The most Athiestic/Agnostic country?

[Risottia]

Iirc, in a survey conducted on behalf of NATO in 1999, about 75% of Czechs described themselves as atheist or agnostic. So, Czech Republic for the win.

[Hairless Kitten II]

USA

That's why presidents of all feathers continuously bark: "And God bless America..."

It seems they are in a high need for that one too.

[Martaz]

the difference between a strong atheist (There is absolutely no God) and a weak atheist (I don't particularly believe in any God).

wtf?

there is not difference

atheist think God doesn't exist and we are here because a random series of Royal flush happened

that's strong and weak thing doesn't make a sense

[Bitchkitten]

Sweden, I believe.

In spite of having an official religion, Sweden is the least religious country.

[The Alma Mater]

the difference between a strong atheist (There is absolutely no God) and a weak atheist (I don't particularly believe in any God).

wtf?

there is not difference

atheist think God doesn't exist and we are here because a random series of Royal flush happened

that's strong and weak thing doesn't make a sense

Of course it does. There is HUGE difference between "God does not exist" and "I am not convinced God exists".The first in essence is a religious belief itself, the second is a rational position.

[Carlitonia]

Wouldn't the second option be more agnostic than atheist?

[The Alma Mater]

Wouldn't the second option be more agnostic than atheist?

Agnost and atheist are not mutually exclusive. A weak agnost says he does not know if god exists or not - but that does not imply belief or disbelief. An agnost who does not know god exists can still believe in Him (theistic agnost), but he can also not actively believe (atheist agnost).

A strong agnost claims the answer to the question "does god exist" is unknowable.

(A)theism is a statement of belief or lack thereof.
Agnosticism is a statement on the nature of knowledge.

[Kamsaki]

Wouldn't the second option be more agnostic than atheist?

It's a difficult subject. Broadly speaking, Tofu and Alma would hold that second option to be both agnostic and atheist. Such a position is atheistic, but this is only by view of the fact that there is not at present enough knowledge to support a proposed theist position. As such, the person who holds such a position is a (small a) agnostic (small or big a/A) a/Atheist.

The important thing to bear in mind is that this is based on a reactionary understanding of God - that is, the God that is being referred to is not an entity per se, but simply an idea proposed by theists. The agnostic a/Atheist position in this sense makes no claim one way or another as to the concrete existence of God/s, but only challenges the propositions that theists put forward.

If you were to ask them about the Concrete, rather than the conceptual, existence of God, they would probably be Agnostic (big A) - that is, they would either be skeptical about, or out-and-out deny the possibility of, knowledge one way or the other. This is in opposition to what is called Strong Atheism, which would assert that knowledge about the absense of God is in fact obtainable - that is to say, the statement "There is No God" makes sense independent of any particular cultural interpretation.

It is debatable as to whether "Atheism" as a label is useful to the former group given the existence of the latter. I personally think that Weak Atheism, if developed and reflected on, would probably reduce to Ignosticism or Theological Non-Cognitivism - the position that the Idea of God, whether as currently formulated or in any of its possible incarnations, is too weak to be reasonably useful. That it remains as a subset of Atheism is probably simply that Atheism is a popular label for the anti-religious movement - that is, people are weak Atheists for Social reasons rather than intellectual ones.

[Meridiani Planum]

72% of Swedish Citizens belong to the church of Sweden.

I live in Sweden. This membership means absolutely nothing. It's automatic unless you choose to withdraw your membership.

However, so many Swedes are not Christian and yet believe that there is "something" out there, I doubt that it really counts as the most atheist.

[Tunizcha]

72% of Swedish Citizens belong to the church of Sweden.

I live in Sweden. This membership means absolutely nothing. It's automatic unless you choose to withdraw your membership.

However, so many Swedes are not Christian and yet believe that there is "something" out there, I doubt that it really counts as the most atheist.

That's agnostic deism, at the least.

[Prusland]

Sweden, I believe.

unfortunately..... today i an not proud of my swedish heritage

[Unchecked Expansion]

Sweden, I believe.

unfortunately..... today i an not proud of my swedish heritage

Why not? You're nation is freethinking, liberal and accepting

[Gruesome Evil]

well i would have to say that china is the most athiestic. about 82% of them are athiest
middle east has about 5% athiest
america has about 2% athiest
europe has about 1% athiest
so it is safe to say that china is the most athiestic coutry

[Tunizcha]

well i would have to say that china is the most athiestic. about 82% of them are athiest
middle east has about 5% athiest
america has about 2% athiest
europe has about 1% athiest
so it is safe to say that china is the most athiestic coutry

By force. And Europe isn't a country.

[Gruesome Evil]

i know that europe is not a country it is a continent and as a continent only about 1% of them are athiests. and no one is forced to be thiestic europeans have the rite to choose

[Tunizcha]

i know that europe is not a country it is a continent and as a continent only about 1% of them are athiests. and no one is forced to be thiestic europeans have the rite to choose

I meant China.

[Takaram]

i know that europe is not a country it is a continent and as a continent only about 1% of them are athiests. and no one is forced to be thiestic europeans have the rite to choose

Actually, many of your numbers are inaccurate according to several studies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_atheism

[Surmang]

Buddhists don't believe in God. So one of the predominantly Buddhist countries would be predominantly "non-theistic," which is different than athiestic. Non-theistic is like saying, "We don't have an opinion on whether or not God exists, but we don't have anything to do with God." I think Buddhists go an extra step and say that belief in God is problematic. Atheistic is saying "God doesn't exist" So maybe you could consider Buddhists as being more agnostic when it comes to God. So a country like Tibet, which is still a country whether or not China recognizes it, would be one of the most agnostic countries. In Communist countries, they forbid belief in God, but they can't prevent it..

I strongly disagree that predominantly Buddhist 'nations' (though not necessarily nation states - which allows me to include Tibet) are atheistic or agnostic in the sense that you mean.

In both Tibet and Bhutan, for example, Buddhism and Bön continue to co-exist in a complex interrelationship that runs a scale from total syncreticisation through to totally separate practice. At the risk of vastly oversimplifying for a quick one-paragraph answer, Buddhism and shamanistic polytheism co-exist in the traditionally Buddhist Himalayan kingdoms. Gods and demons are therefore an integral part of the Himalayan worldview. It would be fair to note that neither gods nor demons in this approach are necessarily omniscient nor omnipotent, but for many people in Tibet and Bhutan they are an important presence in everyday life.

Even in nations, like Thailand, which practice a more conservative Therevada Buddhism, the situation can often be complex. Thai Buddhism often works alongside, and has absorbed elements of, Hinduism. In Thai architecture, that elaborate curl at the end of roofs is a stylised naga, the king's formal title - Rama IX - is directly taken from Lord Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu.

I certainly agree that Buddhists don't believe in a single monotheistic God, but whether they believe in gods is very much coloured by their local cultural context. As a result, Western converts to Buddhism are far more likely to be non-theistic than people brought up in traditionally Buddhist nations.



But addressing the OP, if we take the premise of 'most atheistic country' literally (as opposed to meaning 'most secular'), then that would have been Albania under communist dictator Enver Hoxha. From 1967, the authorities engaged in a campaign (often violent) to suppress all manifestations of Islam and Christianity in Albania; this culminated in the government declaring that Albania had become the world's first entirely Atheistic state, which Hoxha often declared to be his finest achievement.

What a bunch of rambling, semi-coherent, Gobbly Gook.

[Greed and Death]

1. Sweden
2. Vietnam
3. Denmark
4. Norway
5. Japan
6. Czech Republic
7. Finland
8. France
9. South Korea
10. Estonia

http://www.gadling.com/2007/08/23/least-religious-countries/

Japan is problematic. As the old saying goes, 78% are Buddhist, 78% are Shinto, and 78% profess no belief at all.

In Korea I've learned a girl says no belief at all when she means hey I kinda dig you I don't want religion to get in the way.

[Ploutokratia]

I dunno, a lot of the European nations have pretty large atheist populations. Why is it that religion is usually weakest in secular nations when compared to atheist nations?

How do countries known for burning people alive for not being Christian end up being atheists about 150 years later? It may seem like a long time. But countries have been oppressed by certain religions for hundreds of year at a time.

Unless they just exterminate the entire population.

Have you considered that maybe that history is the exact reason WHY they're more predominantly non believers?

[Buffett and Colbert]

Sweden, I believe.

unfortunately..... today i an not proud of my swedish heritage

You should be.

[Buffett and Colbert]

well i would have to say that china is the most athiestic. about 82% of them are athiest
middle east has about 5% athiest
america has about 2% athiest
europe has about 1% athiest
so it is safe to say that china is the most athiestic coutry

You pulled those statistics out of your arse, didn't you?

[Buffett and Colbert]

i know that europe is not a country it is a continent and as a continent only about 1% of them are athiests. and no one is forced to be thiestic europeans have the rite to choose

Don't pull numbers out of your arse, please.

[The Infinite Dunes]

Does the Church of England believe in God, I'm not sure?

Yeah, I was thinking of that. I'm reminded of a joke:

First guy: "You're not one of those loonies that believe in God are you?"
Second guy: "Nah, it's alright I'm Church of England".

It's like the Church of England developed as an institution where the ruling elite could show off to the country their religious credentials without committing to believing in anything.

[The Archregimancy]

What a bunch of rambling, semi-coherent, Gobbly Gook.

Well, you're welcome to actually try and refute it, which is usually considered a more efficient way of addressing an argument you disagree with round these parts.

My source is for the role of pre-Buddhist shamanism in Himalayan Buddhism is:

Carpenter R. and B. Carpenter
2002 The Blessings of Bhutan. University of Hawaii Press. Honolulu.

Perhaps you feel that Damchan, the Bhutanese deity who assists in the location of reincarnated lamas, and Drangsong, head of the Lu spirits (to pick just two) aren't gods?

My source for the role of Hindu influences in both Thai architecture and conceptions of the monarchy is my time spent at the National Museum in Bangkok, rather than a written source.

So do please feel free to share on what basis you consider my post 'rambling' and 'semi-coherent'.

And for the record, it's usually spelled 'gobbledygook' or 'gobbledegook'.