Irreligion in the Western Society

 

Introduction

A study themed ‘The Global Religious Landscape- Religiously Affiliated’ by Pew Research Center estimated that 16% of the world population (1.1 billion people) are non-religious, including agnostics, atheists, secular humanists, and people who answer none or no religious preference when asked an open-ended question about their religious preference. The report also noted that many of the religiously unaffiliated have some religious beliefs and the majority of religiously unaffiliated come from Asia and the Pacific.

A 2012 survey conducted by WIN- Gallup international dubbed the ‘Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism’ found that 36% of the world population is not religious (including atheists) and that between 2005 and 2012 world religiosity decreased by 9%.

The same report done by pew research center also found that in a country like America, which may be considered as the most liberal of all western societies, 51 million or about 16.4% of its population is religiously unaffiliated. This study includes both adults and children (Winston, 2013).

Research indicates that large groups of individuals that are non-religious are usually from Asian societies; however, irreligion is slowly spreading and taking root in the western society. This state in western society is mainly attributed to the fact that more people in this society are questioning the very existence that explains religion. So, what is irreligion?

Irreligion

Irreligion is the absence of religion in a given society or given individuals. It is also termed as indifference towards religion, rejection of religion or hostility towards religion as a whole. This is according to the encyclopedia of religion and society. The term changes when characterized with either rejection or hostility. When characterized with rejection of religion, it involves atheism, which is the rejection that there are no deities, and secular humanism. On the other hand, when characterized with hostility towards religion it involves ant religion, antitheism, and anticlericalism. When characterized with indifference it includes apatheism (Campbell, 1971).

History of irreligion in the western society

The first case of irreligion experienced in the western society was in France, during the French revolution in the sixteenth. In this period, the spirit of free inquiry was evoked to decide which of the various Christian traditions were true and which false, there had constantly appeared, inquisitive or daring minds which disputed or denied them all. The train of thought, which in the time of Luther had expelled from the Catholic fold several millions of Catholics, drove a few Christians every year out of the pale of Christianity. Irreligion had spread among sovereigns and wits, but it had made no progress among the middle classes and the people; it was a fashionable caprice, not a popular opinion.

The fundamental principles of the Church were at war with those which they desired to see prevail in the civil government of the country. The Church was founded on traditions: they professed the greatest contempt for all institutions claiming respect in virtue of their antiquity. It recognized a higher authority than individual reason; they allowed of no appeal from reason. It clung to the notion of a hierarchy; they insisted on leveling all ranks. The two could never come to an understanding, unless both admitted that political and religious societies, being essentially different, could not be governed by like principles. As they were far from any admission of this kind, it seemed to the reformers necessary to destroy the religious institutions of the time in order to reach the civil institutions, which were constructed on their basis and model (Byron, 2003).

The scenes that took place in France were without precedent. Established religions had often been violently attacked, but the fury, which assailed them, had always been inspired by zeal for some new religion. Even the false and detestable religions of antiquity met with no violent or general opposition until Christianity arose to displace them. Before that event, they had died of old age, quietly, in the middle of doubt and unresponsiveness. In France, the Christian faith was furiously assailed, but no attempt was made to rise up another religion on its ruins. Ardent efforts were made to eliminate from men’s souls the faith that was in them, and leave them empty. A multitude of men engaged warmly in this ungrateful work. Absolute infidelity, than which nothing is more repugnant to man’s natural instincts, or produces more discomfort of soul, appeared attractive to the masses. It had formerly given rise to a sickly languor: it now engendered fanaticism and propagandism. The species of constraint laid upon the enemies of the Church increased instead of diminishing their power (Byron, 2003).

Why irreligious beliefs are getting more and more common

The church

The great religious upheaval of the sixteenth century contributed to the long-term decline of religion and the rise of secularism in the West. The most important effect was the reality of religious division itself. Beginning in the late sixteenth century, Western Christians had to begin to cope with the reality of what would later be referred to as pluralism. In the midst of a continually multiplying number of groups claiming to have the truth, it becomes difficult for many people to believe that any faith can be true. During the religious wars in France, the essayist Michel de Montaigne, though a supposed Catholic, expressed certain skepticism about all religion. He wondered how the people on opposite sides of the wars could be so certain of their beliefs. The fact that people held to contradictory beliefs with dogmatic certitude was, for Montaigne, grounds for wondering how either side could be right.

This attitude was not widely shared by contemporaries, but in the next century, it came to be expressed more openly. The argument of the initial skeptics was, "If a variety of religious groups each claims to have the truth, and each claims that all the others are in error, does it not seem reasonable that all of them are in error?" this still remains an issue to date and the church can no longer fully defend its position (Winston, 2013).

Modern Christianity is much the same as the Christianity that was there during the French revolution. It stresses ethical teachings, denigrates the importance of basic doctrines, relegates belief to people's private lives, and is embarrassed by open displays of religious enthusiasm. The familiar modern social convention appeared whereby it is considered bad manners to discuss religion, in part because it is likely to be conflict-ridden.

Science

Over the years, religion has tried to stamp out science. This is because, science fills in the gap that religion failed to do. It would take man a long time to work out the problem of reconciling scriptural authority with scientific discovery. Over the years philosophers have criticized religion while coming up with reasons that explained the once was supernatural and divine. Instead of placing the existence of humanity and earth in the traditional history of creation, science became the logical reason for everything formerly unexplained or mystical. Constituting the existence of humanity and cosmos to both science and religious facts at the same time is not possible. Alternatively, more drastically spoken, for those people, religion can only be marked as a false science (Paulos, 2009).

Modernization

Similar to the process of secularization, modernization is rooted in a revolutionary situation of the eighteenth century. Initially evoked by the rise of the enlightenment in Europe, the Industrial Revolution in the UK in 1750 was the starting point of the modernization era. After the emergence of the industrialization in England, the commonness of modernization reached Europe closely after the French Revolution in 1789. Since then modernization occurred as an essential interdependent modification in the political, socio-cultural, economical, as well as technological level (Casanova, 2009). The first phase of the modernization process was coined by the boost of the scientificational worldview and the substantial growth of productivity. According to research in most of the European countries, modernization caused a great shift of guiding values to the direction of an improvement of human existence in the present world rather than in the beyond world. In short, religious values and beliefs had to give way to a new worldview arising out off the progress of modernization. This is still the issue to date.

Economic security

Economic security has been one of the major outcomes of the modernization era in Western countries and especially in Europe. Above all goals to be attained, the personal well-being has been one of the highest objectives. Man was trying to achieve and maintain after the rise of modern society. No one would vehemently disagree to the general notion that a high religiosity is mostly distinct in countries or societies suffering of bad economic conditions, such as poverty or misery. Furthermore, religious belief becomes prominent in situations inevitable in human life, such as in times of death, mourning, sufferings, tragedies and frustration. So, one could easily conclude that anytime Man is desolated by luck and prosperity, faith in religion becomes more prominent and vice versa (Paulos, 2009). Although this common view of the interdependence of religiosity and personal well-being through economic wealth is not generally rejected, clear evidence is not easy to achieve. Studies carried out in more prosperous western countries indicate that the more prosperous the country, the less the people believed in religion.

Alternatives

Irreligion is slowly growing due to the vast number of alternatives availed to those who do not believe in religion. Since time in memorial, the people against religion believed in nature and science. There has however never been any concrete alternative to religion and therefore all those who subscribe to this school of thought believe in whatever they want to believe in.

Religious violence

Over the past decades, religion has been subject to violence either internally or externally. There have been cases where two different religions are at war with each other. Religious violence does not refer exclusively to acts committed by religious groups, but also includes acts committed by secular groups against religious groups. One of the most prominent reasons for the "rise of the secular in Western thought was the reaction against the religious violence of the 16th and 17th centuries. He asserts that the secular was a way of living with the religious differences that had produced so much horror. Under secularity, political entities have a warrant to make decisions independent from the need to enforce particular versions of religious orthodoxy. Indeed, they may run counter to certain strongly held beliefs if made in the interest of common welfare. Thus, one of the important goals of the secular is to limit violence (Bland, 2003).

Conclusion

Irreligion in the western society was a phenomenon that slowly took root-replacing religion. It has been established that there are many reasons that have led to this particular development. Research shows that this staggering number keeps on growing on a daily basis with more people forsaking religion for no religion at all. From this perspective, it seems that this trend will continue growing. Since the world keeps on rapidly modernizing as well as science, keeps on making progress that further pulls individuals from religion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Brundell, B. (2010). The Day of the Atheists. Compass (10369686), 44(3), 6-11

Casanova, J. (2009). The Secular and Secularisms. Social Research, 76(4), 1049-1066.

Corbin, C. (2012). Nonbelievers and Government Speech. Iowa Law Review, 97(2), 347-415.

Gefter, A. (2008). Review: Irreligion by John Allen Paulos. New Scientist, 197(2641), 48.

Paulos, J. A. (2009). Irreligion: A mathematician explains why the arguments for God just don't add up. New York: Hill and Wang.

Winston, K. (2013). Unbelief is world's third-largest 'religion.'. Christian Century, 130(2), 14.

Wolde-Mikael, K. (2003). The interrelation of Modernization and Religion in Western Society.

‘The Global Religious Landscape - Religiously Unaffiliated.’ Pew Research Center.

‘Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism’. WIN-Gallup International. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 04 April 2013.

Byron, B. (May 2003). Evil Enemies: The Convergence of Religion and Politics