I attended a talk on the rise of "Nones"--people who identify as not having a religion--in the UK. Some interesting takeaways:-
--For the first time in British history, more people identify as Nones than as religious
--Non-religious people abhor organized religion but a surprising proportion of them believe in God, have a spiritual practice, believe in the soul and the afterlife
--Only 13% of Brits think of the UK as a Christian country
--Churches are surprisingly popular in Sweden and Denmark (for funerals, etc.) where more than 60% of people identify as Nones.
--95% of children raised as non-religious remain so.
From the survey, Britain seems like a remarkable place, tolerant, even welcoming of foreigners and becoming more so. It feels anything like that but that is a topic for another day (or days).
I belong to the category of people who were raised as non-religious and remain so. However, I am not against religious faith, only against faith that manifests itself as intolerance towards others, which it often does. I believe anyone who has a concept of right or wrong, good or bad has a faith. Faith, to me, is belief in something that is absolute. That could be anything, god, a person, the soul, a moral code. It is based on conviction, not logical reasoning, although, of course, a belief can always be rationalized. Our actions might not always be true to our beliefs, but that is only because we are human. People with strong political beliefs can be as dogmatic as very religious people. Some atheists feel morally superior because they feel they don't need the crutch of a supernatural power to get through life. Well, believing you don't need the crutch of God is a faith too. I have little patience for militant atheists, most of whom tend to be privileged white men who often stray into Islamophobic and racist territory. Life is difficult and, at the risk of sounding biblical, there are many paths to salvation, some through religion. No path is better or worse than the other. This is not a defense of faith, but just an acknowledgement that faith is one of the things that makes us human.
--For the first time in British history, more people identify as Nones than as religious
--Non-religious people abhor organized religion but a surprising proportion of them believe in God, have a spiritual practice, believe in the soul and the afterlife
--Only 13% of Brits think of the UK as a Christian country
--Churches are surprisingly popular in Sweden and Denmark (for funerals, etc.) where more than 60% of people identify as Nones.
--95% of children raised as non-religious remain so.
From the survey, Britain seems like a remarkable place, tolerant, even welcoming of foreigners and becoming more so. It feels anything like that but that is a topic for another day (or days).
I belong to the category of people who were raised as non-religious and remain so. However, I am not against religious faith, only against faith that manifests itself as intolerance towards others, which it often does. I believe anyone who has a concept of right or wrong, good or bad has a faith. Faith, to me, is belief in something that is absolute. That could be anything, god, a person, the soul, a moral code. It is based on conviction, not logical reasoning, although, of course, a belief can always be rationalized. Our actions might not always be true to our beliefs, but that is only because we are human. People with strong political beliefs can be as dogmatic as very religious people. Some atheists feel morally superior because they feel they don't need the crutch of a supernatural power to get through life. Well, believing you don't need the crutch of God is a faith too. I have little patience for militant atheists, most of whom tend to be privileged white men who often stray into Islamophobic and racist territory. Life is difficult and, at the risk of sounding biblical, there are many paths to salvation, some through religion. No path is better or worse than the other. This is not a defense of faith, but just an acknowledgement that faith is one of the things that makes us human.
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