Falling birth rates in Europe and rising ones in Africa could spell decline in atheism - Polidicks

If there is one thing Religion is good for, it is procreation.

[QUOTE=Zenreon117;44927279]If there is one thing Religion is good for, it is procreation.[/QUOTE] Yeah, get the pope to tell an ignorant uneducated populace that contraception is bad this is what you get

Religious people, even in highly developed nations, still have a much higher birthrate than the non-religious.

[QUOTE=davidrb18;44926927]Decline in atheism? You mean rise of religion. I don't think disbelief is something that can be quantified, whereas the ammount of followers behind a cult can be. [/QUOTE] Not to mention all of those state-atheism communist states loosening their grips, leaving the path open for more religion than ever.

This article is so sensationalist, In a global context, atheism might go down. In Europe, unless there is a massive immigration event (like a massive war across the continent in Africa), atheism relative to the total population will still be high. Not to forget that people aren't born to a destiny in a religion or lack thereof, I'm sure that many people in Europe who had been born into religious families may make their own path and seek atheism or agnosticism. As Africa develops, which it gradually is, atheism will begin to emerge in significant numbers there as well.

[QUOTE=GÃ©za!;44925751]And this is why I'm annoyed at people who advocate letting the population of the western world decline. It is very true that we are currently hogging the earth's resources, but a decline in population also means a decline in the comparatively quite enlightened (because let's be honest, the average person in Europe is quite enlightened compared to what is standard in the poorest parts of the world that are experiencing a population boom these days, especially with many of their governments actively maintaining bigotry and ignorance) attitude and society that allowed us to advance in civil matters to where we are today.[/QUOTE] Jesus fucking christ the spirit of colonialism is alive and well on Facepunch.

Also parents should be encouraged to not stick a religious label on their kids and to not raise them religiously, that way they might at least grow up with their critical faculties intact

Ain't gonna decline in atheism yo. The idea is that the more intelligent or educated one becomes, the lower the chance they're likely to believe in a god. Bring colleges and other stuff to Africa. Educate not exploit and you'll see a rise in the prosperity and a decline in theological belief. Not that there's anything in general wrong with believing in god(s).

[QUOTE=seano12;44926243]No it's from Metal Gear Solid 2. Who is T.S. Eliot?[/QUOTE] Fuckin' GW Colonel...

[QUOTE=cathal6606;44925873]This isnt much of an issue. Populations in developing world are growing rapidly but will slow as the countries become more developed. While becoming developed the population will get wealthier and more educated and as a result will become more atheistic.[/QUOTE] How does wealth and education correlate with religiousness? Pretty much all of the high ups in the Republican party are rather wealthy and educated, but they still are often very religious.

[QUOTE=Keyblockor1;44927861]Ain't gonna decline in atheism yo. The idea is that the more intelligent or educated one becomes, the lower the chance they're likely to believe in a god. Bring colleges and other stuff to Africa. Educate not exploit and you'll see a rise in the prosperity and a decline in theological belief. Not that there's anything in general wrong with believing in god(s).[/QUOTE] Atheism was not the first thing to stem from knowledge and technical/scientifical advancement. Many rational people have retained their faith as they learned more and more about the world, and unless some major transcendental scientific discovery is made that completely disproves what they have faith in is made (which is not plausible), there'll always be room for theology.

[QUOTE=GÃ©za!;44925751]And this is why I'm annoyed at people who advocate letting the population of the western world decline. It is very true that we are currently hogging the earth's resources, but a decline in population also means a decline in the comparatively quite enlightened (because let's be honest, the average person in Europe is quite enlightened compared to what is standard in the poorest parts of the world that are experiencing a population boom these days, especially with many of their governments actively maintaining bigotry and ignorance) attitude and society that allowed us to advance in civil matters to where we are today.[/QUOTE] Yeah Europeans were so civilized and modern that the fucking Mongols and Persians beat them to religious freedom and the whole letting women have a say in government and own land thing hundreds of years before

[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;44925691]Can't wait for common depiction of Jesus to shift from western white guy to an African native.[/QUOTE] He should be depicted as neither white nor black, but olive-skinned. This is supposedly the most accurate reconstruction of what someone like Jesus would've looked like: [img]http://www.popularmechanics.com/cm/popularmechanics/images/QA/face-of-jesus-01-0312-mdn.jpg[/img]

[QUOTE=ShaunOfTheLive;44929311]He should be depicted as neither white nor black, but olive-skinned. This is supposedly the most accurate reconstruction of what someone like Jesus would've looked like:[/QUOTE] Jesus was Korean. Specifically the type of Korean born around the Pyongyang area.

[QUOTE=Keyblockor1;44927861]Ain't gonna decline in atheism yo. The idea is that the more intelligent or educated one becomes, the lower the chance they're likely to believe in a god. Bring colleges and other stuff to Africa. Educate not exploit and you'll see a rise in the prosperity and a decline in theological belief. Not that there's anything in general wrong with believing in god(s).[/QUOTE] There's no hard evidence of increased intelligence being the leading cause of disbelief in a divine being, no matter how much the circlejerk at r/atheism wills it.

[QUOTE=Fetret;44926751][img]http://cdn0.dailydot.com/uploaded/images/original/2013/6/6/KGxIc.png[/img] Well no shit, it's not like this guy is ever going to reproduce.[/QUOTE] ughghh all that spaghetti

[QUOTE=matt000024;44928218]How does wealth and education correlate with religiousness? Pretty much all of the high ups in the Republican party are rather wealthy and educated, but they still are often very religious.[/QUOTE] Doesn't work like that. The correlation like that doesn't exist for individuals, it's drawn from general population and big numbers. Other thing, politicians, let alone ones in power, are never indicative. Plus there's a very real difference between being casually religious (believing in Jesus or what have you) and being extremely superstitious. The former doesn't directly correlate with quality of life, while the latter have everything to do with it.

[QUOTE=mchapra;44929287]Yeah Europeans were so civilized and modern that the fucking Mongols and Persians beat them to religious freedom and the whole letting women have a say in government and own land thing hundreds of years before[/QUOTE] I was strictly talking about the here and now. I mean, good luck telling contemporary mongols and persians about the importance of feminism and gay rights, to use just two hot and topical examples....

[QUOTE=GÃ©za!;44929886]I was strictly talking about the here and now. I mean, good luck telling contemporary mongols and persians about the importance of feminism and gay rights, to use just two hot and topical examples....[/QUOTE] you make it sound as if ALL europeans agree with feminism and gay rights, if that was true right-wing parties in europe wouldn't be as popular as they are right now, all you guys need is an economic crisis and you got nutcases crawling all over the damn place.

I'm going to have 8 kids because of this.

[QUOTE=Fetret;44926751][img]http://cdn0.dailydot.com/uploaded/images/original/2013/6/6/KGxIc.png[/img] Well no shit, it's not like this guy is ever going to reproduce.[/QUOTE] [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/cKevGWX.jpg[/IMG]

[QUOTE=Wizards Court;44931189]you make it sound as if ALL europeans agree with feminism and gay rights, if that was true right-wing parties in europe wouldn't be as popular as they are right now, all you guys need is an economic crisis and you got nutcases crawling all over the damn place.[/QUOTE] Of course. But while Europe is struggling with these issues, some developing countries (and indeed some developed countries, cough cough Arab Emirates) haven't even moved beyond, say, criminaly prosecuting women for driving or straight up lynching homosexuals. I may come across smug, but a good part of the world is just straight up behind the west in the their societal development, and this could sort of 'spill over' and cause all sorts of conflict if the western world depopulates itself.

[QUOTE=CapellanCitizen;44927647]Jesus fucking christ the spirit of colonialism is alive and well on Facepunch.[/QUOTE] Is that a jingoist I've spotted? but please, explain yourself [editline]28th May 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=Satansick;44931232]I'm going to have 8 kids because of this.[/QUOTE] what would their names be ?

[QUOTE=GÃ©za!;44931424]Of course. But while Europe is struggling with these issues, some developing countries (and indeed some developed countries, cough cough Arab Emirates) haven't even moved beyond, say, criminaly prosecuting women for driving or straight up lynching homosexuals. I may come across smug, but a good part of the world is just straight up behind the west in the their societal development, and this could sort of 'spill over' and cause all sorts of conflict if the western world depopulates itself.[/QUOTE] except the "western world" is also the source of a lot of problems in the developed world as well, both in past(especially in the past) and in the present. did you knew some american/european crazy evangelists have been aiding crazy religious folks in other areas of the planet for instance, like in africa, influencing even laws, like in uganda? while it is true the world has always sucked for women for most of history, and women rights is one area the western world is currently ahead, homophobia was largely spread across the planet by europe through both christianity and colonialism. the world survived when the middle east, which was far more enlightened compared to europe entered in decay in the middle ages, the world will survive if europe decays as well, also capitalism and then afterwards, the fight for worker rights has arguably done more to LGBT rights and feminism, than anything else did, and last i checked both of them exists everywhere. btw, i don't think europe will decay, it will just be forced to increase immigration from other parts of the planet, if they refuse to do so however, it will be interesting to say the least. :v:

[QUOTE=ShaunOfTheLive;44929311]He should be depicted as neither white nor black, but olive-skinned. This is supposedly the most accurate reconstruction of what someone like Jesus would've looked like: [img]http://www.popularmechanics.com/cm/popularmechanics/images/QA/face-of-jesus-01-0312-mdn.jpg[/img][/QUOTE] Preposturous! He's an all white, long haired, long bearded and hard working american! But really now, I always found it weird that Jesus looked like that one metal vocalist every single girl has the hots for.

[QUOTE=Rocâ„¢;44931757]Preposturous! He's an all white, long haired, long bearded and hard working american! But really now, I always found it weird that Jesus looked like that one metal vocalist every single girl has the hots for.[/QUOTE] the most amazing things for me, are the horrible explanations you hear when people try to explain why that must be how he looked like, which range from the racist, to the hilarious or both(he had blue eyes and blonde hair because he was powerful, was one such explanation), idk, maybe the person though jesus was a super saiyan or something. :v: [sp]this is from an actual manga btw[/sp] [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/R_A_Z_O_R_B_L_A_D_E_K_I_S_S_E_S/27610.jpg[/IMG]

[QUOTE=Wizards Court;44931713]except the "western world" is also the source of a lot of problems in the developed world as well, both in past(especially in the past) and in the present. did you knew some american/european crazy evangelists have been aiding crazy religious folks in other areas of the planet for instance, like in africa, influencing even laws, like in uganda? while it is true the world has always sucked for women for most of history, and women rights is one area the western world is currently ahead, homophobia was largely spread across the planet by europe through both christianity and colonialism. the world survived when the middle east, which was far more enlightened compared to europe entered in decay in the middle ages, the world will survive if europe decays as well, also capitalism and then afterwards, the fight for worker rights has arguably done more to LGBT rights and feminism, than anything else did, and last i checked both of them exists everywhere. btw, i don't think europe will decay, it will just be forced to increase immigration from other parts of the planet, if they refuse to do so however, it will be interesting to say the least. :v:[/QUOTE] Immigration however brings its own set of problems, especially when immigrants refuse to adapt to the society of their new home, unfortunately.

[QUOTE=GÃ©za!;44931809]Immigration however brings its own set of problems, especially when immigrants refuse to adapt to the society of their new home, unfortunately.[/QUOTE] racism against immigrants doesn't help one bit, especially when directed even at those who seek to fully integrate with european culture, which has the cascade effect of discouraging others from even trying(like the roma in france which can have trouble even getting one's son to school depending on the area), and then decide to just band together since they feel excluded which could then create other problems(like muslim communities using their own internal laws and shit).

Oh yeah, wait till 50 years from now, Africa will be modernised and they will suffer the falling birth rates. It's a trend that will happen to 1st world nations. Plus, shouldn't the Islamic population be increasing seeing most of Africa is Muslim?

[QUOTE=BCell;44931877]Oh yeah, wait till 50 years from now, Africa will be modernised and they will suffer the falling birth rates. It's a trend that will happen to 1st world nations. Plus, shouldn't the Islamic population be increasing seeing most of Africa is Muslim?[/QUOTE] actually africa is kinda 50/50 christian/muslim. [url]http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/16/christians-muslims-almost-equal-in-numbers-in-afri/?page=all[/url]