions. Article 36 of China's Constitution adopted in 1982 explicitly states no state organ may discriminate against citizens who believe or do not believe in any religion. A previous version from 1978 went further, stating citizens enjoy freedom to propagate atheism alongside freedom to believe in religion. Most democracies protect freedom of religion or belief through implied provisions within their legal systems. These frameworks recognize that those who observe no religion deserve equal protection under law. International human rights declarations establish that freedom of thought extends beyond traditional religious categories to include secular perspectives. Such protections ensure individuals can choose their spiritual path without fear of persecution or discrimination from government authorities.
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Common questions
When did the word irreligion first appear in English?
The word irreligion first appeared in English in 1598. It was borrowed from French terms that had emerged decades earlier.
How many people identified as religiously unaffiliated globally in 2010?
In 2010, Pew Research Center estimated more than 1.1 billion people identified as religiously unaffiliated. This group represented about one-in-six individuals globally at that time.
Which countries have nonreligious majorities today?
Eleven countries now have nonreligious majorities including North Korea, the Czech Republic, and Estonia. European Union members, East Asian nations, and Oceania consistently rank among the least religious regions worldwide.
What is the existential security thesis regarding declining religiosity?
Political scientists Ronald Inglehart and Pippa Norris developed an alternative thesis called existential security to explain declining religiosity. They argue that increased poverty and chaos make religious values more important while wealth and security diminish their role.
Does international law protect atheistic beliefs?
In 1993, the United Nations Human Rights Committee declared article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights protects atheistic beliefs alongside theistic ones. Signatories to the convention are barred from using threats of physical force or penal sanctions to compel believers or non-believers to recant their convictions.