According to the last census, many Christchurch Christians were older, with 20.6 per cent being over 65.

Those who were non-religious in Christchurch seemed to be younger - 23.9 per cent were under 15 and only 4.2 per cent over 65.

However, she quotes Father John Adams of the St Joseph's Catholic Parish as saying the number of Catholics in the city had not dropped.

"The Roman Catholic population in New Zealand has stayed constant for the last 100 years. We are not diminishing."

Adams also said it was not just about numbers. He believed the number of Christians in the city was not as important as the strength of their belief.

"I think a small but ardent group of Christians is more effective than a larger group of less passionate Christians."

Adams also believed the earthquakes might have driven more people back to church: "In times of uncertainty, people are drawn to faith."

Source

• The Press
• Image: 3bp.blogspot.com

These results come from a new demographic study carried out by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life.

Christians, with 2.2 billion or 32 per cent, make up the largest group. Muslims, with 1.6 billion or 23 per cent, come next. Those who say they have no religious affiliation number 1.1 billion or 16 per cent.

"However, many of the religiously unaffiliated have some religious beliefs," the report said, including a belief in God or participation in religious observances.

The next largest groups are Hindus (1 billion people, 15 per cent), Buddhists (500 million, 7 per cent) and Jews (14 million people, 0.2 per cent).

More than 400 million people — 6 per cent — practise folk traditions from African, Chinese, Native American or Australian aboriginal cultures.

The study found that 157 countries have a majority Christian population, while 49 have a majority Muslim population. The five nations with the largest Christian populations are the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Russia and the Philippines.

"Christianity has spread far from its historical origins and is geographically widespread," the study found, observing that 99 per cent of Christians live outside the region where the religion started.

While the median age worldwide is 28, the average Muslim is aged 23 and the average Christian is 30.

In six countries — the Czech Republic, North Korea, Estonia, Japan, Hong Kong and China — the religiously unaffiliated make up the majority of the population.

Sources:

Religion News Service

Catholic News Agency

The Global Religious Landscape (Pew Forum)

Image: Sojourners

Perhaps, it suggests, we've been looking at "god" the wrong way. The new science of religion shows religious belief as more subtle and interesting than atheist prejudices have allowed. Belief seems to be ingrained in human beings - which is just as well, the magazine concedes, for "without it, we would still be living in the Stone Age".

"Religion is deeply etched in human nature, and cannot be dismissed as a product of ignorance, indoctrination or stupidity. Until secularists recognise that, they are fighting a losing battle."

Indeed, despite confident predictions of religion's imminent demise, "religion is much more likely to persist than science".

The magazine takes it as a given that we should all want to loosen religion's grip. This, despite evidence "that a belief in god or gods does appear to encourage people to be nice to one another. Humans clearly don't need religion to be moral, but it helps".

In his new book Religion for Atheists, the British writer and "committed atheist" Alain de Botton makes the case for not throwing religion out with the holy water.

De Botton starts from the assumption that religious belief is "of course" nonsense, but departs from the militant atheism of Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens in finding that religion is "not entirely daft".

To the contrary, religion's ability to "promote morality [and] engender a spirit of community" can be quite useful, provided one jettisons God from the equation.

De Botton wants to have his unbelief and religion, too. It is possible, he writes, to be an atheist and still find religion "sporadically useful, interesting and consoling". Continue reading

Source

• Tapu Misa in The New Zealand Herald
• Image: Studio Edirisa