Agnosticism Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Demographics== [[File:Countries by percentage of Unaffiliated–Pew Research 2010.svg|thumb|upright=2.5|[[Irreligion by country|Nonreligious population by country]], 2010<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projection-table/|title=Religious Composition by Country, 2010–2050|date=2015-04-02|website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-27}}</ref>]] [[File:Europe No Belief enhanced.svg|thumb|Percentage of people in various European countries who said: "I don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force." (2005)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_225_report_en.pdf |title=Social values, Science and Technology |access-date=April 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430163128/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_225_report_en.pdf |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>]] [[Demography|Demographic]] research services normally do not differentiate between various types of non-religious respondents, so agnostics are often classified in the same category as atheists or other [[irreligion|non-religious]] people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html |title=Major Religions Ranked by Size |publisher=Adherents.com |access-date=August 14, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100811013003/http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html| archive-date=August 11, 2010 | url-status=usurped}}</ref> A 2010 survey published in ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' found that the non-religious people or the agnostics made up about 9.6% of the world's population.<ref name="eb-2010">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Religion: Year in Review 2010: Worldwide Adherents of All Religions |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1731588/Religion-Year-In-Review-2010/298437/Worldwide-Adherents-of-All-Religions |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. |access-date=November 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702182310/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1731588/Religion-Year-In-Review-2010/298437/Worldwide-Adherents-of-All-Religions |archive-date=July 2, 2014 |url-status=live |df=mdy }} </ref> A November–December 2006 poll published in the ''[[Financial Times]]'' gives rates for the United States and five European countries. The rates of agnosticism in the United States were at 14%, while the rates of agnosticism in the European countries surveyed were considerably higher: Italy (20%), Spain (30%), Great Britain (35%), Germany (25%), and France (32%).<ref name="Harris">{{cite web |url=http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/allnewsbydate.asp?NewsID=1131 |title=Religious Views and Beliefs Vary Greatly by Country, According to the Latest Financial Times/Harris Poll |publisher=Financial Times/Harris Interactive |date=December 20, 2006 |access-date=April 9, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723125147/http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/allnewsbydate.asp?NewsID=1131 |archive-date=July 23, 2013 |df=mdy }}</ref> A study conducted by the [[Pew Research Center]] found that about 16% of the world's people, the third largest group after [[Christianity]] and [[Islam]], have no religious affiliation.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Study Finds One in 6 Follows No Religion |last=Goodstein |first=Laurie |work=The New York Times |date=December 18, 2012 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/18/world/pew-study-finds-one-in-6-follows-no-religion.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140623235102/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/18/world/pew-study-finds-one-in-6-follows-no-religion.html|archive-date=June 23, 2014 |url-status=dead }} </ref> According to a 2012 report by the Pew Research Center, agnostics made up 3.3% of the US adult population.<ref name="pew 2012">{{cite web |last = Cary Funk |first = Greg Smith |title = "Nones" on the Rise: One-in-Five Adults Have No Religious Affiliation |url = http://www.pewforum.org/files/2012/10/NonesOnTheRise-full.pdf |publisher = Pew Research Center |pages = 9, 42 |access-date = November 21, 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140826234925/http://www.pewforum.org/files/2012/10/NonesOnTheRise-full.pdf |archive-date = August 26, 2014 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }}</ref> In the ''U.S. Religious Landscape Survey'', conducted by the Pew Research Center, 55% of agnostic respondents expressed "a belief in God or a universal spirit",<ref name="Demographics1">{{cite web |url=http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-key-findings.pdf |title=Summary of Key Findings |year=2011 |publisher=[[Pew Research Center]] |access-date=December 28, 2011 |quote=Nearly all adults (92%) say they believe in God or a universal spirit, including seven-in-ten of the unaffiliated. Indeed, one-in-five people who identify themselves as atheist (21%) and a majority of those who identify themselves as agnostic (55%) express a belief in God or a universal spirit. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017135407/http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-key-findings.pdf |archive-date=October 17, 2014 |url-status=live |df=mdy }} </ref> whereas 41% stated that they thought that they felt a tension "being non-religious in a society where most people are religious".<ref name="Demographics2">{{cite web|url=http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-key-findings.pdf |title=Summary of Key Findings |year=2011 |publisher=[[Pew Research Center]] |access-date=December 28, 2011 |quote=Interestingly, a substantial number of adults who are not affiliated with a religion also sense that there is a conflict between religion and modern society – except for them the conflict involves being non-religious in a society where most people are religious. For instance, more than four-inten atheists and agnostics (44% and 41%, respectively) believe that such a tension exists. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017135407/http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-key-findings.pdf |archive-date=October 17, 2014 |url-status=live |df=mdy }}</ref> According to the 2021 [[Australian Bureau of Statistics]], 38.9% of [[Australians]] have "no religion", a category that includes agnostics.<ref name="abs"> {{cite web |url = https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/snapshot-australia/2021#religious-affiliation |title = Snapshot of Australia |publisher = Australian Bureau of Statistics |year = 2021 |access-date = September 4, 2023 |df = mdy }} </ref> Between 64% and 65%<ref name="Martin2007">{{cite book | last=Zuckerman | first=Phil| editor=Martin, Michael T | title=The Cambridge Companion to Atheism | year=2007 |publisher=Cambridge University Press | location=Cambridge, England | isbn=978-0-521-60367-6 | ol = 22379448M | page=56 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tAeFipOVx4MC&pg=PA56 | access-date=April 9, 2011}} </ref> of [[Japanese people|Japanese]] and up to 81%<ref name="Intelligence">{{cite web |url=http://davesource.com/Fringe/Fringe/Religion/Average-intelligence-predicts-atheism-rates-across-137-nations-Lynn-et-al.pdf |title=Average intelligence predicts atheism rates across 137 nations |date=January 3, 2008 |access-date=October 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823195203/http://davesource.com/Fringe/Fringe/Religion/Average-intelligence-predicts-atheism-rates-across-137-nations-Lynn-et-al.pdf |archive-date=August 23, 2013 |url-status=live |df=mdy }} </ref> of [[Vietnamese people|Vietnamese]] are atheists, agnostics, or do not believe in a god. An official [[European Union]] survey reported that 3% of the EU population is unsure about their belief in a god or spirit.<ref name="EU">{{cite book|title=Social values, Science and Technology |publisher=Directorate General Research, European Union |year=2005 |pages=7–11 |url=http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_225_report_en.pdf |access-date=April 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430163128/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_225_report_en.pdf |archive-date=April 30, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! 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