Uh, no, it actually isn't.
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Are there successful atheist countries?
- Thread starter Spiderman
- Start date
Uh, no, it actually isn't.
Anthem
Active Member
Aha. Sources please?
I happen to live in the place with the largest Catholic population of the world, for one.
But really, how exactly do you entitle yourself to call this "hearsay" just like that?
Anthem
Active Member
By what you said now for the second time. Because you offer nothing but that. No reasoning, no source, only your "experience", which btw I can't trust to begin with.
Trust me or do not, as your criteria advise you to.
That will not make me any less correct, nor your denial any wiser.
Anthem
Active Member
Uhh. Opinion cant be "correct".
Spiderman
Veteran Member
But I don't identify with a Religion or a tex. I know the definition of religion, but some people make a distinction between religion and spirituality.
That was your link and nowhere did you say it contains contradictory information
GoodbyeDave
Well-Known Member
Two useful rules:
1. Don't trust Wikipedia on things other than science and technology.
2. Don't rely on surveys conducted in a country by foreigners.
A few years ago, the University of Shanghai tried to determine the percentage of people in China practicing a religion. As a result of past persecutions, many made an excuse and left when the question of religion came up in the survey, but 60% were happy to say that the practiced a religion. The University estmated the true percentage as somewhere between 60% and 80%.
As an example of foreigners getting it all wrong, Pew reported that 65% of Japanese were "not religious". A local survey showed 85% practicing Shinto! The problem is that the adjective "religious", whether taken in the US sense or the (quite different) English one, will not translate into a sensible question in Japanese. I recently took an on-line Pew test and was deemed to be hostile to religion!
As some people are entitled to do. The fact remains you worship your deity despite not aligning yourself to a recognised recognised.
Religion : the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.
religion | Definition of religion in English by Oxford Dictionaries
Probably more akin to superstition
Not IMO, although it does not necessarily exclude religion either.
Nor does it necessarily exclude atheism, either, although it woudl be a somewhat more difficult fit.
There is really no way around the need to define what one understands by the words before reaching a meaningful conclusion.
One should also consider the often complex anthropological reality of beliefs and practices. It is not at all unusual for people to have what might be considered "circunstantial beliefs". For instance, many a "carioca" who does not even believe in Iemanjá ends up offering her flowers at New Year's eve nonetheless, perhaps mainly due to the ritual bonding aspects of the practice. It would be reckless to extrapolate from that.
Yemoja - Wikipedia
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Anthem
Active Member
What are facts?
Many Asian nations are animist which isn't a religion it's a belief system. You don't need to believe in god or gods to be an animist. Many witches are animist with no religion.