Irreligion

"Irreligious" redirects here. For the album by Moonspell, see Irreligious (album).
Not to be confused with Atheism, Secularity, or Secularism.

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Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, skepticism, rationalism, secularism, and spiritual but not religious. These perspectives can vary, with individuals who identify as irreligious holding diverse beliefs about religion and its role in their lives.[1]

A 2017 WIN/Gallup International survey done in 68 countries reported that less than 25% of respondents expressed they were not a religious person, 9% others responded "convinced atheists", and 5% others "do not know/no response".[2]: 1 : 3  In 2010, the religiously unaffiliated numbered an estimated 1.1 billion—about one-in-six people, or 16%, of the estimated 6.9 billion-person world population at the time—according to Pew Research Center.[3][4][5]: 24 

The population of the religiously unaffiliated, who are sometimes referred to as "nones", has grown significantly in recent years.[6] Measurement of irreligiosity requires a high degree of cultural sensitivity, especially in regions outside of the Western world in which the concepts of "religion" or "the secular" may be foreign concepts to local culture.[7] Those who do not affiliate with a religion are diverse. Pew Research Center noted that, in 2010, many individuals who scored high on measures of irreligiosity indeed reported engaging in explicitly religious activities.[4][8][5]: 24 

  1. ^ Eldridge, Stephen. "Irreligion | Definition, Overview, & Examples | Britannica". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 1 September 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Religion prevails in the world" (PDF). WIN/Gallup International. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  3. ^ "The Global Religious Landscape". The Global Religious Landscape: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Major Religious Groups as of 2010. Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. 18 December 2012. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Religiously Unaffiliated". The Global Religious Landscape: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Major Religious Groups as of 2010. Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. 18 December 2012. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  5. ^ a b Hackett, Conrad; Grim, Brian J. (December 2012). "Religiously Unaffiliated" (PDF). The Global Religious Landscape:A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Major Religious Groups as of 2010. Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. p. 82. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  6. ^ Lipka, Michael (2 April 2015). "7 Key Changes in the Global Religious Landscape". Pew Research Center. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  7. ^ Zuckerman, Phil; Galen, Luke W.; Pasquale, Frank L. (2016). "Secularity Around the World". In: The Nonreligious: Understanding Secular People and Societies. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 6–8, 13–15, 32–34.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Unaff Yet Rel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).