Explaining the Lure of Atheism in the 21st Century
“Atheism” is no longer an alien, rarely heard-of term. It is, in fact, a phenomenon that continues to grow at exponential rates in the 21st century. And when such a state of irreligiousness and disbelief engulfs the world while a great number of major and minor religions still thrive, there’s a need to explore the lure of atheism in the current times. Is religion losing its appeal globally or is atheism beyond a movement that is simply antagonistic to religions? Are there nefarious motives behind the rise of atheism and is this state of being going to prove disastrous for the future of humankind on earth?
The Numbers
The Oxford Handbook of Atheism dictates that 7% of the entire world’s population—some 450 to 500 million people—do not believe in a God. The Pew Research Center takes this statistic even further, including non-religious people along with the irreligious, which totals to some 1.1 billion people—16.5% of the adult population of planet Earth. according to more research by the Pew Research Center, it is mostly in people aged between 18 to 29 that atheism is more rife (40%), followed by people aged between 30 to 49 (37%), which is further followed by people aged between 50 and 64 (14%), and those aged above 65 (9%). If there’s anything definite that these numbers tell us, it’s that the young are most vulnerable to atheism, and that as they grow older, people lose their cynicism and turn to godlier, god-fearing lives.
Christianity remains the largest religion in the world, and is expected to maintain its position till 2050, by which time Islam will begin to outnumber it. But that’s what the research today says—if we learn anything by the rapidly growing trend of atheism, we might be living in an utterly ungodly world by 2050—and that in itself is a scary concept. When it comes to irreligious states, China tops the list, with 67% atheists and only 9% religious population. Among the most religiously inclined states are Thailand, Nigeria, Kosovo, Ghana, India, etc. In India and Thailand specifically, there are only 1% people who identify as atheists
And these numbers are the key to solving the riddle that is atheism.
Why the Numbers Matter
The countries that top the list for being most religious are considered third-world compost by most of the world’s population—take India and Ghana for instance. Thailand is a mainly Buddhist country, which has lost credibility ever since Aung San Suu Kyi came under attack for the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya—many of her awards being snatched back and there even being talk of her losing her Nobel Prize.
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