irreligion

is religion important? this is a relevant question today, with the rising religiosity in our society. Singapore is unique for being multi-religious, boasting major faiths like Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism and various others. what we knew as free-thinkers, is surely seeing its population dwindle. i personally haven't met as many of them in recent years.

but back to that question, i think the answer is, in fact, no. if we gauge a society's progress by its religiosity.

irreligion is defined as the state of indifference or hostility towards organised religion. do take note that it isnt atheism. irreligious people might still be theists holding strong convictions.

the Gallup poll, the Dentsu and the Zuckerman indices are the best representations of irreligion. Singapore and the US belong to the half that places importance to religion, consisting of mainly African, Middle Eastern countries and the Americas.

but these statistics also seem to show that a lack of religion doesn't lead to an erosion of values, thus a lack of goodness, just as able countries and their peoples do not need religion. heading the list of most irreligious countries are the four legendary Scandinavian states, superpowers France and the UK, and the successful Japan and Hong Kong.

i am not irreligious. i am religious, i am faithful and i stick with it. but i cannot stand how many people are placing way too much on religion, and think it's blasphemous people like me hold such views.

it's just plain stupid when you allow religion to blind you from straightforward, rational decisions. i think Prof Alister McGrath, a Christian theologian and former Atheist from Oxford University and King's College, said it best:

"most people at most times just get on with their daily lives. but very often, a crisis will occur, and they'll need something beyond themselves, something that gives them meaning and stability, and that is when religion comes into its own. one of the key tests of whether religion is failing is what happens in moments of crisis, what do you turn to? and i still see religion playing that critical role."

this was in the BBC documentary Secular Believers, about the growing number of an almost paradoxical group that seems to be deprived genuine attention - believers, but not religious. it explains identities like atheist, agnostic, humanist, free-thinker and bright.

it also asks the questions: why did the dinosaurs come before humans? why did God create the tyrannosaurus rex? why were death and killing so prevalent in the world the dinosaurs lived in?

believers say God has a reason for everything. but doing the math, why is there still so much pointless suffering today?

the documentary also positioned: "many people have lost interest in religion. they're neither passionately atheist, nor passionately religious. they don't need to have any deep beliefs about god, or a lack of god."

catch it. it's on youtube lol.