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Religious intolerance is intolerance of another's religious beliefs, practices, or lack thereof.
Irreligion is the neglect or active rejection of religion and, depending on the definition, a simple absence of religion.
State atheism or atheist state is the incorporation of hard atheism or non-theism into political regimes. It is considered the opposite of theocracy and may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments. To some extent, it is a religion-state relationship that is usually ideologically linked to irreligion and the promotion of irreligion. State atheism may refer to a government's promotion of anti-clericalism, which opposes religious institutional power and influence in all aspects of public and political life, including the involvement of religion in the everyday life of the citizen. In some instances, religious symbols and public practices that were once held by religions were replaced with secularized versions of them. State atheism can also exist in a politically neutral fashion, in which case, it is considered non-secular.
Antireligion is opposition to religion. It involves opposition to organized religion, religious practices or religious institutions. The term antireligion has also been used to describe opposition to specific forms of supernatural worship or practice, whether organized or not. The Soviet Union adopted the political ideology of Marxism–Leninism and by extension the policy of state atheism which opposed the growth of religions.
Religion in Egypt controls many aspects of social life and is endorsed by law. The state religion of Egypt is Islam, although estimates vary greatly in the absence of official statistics. Since the 2006 census religion has been excluded, and thus available statistics are estimates made by religious and non-governmental agencies. The country is majority Sunni Muslim, with the next largest religious group being Coptic Orthodox Christians. The exact numbers are subject to controversy, with Christians alleging that they have been systemically under-counted in existing censuses.
Religion in Iraq dates back to Ancient Mesopotamia, particularly Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia between circa 3500 BC and 400 AD, after which they largely gave way to Syriac Christianity and later to Islam.
Some movements or sects within traditionally monotheistic or polytheistic religions recognize that it is possible to practice religious faith, spirituality and adherence to tenets without a belief in deities. People with what would be considered religious or spiritual belief in a supernatural controlling power are defined by some as adherents to a religion; the argument that atheism is a religion has been described as a contradiction in terms.
Discrimination against atheists, sometimes called atheophobia, atheistophobia, or anti-atheism, both at present and historically, includes persecution of and discrimination against people who are identified as atheists. Discrimination against atheists may be manifested by negative attitudes, prejudice, hostility, hatred, fear, or intolerance towards atheists and atheism or even the complete denial of atheists existence. It is often expressed in distrust regardless of its manifestation. The main mechanism behind anti-atheist prejudice is the projection of believers' repressed desires. Perceived atheist prevalence seems to be correlated with reduction in prejudice.
All three major Abrahamic religions originated from the Middle East and are present in the Middle East. Islam is the most prevalent religion in the contemporary Middle East.
Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia.
Irreligion is present among a minority of mainly young people in Pakistan. Atheists in Pakistan face discrimination, persecution, and prejudice in society. Pakistan is reported by some sources to be among the thirteen countries where atheism can attract capital punishment, but according to the Library of Congress of the United States, "there is no specific statutory law that criminalizes apostasy in Pakistan." On the other hand, the Pakistani government can impose the death penalty for blasphemy.
Irreligion in Ghana is difficult to measure in the country, as regular demographic polling is not widespread and available statistics are often many years old. Most Ghanaian nationals claim the Christian (71%) or Muslim (18%) faiths. Many atheists in Ghana are not willing to openly express their beliefs due to the fear of persecution. Most secondary educational institutions also have some form of religious affiliation. This is evident in the names of schools like Presbyterian Boys School, Holy Child School and many others. Atheists form a very small minority in Ghana.
Irreligion in Egypt is controversial due to the prominence of conservative social traditions and the persecution by the religious institutions in the country. It is difficult to quantify the number of atheists or agnostics in Egypt, as the stigma attached to being one makes it hard for irreligious Egyptians to publicly profess their views and beliefs.
Irreligion in Saudi Arabia is difficult to measure as it is illegal to leave the Islamic faith in the country. Most atheists in Saudi Arabia communicate with each other via the internet.
Irreligion in Iran has a long historical background, non-religious citizens are officially unrecognized by the Iranian government. In official 2011 census, 265,899 persons did not state any religion. However, according to a 2020 online survey by Gamaan found a much larger percentage of Iranians identifying as atheist (8.8%), and a large fraction (22.2%) identifying as not following an organized religion.
Irreligion in Morocco is relatively uncommon, in the country. While a 2015 poll of about 1000 Moroccans by Gallup International found that 4% of respondents said they were "not religious", and 1% reported being a "convinced atheist", while 93% said they were religious
Irreligion in Yemen is uncommon among Yemenis, as Islam is the predominant faith. It is difficult to quantify the number of atheists in Yemen, as they are not officially counted in the census of the country. There is a great stigma attached to being an atheist in Yemen, so many Yemeni atheists communicate with each other via the internet.
Irreligion in the Middle East is the lack of religion in the Middle East. Though atheists in the Middle East are rarely public about their lack of belief, as they are persecuted in many countries, including Saudi Arabia where they are classified as terrorists, there are some atheist organizations in the Middle East. Islam dominates public and private life in most Middle East countries. Nonetheless, there reside small numbers of irreligious individuals within those countries who often face serious formal and, in some cases, informal legal and social consequences.
Irreligion in the United Arab Emirates is rare, with only up to 4% of people reporting irreligious beliefs according to a Gallup poll. It is illegal for Muslims, with apostates from Islam facing a maximum sentence of the death penalty under the country's anti-blasphemy law. As such, there have been questions regarding freedom of religion in the United Arab Emirates.
The situation for apostates from Islam varies markedly between Muslim-minority and Muslim-majority regions. In Muslim-minority countries, "any violence against those who abandon Islam is already illegal". But in some Muslim-majority countries, religious violence is "institutionalised", and "hundreds and thousands of closet apostates" live in fear of violence and are compelled to live lives of "extreme duplicity and mental stress."
References
- ↑ "Iraq's growing community of atheists no longer peripheral | Nazli Tarzi". AW. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
- ↑ "Common analysis - Iraq".
- ↑ "Iraqis Shocked as Atheism Creeps in". IslamOnline . Retrieved 16 April 2017.
- ↑ "Violence Leaves Young Iraqis Doubting Clerics". The New York Times . Retrieved 2012-11-05.
- ↑ "A life without God in Iraq: This 22-year-old atheist has been called the "Baghdad converter"". albawaba . Retrieved 2014-02-06.
- ↑ "Iraqi Secular Trend Responds to Religious Extremism". Al-Monitor . Retrieved 2014-03-25.
- ↑ "Iraqi atheists demand recognition, guarantee of their rights". Al-Monitor . Retrieved 2014-03-24.
- ↑ Jim Al-Khalili. Science Explorer: Jim Al-Khalili featured in The Life Scientific. BBC Radio 4.
I find it more comfortable to say I'm an atheist, and for that I probably have someone like Dawkins to thank.
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