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Well I guess that Christianity's effort to take Christ to godless Asia mostly fell on deaf ears.
From my admittedly limited experience traveling in the area (Vietnam in 2011 and my stepdaughter's year at a university in Shanghai), it seems to me that in Asia there tends to exist a cultural distinctive that I refer to as the "hive mind". We are more like a herd, fighting for each other's survival, yet ultimately so that each of us can individuals. Especially in the US with its "rugged individualism". But Asian nations seem to me more like members of a hive, with their individual destinies so subsumed by the "hive" that in war they feel no entitlement at all to their individual destiny until they have fully defended the "hive". This is how even the relatively gentle Vietnamese culture can be so utterly ruthless in war, so willing to sustain heavy casualties with what seems to us no real sentiment. They do not hide behind war machinery and push buttons in conflicts like we do; there is no public outrage at body counts. They are just philosophical about it. They do what needs doing.
But the Chinese, with their default of much more aggressive, even bellicose posturing (it's no accident they are North Korea's only friend, and their picking territorial disputes with Vietnam over unimportant border islands makes US corporate "let's see what we can get away with" disregard for civility seem tame) ... they are a force to be reckoned with, and even more so, I'd think, unencumbered as they are by religion. (By which I mean, not that they are unencumbered by moral (non)concerns, as they clearly have had the same (non)concerns all along, but that they are not constrained by magical thinking).
Naturally the religious will point to my critique of China as proof of some kind that their irreligion is responsible; I just think it's a perfect storm of cultural proclivities and the damage done by Mao's cultural revolution. Tyrants like Mao sometimes use religion as a tool, sometimes try to stamp it out, but the results are always the same: their people become inured to human suffering because they see so much of it. Their very lives are "survival of the fittest" so why would they not extend that to international relations, the Tibetans, and whoever else they see as competitors?
I definitely get the impression that the former Communist states (I do not regard China as communist now; they are simply a one -party capitalist state) have resulted in a preponderance of atheism. There is a cultural heritage of it, one might say. I don't doubt that many will feel the need for 'something more' in their lives and religion will go on the increase with the relaxation of state disapproval. On the other hand, there are signs of increasing disbelief in religion or at least disbelief in the authority of organized religions in the states where religious -believing was almost 92% of the populace.
That there is such a huge population in China means that conversion figures are going to be impressive. I don't expect it (or the conversions in other former Communist countries) to approach the unbeliever levels, especially if we do our job and the outside world listens.
Had a look at the link-it's too bad there were so many nations with no data (grey on map).
Surprised at the small dark pocket of non-belief in one European country in contrast to the rest-
appears to be half of the former Czechoslovakia ?
Try to find a map showing those who say 'agnostic' or not into organized religion. Then add that to the 'convinced atheist' figures. The map will be a lot more purple -brown.
Ps.
It's worth looking at the source of which the Newpaper article was based as it of course shoiws the degrees of religious -not religiious as well as actually calling themselves atheist. That does not even look at those who believe in a god but not in organized religion.
I couldn't find the map on the Gallup page. Could the Post have had a computer buff make that one up based on the 'atheist' return? It would certainly appear at first glance to suggest that the only sizeable body of atheists was in China . nuff sed. That there are flaws in this argument can be seen by looking at the colour of North Korea.
Last edited by TRANSPONDER; 05-30-2013 at 05:24 AM..
Had a look at the link-it's too bad there were so many nations with no data (grey on map).
Surprised at the small dark pocket of non-belief in one European country in contrast to the rest-
appears to be half of the former Czechoslovakia ?
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Try to find a map showing those who say 'agnostic' or not into organized religion. Then add that to the 'convinced atheist' figures. The map will be a lot more purple -brown.
I really don't miss being Catholic. 
