Are there more atheists than religious people?

AnswerI would say most people are probably somewhere in between. People can be of any spirituality or religion and what people believe on these matters is up to the individual and is different for everyone. Culture, nationality, geographic location and upbringing all have a profound effect on what someone's religious and spiritual beliefs are.

Just because someone is not a Christian or does not identify with any religious group does not make them an atheist. People can believe in god or be spiritual in their own way without being a Christian or belonging to any other religion.

I think in most countries the Christians and/or religious groups out number the atheists though.

AnswerIt is difficult to say. In most western countries Christians outnumber atheists by varying degrees. However, This is not always the case. In many former Warsaw Pact countries atheists outnumber Christians, as well as in France. In non-Christian countries atheists probably outnumber Christians too. AnswerFurther to the above - about 69 per cent of Chinese citizens are reported not to have religious beliefs. This would amount to about 900 million atheists in just one country. The vast majority of those in China who do profess a religious belief are Buddhists and Daoists, however a small minority openly practise Islam or Christianity. AnswerSome statistics are notoriously unreliable. For example, in the former Warsaw pact countries, and as is still very much the case today in China, it is a dangerous thing (or was, in the case of the former Soviet bloc) to be a Christian. Christians suffer imprisonment and persecution for their faith. So, for the great majority, in order to avoid this, they will 'go along' with the official party line which is atheism in all of the Communist countries. This external threat itself makes the figures unreliable.

Similarly, although different, in many western countries, at least in the not too distant past, it was somewhat fashionable to call oneself a Christian, even if one rarely attended a church and had no practical ongoing relationship with Jesus Christ. Persecution did not follow but sometimes social stigma did, although this is now changing.

What also muddies the waters is that surveys rely on what people say and cannot really judge what is the real situation. Since Christian faith is a matter of the heart and of reality, not just outward profession, many may claim to be Christian of one kind or another who are, in fact 'practical atheists', in that God never enters their thinking in any meaningful way, except in some kind of occasional religious observance to appease their conscience (from what they are not quite sure).

Since true Christianity is a heart and soul commitment it is likely that the real figures are therefore much lower. So, even though more people, even many more, may claim to be Christian than atheist, this may not be a true figure, just as the reverse may be possible under the duress of real and active persecution.

In any case, although this is an interesting question, it matters not really in terms of the respective truth of either system of belief how many believe in them. If God is true, and the poster of this piece is among those who know that He is, then it matters not who does or doesn't believe. He still exists and is a rewarder of those individuals who diligently seek Him, as He has been in every age, regardless of what the rest of the crowd is doing.

My best guess would be that there may well be a few more real Christians than atheists. However the figures would seem to indicate a much greater majority overall of Christians. I do not believe these figures for the reasons stated above. Nor would anything coming out of a country which persecutes believers be considered reliable. China is just one example of a country with censorship, where the daily reality of the 60 million plus who are reported to be in the secret house church movement is to face persecution and imprisonment, especially the leaders. In such countries, where to openly practice Christianity may be costly, it is likely that many who are non-commital will opt to be known as atheist for the sake of peace.

AnswerIn 2005 Christianity accounted for 33% of the world population. This contrasts to non-religious which accounted for 16% of the world population. However, non-religious is broken up into both Agnostic and Atheists. Overall, around 8% of the world is Atheist.

Therefore, depending on the reliability of the statistics, Christianity is around three times larger than those identifying at Atheists.

source: http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html

AnswerHas to be more christians. its tradition being a part of your family, community culture! AnswerAll published surveys on religious affiliation and atheism need to be viewed with great caution. Obvious points include these:

• Was everyone asked the same questions?
• Did the participants have the freedom to answer honestly, without fear?
• Are all the participants accustomed to answering surveys? (After all, for some people it might have been the first survey that they ever took part in).
• How meaningful and relevant were the questions? For example, a question like 'Do you believe in a life force?' doesn't indicate much.
• Are the results based on actual surveys of individuals, or were representatives of various religious and non-religious organizations simply asked for their best estimates?
• How were 'nominal Christians' - the sort of people who go to church once a year for a sing-song at Christmas - classified?