Do faith demographics show the real condition of belief in Europe ?. That was my response after reading the most recent poll concerning atheism and agnosticism in Europe, as the figures of Believers, Atheists, and Agnostics did not meet my expectations after living for two years in the continent. My expectations regarding this matter are based on the accumulated responses to my straightforward question "Do you believe in God ?". The response I am likely to receive from 90 % of those I met in major cities is one of two answers, with no third outside Churches and retirement homes. It is either "No,but i'm baptized", or "Yes, but not really". Both answers mellow down after a series of follow up questions. The answer that you I overwhelmingly reach eventually is " I don't know, but I feel there is something ", with an adamant refusal to assign a name, attributions, or any form of definition to that thing felt. That does not impugn the figures of registered members of various congregations, but the question is, Does the impression resulting from these statistics depict the reality of spirituality in the old continent ? Should not Agnosticism receive more attention and study as a Tsunami cultural phenomena ?
According to a 2005 Euro-stat Euro-barometer poll, 52% of EU citizens said that "they believe there is a God", whereas 27% stated that "they believe there is a kind of spirit or life force" and 18% that "they do not believe there is a spirit, God, nor life force". The percentages varied widely from one country to another, with Turkey, Romania, Greece, and Cyprus on the top of the list of faith with 90% of population believing in God compared with almost half the percentage in Hungary 44%, Germany 47%, and even less in Sweden, Czech Republic and Estonia with percentages below 20 %.
The reason why these statistics are not reflecting a true image of the spiritual status of the continent is that these numbers do not represent the state of effective religiosity in European societies. The population of people above 70 and below 20 is included, while the real figures should be mirroring only the age group between 20 and 50. These three decades are the decades in which one's contribution to society is actualized in a substantial degree of relevance and individuality, unlike the preceding and following decades when institutionalized prompting influence overpowers any form of effective participation or self realization.
In most of the patron saint states mentioned in the statistics (those of higher than 50% believing populations), the mainstream Dynamic cultural conglomerations such as Government , Media, higher education, and the art industry are utterly atheistic and anti religious. The other Static institutions such as preparatory education, Church, and organizations of political dissidence have substantial Christian elements in their rhetoric. What is meant by Dynamic is the institutions and individuals that shape the influential tone of the public. The Static institutions are the ones that is at the flanks of culture manufacturing of society, lacking any essential political weight or influence.
According to a 2005 Euro-stat Euro-barometer poll, 52% of EU citizens said that "they believe there is a God", whereas 27% stated that "they believe there is a kind of spirit or life force" and 18% that "they do not believe there is a spirit, God, nor life force". The percentages varied widely from one country to another, with Turkey, Romania, Greece, and Cyprus on the top of the list of faith with 90% of population believing in God compared with almost half the percentage in Hungary 44%, Germany 47%, and even less in Sweden, Czech Republic and Estonia with percentages below 20 %. The reason why these statistics are not reflecting a true image of the spiritual status of the continent is that these numbers do not represent the state of effective religiosity in European societies. The population of people above 70 and below 20 is included, while the real figures should be mirroring only the age group between 20 and 50. These three decades are the decades in which one's contribution to society is actualized in a substantial degree of relevance and individuality, unlike the preceding and following decades when institutionalized prompting influence overpowers any form of effective participation or self realization.
In most of the patron saint states mentioned in the statistics (those of higher than 50% believing populations), the mainstream Dynamic cultural conglomerations such as Government , Media, higher education, and the art industry are utterly atheistic and anti religious. The other Static institutions such as preparatory education, Church, and organizations of political dissidence have substantial Christian elements in their rhetoric. What is meant by Dynamic is the institutions and individuals that shape the influential tone of the public. The Static institutions are the ones that is at the flanks of culture manufacturing of society, lacking any essential political weight or influence.
Statistics should be more narrowed down to the scope of effective cultural representation and not to include what counter/obsolete cultures stand for. These statistics depict a misleading impression due to the high believing and Atheist rates in comparison with Agnostic ones. Agnosticism should be more present in future statistics as it is the most prevalent belief within the religious texture of Europe.
No comments:
Post a Comment