Atheists are heavily concentrated in economically developed countries, particularly the social democracies of Europe. In underdeveloped countries, there are virtually no atheists. Atheism is a peculiarly modern phenomenon. Why do modern conditions produce atheism? In a new study, I provide compelling evidence that atheism increases along with the quality of life (1).
First, as to the distribution of atheism in the world, a clear pattern can be discerned. In sub-Saharan Africa there is almost no atheism (2). Belief in God declines in more developed countries and atheism is concentrated in Europe in countries such as Sweden (64 percent nonbelievers), Denmark (48 percent), France (44 percent) and Germany (42 percent). In contrast, the incidence of atheism in most sub-Saharan countries is below 1 percent.
The question of why economically developed countries turn to atheism has been batted around by anthropologists for about 80 years. Anthropologist James Fraser proposed that scientific prediction and control of nature supplants religion as a means of controlling uncertainty in our lives. This hunch is supported by data showing that the more educated countries have higher levels of non belief and there are strong correlations between atheism and intelligence.
Atheists are more likely to be college-educated people who live in cities, and they are highly concentrated in the social democracies of Europe. Atheism thus blossoms amid affluence where most people feel economically secure. But why?
It seems that people turn to religion as a salve for the difficulties and uncertainties of their lives. In social democracies, there is less fear and uncertainty about the future because social welfare programs provide a safety net and better health care means that fewer people can expect to die young. People who are less vulnerable to the hostile forces of nature feel more in control of their lives and less in need of religion. Hence my finding of belief in God being higher in countries with a heavy load of infectious diseases.
In my new study of 137 countries, I also found that atheism increases for countries with a well-developed welfare state (as indexed by high taxation rates). Moreover, countries with a more equal distribution of income had more atheists. My study improved on earlier research by taking account of whether a country is mostly Muslim (where atheism is criminalized) or formerly Communist (where religion was suppressed) and accounted for three-quarters of country differences in atheism.
In addition to being the opium of the people (as Karl Marx contemptuously phrased it), religion may also promote fertility, particularly by promoting marriage (3). Large families are preferred in agricultural countries as a source of free labor. In developed countries, by contrast, women have exceptionally small families. I found that atheism was lower in countries where a lot of people worked on the land.
Even the psychological functions of religion face stiff competition today. In modern societies, when people experience psychological difficulties they turn to their doctor, psychologist or psychiatrist. They want a scientific fix and prefer the real chemical medicines dished out by physicians to the metaphorical opiates offered by religion. No wonder that atheism increases along with third-level educational enrollment (1).
The reasons that churches lose ground in developed countries can be summarized in market terms. First, with better science, and with government safety nets and smaller families, there is less fear and uncertainty in people's daily lives and hence less of a market for religion. At the same time many alternative products are being offered, such as psychotropic medicines and electronic entertainment that have fewer strings attached and that do not require slavish conformity to unscientific beliefs.
Sources:
1. Barber, N. (in press). A cross-national test of the uncertainty hypothesis of religious belief. Cross-Cultural Research, 45, 318-333.
2. Zuckerman, P. (2007). Atheism: Contemporary numbers and patterns. In M. Martin (ed.), The Cambridge companion to atheism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. This book is not held by any U.S. Library.
3. Sanderson, S. K. (2008). Adaptation, evolution, and religion. Religion, 38, 141-156.
"I like your Christ. It is your Christians I do not like. They are so unlike your Christ." - M. Ghandi
From my layman thinking about it, it seems like a reasonable hypothesis that there is a causal relationship since increased material security seems to be followed by less religiosity and in particular atheism is relatively recent. But I would think you might need more evidence. Also, there's a possibility that there is a third factor causing both material security and atheism. So one would have to be careful to rule that out. Most likely religiosity is caused by a variety of factors anyways and establishing the right causal relationship is likely a little involved.
In any case, I was wondering if causality had or could be proven yet. Given the papers from you, Greg S. Paul, and others showing correlation, I find causality to be the more interesting question.
My major point was the first half of my comment. Also, I was not offering "proof" for the existence of God or that any particular religion is correct. I was commenting how higher education, standard of living, etc. does not mean such people necessarily have employed critical reasoning to discount the existence of God. (It is also a mistake to make direct cause/effect correlations without more detailed research). I have suggested perhaps pride and belief that one is in control of her own world could be an equal or even greater factor in the explanation. That is my point.
Science has been proving the physical, mental & emotional benefits of meditation and compassion on the practitioner and societies of practitioners, including in prisons where massive groups practice daily.
All quite fascinating.
The summary of this article when I viewed it on Google News said, "Atheism is a peculiarly modern phenomenon. Why do modern conditions produce atheism? In a new study, I provide compelling evidence that atheism increases along with the quality of life (1). First, as to the distribution of atheism in the world, ... ". I object to the wording in this. Atheism is not a "phenomenon". It's a belief structure just like Christianity or Islam. Is religion a "phenomenon" too?
I think there should be a counter study to address the question of "Why do modern conditions produce Christianity?" since religious beliefs are something we acquire as we learn about life and our surroundings. Unless of course you're born into a Christian family and you're expected by your parents to either be a Christian or they'll disown you.
Or, the way bald is a hairstyle.
Or, the way "OFF" is a TV channel.
Unfortunately for mankind, these statistics tend to be worthless since every newer generation will fall by the same ancient indoctrination methods. I see no way out of faith unless a new Spartacus will take-up the cause. Meanwhile, in the vocabulary of George Carlin, be an spectator.
So religious conservatives oppose funding education because education leads to atheism? And they oppose unemployment insurance because they want people anxious and fearful enough to turn to churches?
"It seems that people turn to religion as a salve for the difficulties and uncertainties of their lives. In social democracies, there is less fear and uncertainty about the future because social welfare programs provide a safety net and better health care means that fewer people can expect to die young. People who are less vulnerable to the hostile forces of nature feel more in control of their lives and less in need of religion. Hence my finding of belief in God being higher in countries with a heavy load of infectious diseases. "
And people have ALWAYS turned to Christ when they were ignorant or afraid. That is where the lying claim "there are no atheists in foxholes", and claims about deathbed conversions come from.
Christian proselytizers SELL certainty. The sell reassurance. They offer knowledge of things that we are ignorant of, what happens after we die, how God will judge us, and offer NO proof of any sort for their claims beyond their own authority.
Someone who is educated in science is FAR more likely to demand a certain evidence standard for any claim they are expected to stake anything important on, and that makes religion far less attractive to them.