Posted on 01/13/2023 8:42:26 PM PST by SeekAndFind
How do you feel about religion?
As Statista's Katharina Buchholz details below, depending on which country you are in, this question is more or less likely to be met with a shrug or even an objection to religious belief.
In China, the highest percentage of people among the 56 countries and territories included in the Statista Global Consumer Survey is non-religious or atheist, the latter describing people rejecting the idea that there is a God.
You will find more infographics at Statista
Among European countries, Germany ranks high for the share of its non-religious and atheist population, which stands at around a third of survey respondents aged 18 to 64.
Even in a country often associated with religiousness - Italy - a quarter of people between these ages are not religious today.
Religion has a somewhat stronger hold on the United States, Russia and Brazil, while in South Africa, the non-religious are in the single digits at just 9 percent of adults under the age of 65. In India, finally, being non-religious or atheist is virtually unheard of, with just two percent of survey respondents saying they fell into one of the two categories.
I think the percentages of non-believers are probably higher than the survey suggests. Many who say they are not “non-religious’ or “atheist” probably have very vague “spiritual” beliefs that do not significantly inform their daily lives.
Leftism is now the world’s largest religion.
I suspect the amount of believers in China is much higher but they lie when asked. Notice how Russia has the same amount as USA believers even though Russia was officially atheist under the Soviets?
I was atheist for 50 years. Then I dropped to my knees in prayer. God is real and is everything. Literally everything. There are infinite universes splitting into infinite more with every photon that hits something. He is everything in all of them. God is the fiber of the universe and the infinite number of universes. It boggles the mind.
He laughs at us at times but God is good.
Amen 🙏🏻!!!!
And the biggest mental disorder on planet earth.
Some of the most dogmatically religious people do not know they are religious.
Part of their religion is to denounce religion.
To believe that an exceedingly vast, systematically ordered universe, exquisitely finely tuned for life, with intricate astounding complexity all is a result of purely natural processes requires much faith, more so than that the universe logically testifies to design, requiring a First Cause, (at the least) that of a supreme intelligence being behind the existence and organization of matter and energy and onward.
Evel Knievel testimony Transcript: https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/evelknievelccfaithstestimony.htm
I never thought that I would be here — ever. I just was a person who always believed in God — there was a God Power. But I always had trouble believing in the Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I — I don’t know why I fought it so hard. I just did. But I — I think maybe it was the power of prayer. Maybe God just got sick and tired of me fighting it so much. He reach out and grabbed me and said, “Look, I just want you. You’ve got to stop this nonsense. You just — You just come with Me.”
Anyway, before the Daytona Bike Week this year, I — I started thinking about God more and more. And I called people and talked to them. I don’t know why. I just did. I called a friend I hadn’t — I hadn’t talked to in 30 years. His name is Eldon Wright and he belongs to the New Hope Community Church in Portland, Oregon. I talked to him and he called me back a week later. He said, “I’ve had my whole church praying for you. The whole church is praying for you.”
And I said, “Well, that’s not the first time that this has happened. My daughter’s had her entire church praying for me in Bozeman, Montana. And my ex-wife, Linda, she’s had her whole church praying for me in Butte, Montana” — and she’s has prayed for me for 25 or 30 years that I would become a Christian. I — Oh, I get letters from people, hundreds of letters from people saying we read an article about you where you don’t believe in organized religion. You’ve got to believe in Jesus Christ.
So, I don’t know what in the world happened. I don’t know if it was the power of the prayer or God himself, but it just reached out, either while I was driving or walking down the sidewalk or sleeping. And it just — the power of God in Jesus just grabbed me. It just took a hold of me. So strong. I can’t tell you how strong it was. And I became a persona who was filled, was just filled with Christianity.
All of a sudden, I just believed in Jesus Christ. I did. I believed in him! I just — I don’t know what happened to me! I just — I rose up in bed in Daytona, the second night I was there. I rose up in bed and, I was by myself, and I — I said, “Devil, devil, you bastard! You, get away from me! I — I cast you out of my life.” I went to the balcony of my hotel room. I said, “I will take you and throw you! — throw you on the beach. You will be dead. You will be gone. I don’t want you around me anymore.”
I — I did everything I could. I — I just got on my knees and prayed that God would put his arms around me and never, ever, ever let me go. I just — all of a sudden was just overcome by the Spirit of God, Almighty.
And my wife, Crystal, she had been trying to help me with things I wanted, even though she didn’t believe at the time. She doesn’t believe like I do. She went out and got me a Bible I could read that had passages underneath the verses so you could better understand them. She went and got me a videotape called Jesus of Nazareth, which is a wonderful videotape. She got me a book called The Case for Christ, which is a wonderful book to read. And I — I’ve had so much help from my — my whole family.
I know that there’s more to life than what I’ve had. I read — I...wrote a book called, Evel Ways. I said I’ve had a life better than any king, any president, or any prince. Hogwash. I didn’t have Jesus Christ in my life. I was talking about the Rolls Royces I had — 5 of them. The Ferraris I’ve had — 5 of them. The Stetsons. The Lamborghinis. The — The jet airplanes — 2 of them. I flew one alongside of the other so I could read my name on the side. Yeah, “Evel Knievel.” My dad said, “Who are you going to impress at 40,000 feet, at 600 miles an hour? Why don’t you go down and buy a truck, drive along the freeway.” I — I just — the — the diamonds, and the gold, and the race horses, and the women, and the booze.
I want to tell you something: I’ve been a sinner. You’re looking at a real sinner. But not any more. You’re not looking at a sinner any more. And I’ve had everybody — I’ve had everybody in my family trying to help me. My son and my wife came here today from Montana and Las Vegas, and friends that came to see and be with me. I just — I just — I’m so happy.
I’ll tell you the difference between a Christian and an atheist. A Christian wants to believe. They want to believe everything about Christianity and Jesus. An atheist does not believe in God because he doesn’t want to. He stays away from it. He gets mad. He doesn’t want to hear about it. That’s what an atheist is.
Do not let us come with any patronizing thoughts in our minds and say, “Oh, yes, Jesus was a minister of his time” or a- a “biblical person,” a “person who believed in God who taught us.” “He was a teacher,” “a great human being.” Jesus did not offer us that. He didn’t offer us that. He was the Son of God. He is the Son of God. And if you don’t believe that Jesus Christ is what He says He is, you will surely die. You’ll die in your sins, believe me. You’ve got to believe. Oh, you’ve got to believe in Jesus Christ.
Communism or wokeism IS their religion.
These are so broad to be nearly meaningless.
I'd have to use too many adjectives in my reply.
Sacrificing unborn humans is the law of OUR land;
but is a religion?
Part of their religion is to denounce religion.
Then there are religious people DO know they are religious.
Part of their religion is to denounce YOUR religion.
And both the US and Russia abort children likes its going out of style (although Russia’s rate is higher).
Roe Vs. Wade was overturned. In China you had a one child policy enforced by the state. Lots of girls were aborted or abandoned simply because they were girls.
Thank you, Hound of Heaven, for chasing ME down as well.
I’m a non-denominational, Bible-based Christian.
Religions are, in and of themselves, sinful because they are devised and controlled by flawed mortal men.
All religions are Satan influenced. Christianity is not a religion. It’s about relationship with Christ. Not fulfilling obligations, rituals, traditions, laws, etc.
And upon this Rock I will build my church...
Sounds like an organized, even with a leader.
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