2000-2200 million: ascribed Christians (This number can actually be broken down further, as Catholicism and Protestantism could be considered separate religious views, not to mention the breaking down of the innumerable denominations of each.)
1300-1650 million: ascribed Muslims
1100 million: estimated irreligious or atheist peoples
828-1000 million: ascribed Hindus
400-500 million: ascribed Buddhists
These numbers are all speculative, assuming the average number of adults in a given region prescribe to the major religion in that region. Naturally, these numbers are skewed, as bias in questioning, etc., affect the results. As not every person can be asked and recorded by impartial judges, an accurate count is nigh impossible.
Three of the longest and most violent periods of wars are/were religious in nature. (Naturally, there were other causes as well, but they were waged in the name of religion.) The Crusades, the Reconquista, and the Jewish/Islamic Holy Land Wars. Untold numbers have been lost, not only combatants but innocents as well. The side effects of war, collateral damage, plague, pestilence, famine, kill more than any actual combatants (religious or otherwise in nature).
Every day people are born and have no choice but to be raised in the religion of their parents and peers. In the modern, technological world, it is easier for information to be spread and for people to make their own decisions on such matters as religion, but being inundated by fervor all of one's life makes such changing of decisions difficult or just not worth it.
Religion is responsible for the spread of ignorance and stupidity by upholding antiquated ideals and dissuading the embracing of new ideas. Outdated forms of thought on the rights of individuals, personal freedoms, and equality lead to a biased view of the world, and these views are impressed on those around us, making for a continuing cycle of antediluvian world and life views.
No comments:
Post a Comment