The World's Religions

[a completely inoffensive name]

You learn something new every day. Recently, I saw this world religion map posted which goes into extensive detail (very large image).

https://i.imgur.com/rzv85dn.png

Few things I learned:

1. African Christians seem to be mostly Protestant, I thought Catholicism was dominant across the entire southern half.

2. That large blob of "no religion" in eastern Germany as well as Estonia.

3. New Guinea (the island) is more diverse than I thought as well.

4. The pockets of Islam in Albania(?) and Bosnia were more dominating than I thought.

5. There are tiny enclaves of Roman Catholicism majority in the oddest of places. Does anyone have any knowledge of why?

From the creator of the map:


Pre-emptively answering some questions:


1) This maps shows nominal religion as self-determined by individuals answering census questions, surveys, etc. This does not necessarily indicate their de facto religion; for example, someone may call themselves a Catholic for cultural reasons but not believe in God while another may say they have no religion yet believe in some divine or supernatural force.


2) Islam could not be divided as Christianity was due to data limitations. Most Islamic countries do not ask about specific sects in their surveys and censuses.


3) Scandanavia uses official state church data


4) The Chilean claim of Antarctica is colored based on Chilean census data for [Villa Las Estrellas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Las_Estrellas)


5) The Assyrian population of the Nineveh Plains in Iraq may no longer exist due to ISIS.




Link to where I found this: http://tinyurl.com/ll9pk95

[Papewaio]

If their census polls did not include a Gah! option they are not a scientifically valid poll according to the Org traditions.

[Gilrandir]

In Western Ukraine (Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and south of Ternopil regions) the majority of population are Greek Catholics, i.e. the nominal head of their church is the Pope, yet otherwise (in rites, calendar and non-Latin language of service) they follow orthodox practices. Where are we to place them? The map, however, shows Lviv region as a catholic one and the other two mentioned are branded orthodox. I don't think it's accurate.

[Rhyfelwyr]

I learned there is a majority-Hindu region in Oman, which seems strange. Guest workers maybe?

The little red dots in southern India will be to do with the Saint Thomas Christian churches. India was evangelised very early in Christian history, their claim to have been evangelised by the Apostle Thomas is not impossible. Their liturgy is still in Syriac, its a remnant of a very antiquated form of Christianity that once covered much of the Christian world.

[Husar]

In Western Ukraine (Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and south of Ternopil regions) the majority of population are Greek Catholics, i.e. the nominal head of their church is the Pope, yet otherwise (in rites, calendar and non-Latin language of service) they follow orthodox practices. Where are we to place them? The map, however, shows Lviv region as a catholic one and the other two mentioned are branded orthodox. I don't think it's accurate.

It says it is based on their self-identification in official census data and polls, are you saying that people in Western Ukraine are mostly liars?

[rvg]

The green blob must be stopped.

[Gilrandir]

It says it is based on their self-identification in official census data and polls, are you saying that people in Western Ukraine are mostly liars?
There is a whole world of difference between Roman Catholics and Greek Catholics (the latter being catholics only in name and Orthodox in everything else), so I don't know if the authors of the polls phrased the poll question correctly or if they interpreted the results adequately if they had "Greek Catholic" for an answer. I would opt for the latter as the reason of inaccuracies I spotted.

[a completely inoffensive name]

There is a whole world of difference between Roman Catholics and Greek Catholics (the latter being catholics only in name and Orthodox in everything else), so I don't know if the authors of the polls phrased the poll question correctly or if they interpreted the results adequately if they had "Greek Catholic" for an answer. I would opt for the latter as the reason of inaccuracies I spotted.
The legend says that red is for both Roman and Eastern Catholics. He lumped the two together, but it does take into account that they are Greek catholics.

[CrossLOPER]

Thank you for this map. It is really nicely made and I find it very interesting.

[a completely inoffensive name]

The green blob must be stopped.
For anyone wondering...This is why I posted this here and not the front room.

[Greyblades]

1. African Christians seem to be mostly Protestant, I thought Catholicism was dominant across the entire southern half.
A lot appears to bear the marks of history; if you look closely at places like the nambia/angola border and the mosabique coast you'll see a general impression of where the protestant british and dutch colonies bordered the catholic portugese, spanish and french, evidently the results of each nation's missionary work still survives.

It's fascinating seeing how the different areas reflect history; see the big amount of muslims in the east african coast, a lot of it is likely remenant of the indian ocean trade routes, before the europeans entered the stage it was dominated by muslim traders IIRC. The catholic patch around louisiana, remenant of it being a major port in the north american french colonies, the carribbean islands share the religion of thier former colonisers. The protestant patches in burma is odd but probably a remnent of the Raj.


The green blob must be stopped.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef017d3c5d1c8f970c-600wi

[Gilrandir]

The legend says that red is for both Roman and Eastern Catholics. He lumped the two together, but it does take into account that they are Greek catholics.
I think this is misleading for those who don't know the difference between the two since they are definitely as different as the catholics and the orthodox.

[Montmorency]

It's just a matter of expedience. They don't merit their own category for a map of this size, after all.

I don't see that there was a better way to typologize religion for such a map without just having Christianity vs. Islam vs. "Eastern" vs. No/Other, or literally creating the most detailed atlas of religious geography ever.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

I think this is misleading for those who don't know the difference between the two since they are definitely as different as the catholics and the orthodox.

From an Ecumenical point of view you have Roman (Western) and Eastern Catholics, both actually being Roman of course. Then you have the Greek (Roman) Orthodox Church. I could complain that Anglicanism should have it's own category too, as it's neither Protestant nor Papal.

[Gilrandir]

From an Ecumenical point of view you have Roman (Western) and Eastern Catholics, both actually being Roman of course. Then you have the Greek (Roman) Orthodox Church. I could complain that Anglicanism should have it's own category too, as it's neither Protestant nor Papal.
Yet neither of these are taken into consideration. The map needs improvement, IMHO.

[Husar]

Also each Pentecostal or other free protestant church is neither catholic nor protestant even though they do align with protestants on some issues. Yet there are important differences that are not shown on the map and I know at least 5 churches just in NRW with slightly different views which should all have their own colour. You cannot just throw the hippie pentecostals in with the free church that takes the bible even more litterally and they are both not compatible with the free church that teaches that Jesus didn't turn water into wine because alcohol is bad and where the older women all wear a headscarf to the service because the bible says women should cover their head. It's a completely pointless map if they don't all get a colour of their own.

[Brenus]

I wonder how did they find France was Catholic country? All churches are decaying due to the lack of interest...

[Ironside]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef017d3c5d1c8f970c-600wi

Somebody set us up the bomb.

All your base are belong to us.
You have no chance to survive make your time.

I had to.


I wonder how did they find France was Catholic country? All churches are decaying due to the lack of interest...

Similar to Scandinavia I suppose. It's state church legacy that causes the colours here.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

I wonder how did they find France was Catholic country? All churches are decaying due to the lack of interest...

If you read the legend it says that it's "nominal" religion, so that just means the French would rather be put in the "Catholic" rather than the " no religion" box.

More to the point - there's no Shia/Sunni divide there.

[a completely inoffensive name]

More to the point - there's no Shia/Sunni divide there.

See the quote in the OP, point #2.

[Greyblades]

I'm surprised florida isnt at least partly catholic considering it's spanish history. What's the other religion block in the western inland USA?

I assume the catholic area around new york is from the influx of european immigrants during the late 19th and early 20th centuries?

[a completely inoffensive name]

I'm surprised florida isnt at least partly catholic considering it's spanish history. What's the other religion block in the western inland USA?

I assume the catholic area around new york is from the influx of european immigrants during the late 19th and early 20th centuries?
The brown is Mormon territory AKA Utah. The author classified them as "other" lol

[Brenus]

"so that just means the French would rather be put in the "Catholic" rather than the " no religion" box." Not in my experience, but... France is proudly atheist.
And if I have to believe some "studies", Buddhism is the religion that grows in France (even temples are built). The others are more or less declining, Islam being kept alive and kicking by emigration, as Catholicism by immigration as well, from different parts of the world indeed...

[CrossLOPER]

"so that just means the French would rather be put in the "Catholic" rather than the " no religion" box." Not in my experience, but... France is proudly atheist.
And if I have to believe some "studies", Buddhism is the religion that grows in France (even temples are built). The others are more or less declining, Islam being kept alive and kicking by emigration, as Catholicism by immigration as well, from different parts of the world indeed...
They are proudly atheist when Muslims are not around.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/magazine/the-national-fronts-post-charlie-hebdo-moment.html?_r=0

[Brenus]

"They are proudly atheist when Muslims are not around." :laugh4: If you believe the Front National propaganda... And even the fascists from the Front National claimed to be for separation between State and Religion. True a fringe of it is extreme-catholic, but if you want to have a chance to be elected in France, you just don't claim to be the follower of any religion. You might, it s a maximum, refer to the so-called Christian roots of France, but not much more. Again, the reality is nobody goes to churches...

[CrossLOPER]

If you believe the Front National propaganda...
I do! I do!

[Brenus]

"I do! I do!" :laugh4: Nothing I can do then... You have people you love looser, and fascists are certainly looser.

Joke apart, it is always what amazed me with the extreme-right ideologies... They worship strength and lost all the wars they started and still think their ideology is worth of something...:shrug:

[Gilrandir]

Again, the reality is nobody goes to churches...
Claiming that NOBODY goes to church in France is overgeneralization or gross exaggeration. Especially from the one who doesn't reside there.

[Brenus]

"Claiming that NOBODY goes to church in France is overgeneralization or gross exaggeration." No, it is a figure of speech, a poetic interpretation. One day, you will get it... Err, that is a gross exaggeration, sorry.

[Montmorency]

While it is true that most French identify as Catholic, or are identified as such by bureaucratic derivations, Brenus is basically correct.

From Wiki:


According to the Eurobarometer Poll conducted in 2010,[3] 27% of French citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", 33% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force", and 40% answered that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force". This makes France one of the more secular countries in the world.

[Husar]

That still leaves 60% who are more or less catholic.
That catholics are often not true christians is nothing new, I've said that for ages. ~;)

[Montmorency]

What is a Godless Catholic?

[Rhyfelwyr]

One interesting thing to notice is the extreme contrast between the ex-Eastern Bloc countries. The Czech Republic, eastern Germany and Estonia are extremely atheistic, but Poland, Lithuania and the Orthodox Balkan states are extremely religious. I wonder why this is.

[Husar]

What is a Godless Catholic?

Not being a true christian does not imply being godless. For U-Boot-Christians (they only surface in church on easter and christmas :creep:) and others it seems quite possible to see god as more of a force of the universe rather than the personal friend thing the more literal christians have. I talked to a catholic once and that catholic wasn't fond of the personal friend idea. Instead this catholic's view was that god is love in a more abstract sense and so on. I would assume people with such views count under "33% answered that 'they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force' ", yet show up as catholic in a census. I remember my protestant religion teacher also had a rather atheist view compared to what I was used to as being christian views, but I guess he wouldn't teach protestant religion courses at a high school if he was officially an atheist. The point being that the spirit or life force idea is probably held by quite a few people who would identify as catholics or protestants, sometimes maybe even more out of tradition or habit rather than actual belief compatibility.

Whether believing in a spiritual force makes one godless is debatable, since that spiritual force could be one's god.

[Montmorency]

That still leaves 60% who are more or less catholic.

Pantheism is not a form of Christianity!

[Husar]

Pantheism is not a form of Christianity!

I never said it is, I said that quite a few pantheists may identify as catholics anyway.

[Brenus]

"27% of French citizens responded that "they believe there is a God": And this includes the Muslims, Jews and Polytheists, and other "Christians" brands...

[Husar]

"27% of French citizens responded that "they believe there is a God": And this includes the Muslims, Jews and Polytheists, and other "Christians" brands...

Yes, absolutely, it's good to know that you can repeat Monty's point. :dizzy2:

And my point was that this wasn't a census and the map may be explained by some of the other 33% who appear as pantheists here signing up as catholic on a census. If you are saying that my point is wrong I suggest that you start by proving that noone with pantheist views would ever call himself a catholic in a census.
I was just trying to help explain the map by the way, I'm not sure why you all hate it so much that you have to find ways to say it is wrong as though everybody in your country is lying in a census or your country is too stupid to gather correct census data.

[Gilrandir]

I was just trying to help explain the map by the way, I'm not sure why you all hate it so much that you have to find ways to say it is wrong as though everybody in your country is lying in a census or your country is too stupid to gather correct census data.
As I have said, it is not about census respondents lying, but about inaccurate census questions and inadequate interpretation of it.
On a sidenote, going to church and being a believer are not identical. Some go to church because it is a tradition (especially on religious holidays), others to conform to the group pattern of behavior.

[Husar]

As I have said, it is not about census respondents lying, but about inaccurate census questions and inadequate interpretation of it.

So the government is too stupid to know what its people are about?
Who elected it then?


On a sidenote, going to church and being a believer are not identical. Some go to church because it is a tradition (especially on religious holidays), others to conform to the group pattern of behavior.

Exactly.

So the map is not wrong, it simply shows what it claims to show. Let me quote the OP:


1) This maps shows nominal religion as self-determined by individuals answering census questions, surveys, etc. This does not necessarily indicate their de facto religion; for example, someone may call themselves a Catholic for cultural reasons but not believe in God while another may say they have no religion yet believe in some divine or supernatural force.

[Gilrandir]

So the government is too stupid to know what its people are about?
Who elected it then?

The legend says that not only censuses (or what is the plural for it - censi?) were taken into accounts, but also surveys, etc. These were not governmental (or not all of them governmental). But I attribute the spotted shortcomings to the map developers, not to the information-gatherers. Fot the latter (who are definitely locals) the difference between Greek catolics and Roman catholics is huge, so they would never dump them into one category. The map developers, evidently, have less experience at least in some issues.
But, hey, cheer up - the criticism of the map your are so fond of seems to me quite limited. The color decision is pretty good. Print it out and hang it on the wall.

[Montmorency]

Print it out and hang it on the wall.

Idolatry.

[Gilrandir]

Idolatry.

Nah! Art for art's sake.

[HopAlongBunny]

If simple "home brew" opiates become a reality, religion may be pointless:

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/talking-back/home-brew-opiates-demonstrate-the-wild-and-woolies-of-synthetic-biology/

[Greyblades]

Pretty sure if home brew drugs was going to kill religion it would have happened with the creation of crystal meth.

[Gilrandir]

If simple "home brew" opiates become a reality, religion may be pointless:

Prayers till late at night aren't followed by a hangover or withdrawal syndrome. Or are they?

[Papewaio]

What is a Godless Catholic?

A smart one.

:drummer:

[spankythehippo]

Antarctica is way more Catholic than I thought.

[HopAlongBunny]

A quick look at those "other things" that are not religions, but are systems of faith:

http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/5/is-it-time-for-atheists-to-hunt-bigger-game.html

[Beskar]

Speaking of catholic, congrats to Ireland for voting in Gay Marriage via referendum.

[ICantSpellDawg]

Firstly, thanks for the map.

QUOTE=a completely inoffensive name

1. African Christians seem to be mostly Protestant, I thought Catholicism was dominant across the entire southern half.

I question your ability to read this map. You cannot know how many are one or the other from this map, merely the percentage of adherents out of the population in a given area. While Protestantism may be more geographically widespread, the area itself says nothing of the actual number of adherents within. Christianity has swelled dramatically in Africa since the 19th century and solid numbers are difficult to come by.

2. That large blob of "no religion" in eastern Germany as well as Estonia.

There are a large number of Czechs who claim no religion. Eastern Germans are some of the least religious in the world.

3. New Guinea (the island) is more diverse than I thought as well.

There have been dramatic and varied attempts at evangelism in that area. It looks how you would expect it to look from the long-term Portuguese and British influence.

4. The pockets of Islam in Albania(?) and Bosnia were more dominating than I thought.

Not if you knew that these were Islamic nations due to long-term Ottoman occupation. Today, Islam is actually on the downturn, but is still the plurality if you break Orthodox & Catholic adherents apart.

5. There are tiny enclaves of Roman Catholicism majority in the oddest of places. Does anyone have any knowledge of why?

Imperialism by trading powers, most notably the Portuguese, Spanish, French, British (interestingly), Dutch (interestingly).

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

A quick look at those "other things" that are not religions, but are systems of faith:

http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/5/is-it-time-for-atheists-to-hunt-bigger-game.html

What I find amusing is that people think this is new.

Special interest groups and supposed military invulnerability.

I'm gonna say it again - the Romans phoned - they want their irreligious intellectual life back.

at least Christianity provided something new​.