A study of 82 countries has found that those whose inhabitants worship at least once a week have 2.5 children each.
Atheists, watch out. Religious people have evolved to produce more children than non-believers, researchers claim, while societies dominated by non-believers are doomed to die out.
A study of 82 countries has found that those whose inhabitants worship at least once a week have 2.5 children each, while those who never do so have just 1.7 — below the number needed to replace themselves.
The academic who led the study argues that evolution, credited by atheist biologists such as Richard Dawkins as the process solely responsible for creating humanity, favours the faithful because they are encouraged to breed as a religious duty.
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It is a well attested phenomena that the more affluent. educated and better off members of society breed less. Therefore it is of no surprise that the believers in sky fairies out breed us. Of course religious parents doesn’t automatically lead to religious offspring, due to random mutation and survival of the fittest
And yet atheists are growing in number.
Fortunately religious belief is not a genetic trait and can change at any time. Atheists have nothing to worry about, as the world becomes more educated religion dwindles. Seen Poland lately?
Well it stands to reason that those with the intellect to think for themselves take the time to carefully plan exactly when they will have children and exactly how many children they can afford the expense (and time) to raise.
Never mind the width, feel the quality.
I assume that other factors such as poverty have been partialled out? Those in poverty might be expected to worship more to seek relief from their circumstances, and they have larger families.
They’ve hardly ‘evolved to produce more children’, it’s ultimately social. Moreover, it’s a ridiculous oversight to suggest that the only way to be an atheist is to have atheist parents. Socialization is certainly a large part, but it’s hardly the be-all and end-all, something to which millions of converts can attest. The percentage of atheists per age group in other social studies indicates that the proportion of atheists is growing. Atheists are going nowhere.
Atheism isn’t a hereditary trait though, so I’m not too worried
my parents are both religious. I’m not. Plenty of people don’t follow the religion their parents did.
Thats probably not a very accurate assessment of how religious groups vs atheists will grow. You would have to look at how many of the 2.5 children born from religious parents convert to atheism in their lifetime as well as how many of the 1.7 adopts a religion. I would think that % religious to atheism conversions are higher than atheism to religious.
Well, at least we Atheists aren’t contributing to the population crisis, which is the real problem right now
I lol’d at this story. It sounds like someone’s been grasping at straws.
Scientists and academics seem to think they can put their name to anything and make it believable. This just shows how wrong they are!
My wife and I share no religion yet our son believes we are wrong. He has yet to mature his views bit we certainly didn’t push any on him.
Most poorer countries worship more and produce more as they don’t have all the uneccessary luxuries that richer countries do.
While we’re on the point of unjustified surveys I learnt the other day that 83.33% of britains have proof that Santa exists.
Smallprint: Thie survey was taken by 6 people in a nursery and only 1 adult was available. But I’m an academic so it is FACT!
It’s also worth noting that atheists are better about visiting doctors when their children get sick, rather than praying for magic. So atheists have a higher percentage of their children survive.
‘Religious people have evolved to produce more children than non-believers’
Just what we don’t need – another article that confuses people as to what evolution is.
As many have mentioned, the obvious flaw in this conclusion is that it is assumed that the children of religious people will be religious too.
This is not necessarily true, as it’s not true that children of atheists will necessarily be atheist.
I notice no religious people have commented. Probably because they’re all getting laid.
Or because poverty, religion, & child bearing patterns are all interlinked? What you are seeing is K vs. r strategies!
But the kids born into their family will soon get sick of worshipping and question their ‘beliefs.’ I was brought up catholic going to church weekly and a catholic school. And from the age of 12 to my age now 16 I am an atheist. I know about 4 people who still believe in religion and God out of every teenager I know. Going to Catholic school and being forced to go to church and sing hymnes led everyone to question religion. Those brought up in religion and choose not to believe it are, to me, the best type of atheist s they have chosen their own belief. Keep your trust in the new generation those who go to church and actually believe in god in their teens are a small minority. (well in western countries anyway.)
There are so many things wrong with this ‘study’ that im just going to give a brief response.
This is the biggest load of s**t I’ve ever heard
Poverty and ignorance are often key factors in having large families. Religiosity is more common where there is poverty and ignorance.
There may a direct link in that some religions urge large families, but it has nothing to do with evolution.
Yeh, and how much of the data came from Third World countries with greater incidence of both faith and pre-reproduction mortality?
Those born from believers may become atheists though and vice versa, surely???
x
There are too many humans on the planet anyway – don’t think we’ll become extinct through lack of breeding. We tend to breed at a higher rate when populations drop, eg. during/after world wars.
It’s more accurate to look at what might happen in a country where suddenly every parent was religious – and yet education and economic standards were high, crime very low etc…
my father was a priest both grandfathers were priests, my brother and I are atheists, that is the result of safer societies enabling learning. fear is a bit of a self breeding phenomenon, it takes time to get rid of that impulse…
Not convinced at the logic here – inhabitant implies that each single person has 2.5 children each, so if each atheist inhabitant has 1.7 then that is enough to replace themselves surely… unless we’re to imply that it’s per couple, in which case the wording isn’t great.
Also I suspect this could be slightly skewed as I think more younger people are probably atheists, therefore fewer would have had children yet.
Would be interesting to see a similar survey in a few years time!
So atheism makes a better meme than it does a gene.
Bit of an alarmist, depressing, Daily Mail type interpretation of the data isn’t it Derren?
They might have strength of numbers gene wise but I’m sure we can easily make up for that in meme strength. I’m sure that a few hundred years ago when the ‘flat earthers’ were hiddeously outnumbering the enlightened few, they didn’t reckon on just how rediculous the onset of time and human endevour through science would leave them straggling like fools.
Chin up!
sounds like the ministry’s been pretty bizzy!
There isn’t really a great way to count the number of offspring who then turn their backs–outwardly or inwardly–on the religion though. So, while the birth rate may be higher for the religious, the conversion rate may be higher for the irreligious.
Where reproductive rates seriously exceed 2, you probably wouldn’t want to live there. Well, not as a woman.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_and_dependent_territories_by_fertility_rate
It’s more like “people who use their brains tend to reproduce less”, for various reasons, like isolating oneself in the library, a laboratory, or both. I’m not sure what the male/female balance is in these segregated environments, but it’s either male-biased or the females aren’t willing to choose mates from their peers (and rather pick a jock or something from the “outside”, and in this case the “inside” males aren’t attractive for ANY group). This situation would probably skew the numbers a bit
I’ve been saying this for years. All you have to do is look at the Roman Catholic population. No abortions, no condoms, no birth control pills, and they’re the single largest organization in the world. (Well, a history of conquering empires also had a lot to do with it.)
But is relgion hereditary? Yes and no. Certainly, a person who is raised by religious parents is more likely to be religious himself, due to upbringing. There’s no gene for believing in a higher power. But then, there’s no gene for speaking English either.
By the way, you want a real mind-blower? Try to figure out why the number of gay people isn’t dwindling! They’re much less likely to breed, and there can’t be THAT many random mutations.
Ah, it all becomes clear now… this is a ‘Murdoch’ story.
Michael Blume, a social science researcher at Jena University in Germany, said that over evolutionary timescales of hundreds or thousands of years, atheists have had fewer children and the societies they belong to are likely to disappear.
That is so ludicrously illogical it could only come from the Murdoch empire
Dont worry, there are so many religions out there… and every religion makes fun of the others religion,
But religion stands no chance against science!
Facts are religion’s worst enemy. With free speech, facts cannot be held back.
If the overall intelligence of the human race continues to rise, then it is a mathematical certainty that religion will eventually disappear.
As you can see in the internet, every religion is getting it ass kicked…
for example youtube (watch: “Why do people laugh at creationists?”, “The Foundational Falsehood of Creationism”, “Science Saved My Soul.”, etc….)
In conclusion,
Religion Will Die On The Internet!!!!!!!!!
Bad reasoning. ‘Faith’ isn’t carried in the genes, nor free thinking. There is no guarantee that the ten children of a Catholic or a Mormon will be life long Catholics or Mormons. Madilyn Murray O’Hare had an Xian son.
Accidents of birth can put the newborn in the hands of those who practice religions or the various godless philosophies, but experience and their own thoughts will decide what path they ultimately take, not birth.
Gods, that is the problem with the world today, they are so focused on making kids and telling everyone what to do that we now have over crowding and a planet that is being over used and smothered. They need to stop breading and learn to enjoy what the gods have given to us to live on.
Be fruitful and multiply just doesn’t work anymore, it should be fruitful and create a better world.
Yeah, but the Catholics are cheating.
As everyone else mentioned, the idea that nature favors the faithful is a load of bullocks. Religious belief involves more than genetics. I’ve met people who grew up in non-religious homes turn religious and I’ve seen tons of people from religious households convert to agnostic or atheism. Also, if the Catholic church isn’t careful they will start losing those high numbers. I’ve met tons of ex-Catholics who converted to Paganism, Atheism, etc. because they did not like the old school ways of the church.
What really shocks me about this article is the hate toward religious people in the comments… I myself am religious AND intelligent. I’m not trying to convert anyone here…( Nor do I believe I have any right to), I just think that many of you aren’t just against religion… But you clearly have a hatred of people who are religious… Why? If you don’t share someones beliefs… Don’t mock them,(unless their the Con-Dem party) let them carry on, view it as a harmless passtime…
Atheists aren’t born.. they’re made. Unless you have ultra-religious parents that force feed you GOD “knowledge”
I thought being atheist only means you dont believe in creationism like god~ faith as well??
My 3 year old has begun saying “Oh my god” and I have said no such thing exists but feel it best to ignore and encourage futher education and suggest the words Oops/Wow. Damn the easter bunny too. In regards to the study I think @David makes a valid point.
Hot church chicks put out….what can I say? Except Praise Black Jesus!!
As many of you have already pointed out, religion (or ideology in general) is not hereditary. The idea that ideology depends on genetics smacks of racism, eugenics, and the Third Reich – and yet it’s perfectly acceptable when the ideology in question is called a religion!
A suggestion that the numbers of atheists are shrinking simply because religious people have more kids is just plain offensive. One amazing teacher or writer can expand the minds of a lot more people than one woman can possibly give birth to. It’s education, not birth rates, that matters. And considering that most atheists come from religious families, this study is laughably idiotic.
It’s a Numbers Game – But What Are We Counting: http://polina-skibinskaya.blogspot.com/2009/09/its-numbers-game-but-what-are-we.html
And was this survey done in the usual survey manner. Like on the telly when they say 8 out of ten cats prefered x to y. Only because they surveyed a small minority to ensure they got the figures they wanted. I bet if an athiest organisation did a similar study the results would be the opposite. Hence the reason why I tend to steer clear of surveys and religion!
Anyhoo I am athiest yet have 4 kids so am doing my bit! But it doesn’t help that the catholic church doesn’t allow the use of birth control, so they will still have a fresh supply of choirboys to keep the preists happy.
Shawn Ravenfire: It’s not that mindblowing. It could be recessive, or epigenetic, or environmental (due to hormone exposure in the womb). Traits aren’t always inherited in a straight (no pun intended) line down the family tree.
For instance, my sister has brown hair and my brother in law has black hair, but they both have a gene for blond hair (as they both have a blonde parent and blonde is recessive, only expressed in homozygote individuals), so their future children could be blondes without a random mutation.
filled with intellectual rigor and zero desire to fuck
women i meet hardly believe i really wanna know when i ask “what’s up?”
Which will mean diddley squat when the religious multitudes blow themselves (and us!) all up because “god” told them to do it…
Christians become Atheist when they grow up and start thinking for themselves. The more Christians there are today, the more Atheists there will be tomorrow. All it tales is for a Christian to open their eyes and tah-dah, one more Atheist to add to your silly count.
PS – God is an Atheist…it’s true, Google it!
Gabriel
“Atheists aren’t born.. they’re made. Unless you have ultra-religious parents that force feed you GOD “knowledge””
Actually as all children are born atheist they are made into religious beings by societies or parents.
Atheist a dying breed,as nature favours Faithful, very interesting article, as you can see there are a lot of sectors of religion worldwide, one question is an Atheist is a religion against christian, i am curious about it,
MarkAngelo: What? No, atheism isn’t a religion at all. It’s the absence of religion. It literally means ‘belief in no god’. So yes, by definition, as an atheist I do not believe in the existence of the Christian god. Nor do I believe in Allah, Krishna, Odin or whatever god people think of. There is no logical reason for a god to exist and no proof of its existence. I’ll believe in a god when someone proves he/she/it exists.
i do believe in god strongly, but the scientific part of my head keeps trying to prove me wrong but i had my own little miricle some of you would say it happened by chance, but as it happened i was praying for it to happen, i cant convince you to believe, but how do you soppose that the world was created, i dont believe that he said there will be light and stuff, i mix it with science, i say he made the explosion “big bang” and he shaped everything from there, after all you cant expect an explosion to make something as magnificent as animals
Religious people have evolved to produce more children than non-believers because religion is power. Power over the masses. The catholic church rose from the ashes of the Roman empire to continue that control. Why do you think condoms were banned by the pope – more little catholics running around.
you are a instrument of creation. the idea of a god only came about because of our observation of the world around use and when one says yes(agree), another must say no. simply because you both give purpose to each other. eg: what would be in point gods existence if we weren’t here to to make it so?
i am an aspiring author even low im only 15 years old.
i hope this sheds some light.
ps: check out this vid. really shows our place in the known cosmos:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8j-ZI6zyTA
“Atheists, watch out. Religious people have evolved to produce more children than non-believers, researchers claim, while societies dominated by non-believers are doomed to die out”.
Except that this is actually a game of, “survival of the most adapt”. Not “survival of the most fecund”.
So unless there actually is a supernatural entity, ready to intervene when resources are exhausted. There will be no hospitable arena in which the “game” can continue.
Because uh… atheists know how to use birth control???? hahahaha….”religious people have evolved” jk no they havent! theyre still stuck in the stone ages…or atleast their brains are….
Can atheists really “die out” ? We are not separate species. I was brought up in a Christian family, attending a Catholic school and yet I retain my belief that there is no God. I fail to see how atheism will ever eventually flicker out entirely. Or do I simply have to much hope for the human race that we will not all act the role of “sheep” and believe simply because we have grown up with those around us believing?
There are no such things as randomness or chance both concept are akin to believing in fairies. Do people really believe that an event can take place without a cause? This is totally illogical, madness.
Atheists aren’t born. They’re made by free thought and education. Atheists are generally converts from other religions.
Furthermore, with religions like Catholicism that don’t believe in birth control, it’s no wonder that they’re breeding like rabbits.