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Well, yes, people have always looked to religion to better their lives, but it just seems that American style evangelical prosperity type thing is big in South Korea, with mega-churches.etc. I hear it's growing in Latin America too. Not surprised about Iran, with liberalisation people will resent how religion was forced upon them and leave in droves.
The strength of the prosperity-oriented churches at least in Brazil is getting ever larger than the catholic church. All the public television stations, with very few exceptions, are owned by gospel priesters or sell a lot of the programming schedule to televangelists. They also have a huge influence in politics. Roman Catholicism is still the largest denomination, but the proselytism of the neopentecostal churches is much stronger.
The strength of the prosperity-oriented churches at least in Brazil is getting ever larger than the catholic church. All the public television stations, with very few exceptions, are owned by gospel priesters or sell a lot of the programming schedule to televangelists. They also have a huge influence in politics. Roman Catholicism is still the largest denomination, but the proselytism of the neopentecostal churches is much stronger.
I still remember when Brazil won the world cup in 2002 some of the players took off their jerseys to reveal T-shirts with religious messages like 'Jesus loves you.'
Iranians may be very critical of the Religious rulers of Iran, yet it is very rare to hear an Iranian that has no religion.
Well yes, if you're raised like that...plus it's not something you want to say in a country where apostasy is a crime. Many Iranians who leave though aren't really that religious or not at all.
01-25-2014, 01:33 PM
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But I'm still not sure how the Czech republic is spiritual? Can you tell me why you think this?
Yes of course I know that, but there is overlap. I think both a religious fundamentalist and an atheist might be not very spiritual, likewise a lukewarm religious person and an agnostic might be more likely to be spiritual/spiritually open/open to the 'deeper' side of life. I don't know much about the Czech Republic to make a call except for the high level of atheism there.
Well, I included regions all over the world, so is that one of the only countries where you don’t agree on? Culture, and some of Lifestyle feels very spiritual over there, including Architecture scenery in cities like Prague, People Scene, interesting geographic location in Continental Europe, and Philosophy is a very prominent and popular topic over there.
Atheism doesn’t always discourage a high level form of spirituality, and there are some religious people continuing to live over there.
How about Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Bhutan, some of China, some islands in Oceania and Indian Ocean, some Eurasian countries, France, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, overseas EU island regions, and India as some of the highest level spiritual regions of the world?
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Originally Posted by The Postman
Well I think it's more a cultural thing, I guess it's because one sees a lot of temples.etc and Vietnamese can be superstitious, so maybe they are a bit more so than they appear (like Hong Kong or Taiwan). On the other hand, when you interract with Vietnamese and see them, most of them, it doesn't seem that way. My Vietnamese friend says that most Vietnamese do not really follow any religion or philosophy seriously. Most will occasionally go to the shrine to place incense, or the temple once in awhile, like people here go to church at Christmas.
Maybe that depends on exact topic, or role in lifestyle, and involvement of culture. I feel regions of Asia in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam have a high level of spirituality, including spiritual mysticism.
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Originally Posted by The Postman
Korea is getting less religious, more materialistic/secular. A lot of the Christianity is of the American 'prosperity gospel' type, although not to say there aren't a lot of true believers. A lot of Buddhists are more cultural.
Sri Lanka is very religious, I think 99% of Sri Lankans consider religion 'very important' in their lives.
I wouldn’t make a false accusation about South Korea becoming less religious/more secular. However, yeah South Koreans are more materialistic in recent times and a paradox happening between religion vs. a form of materialism.
I didn’t expect such a high level of religion in Sri Lanka, and almost a complete pure Buddhist nation with more than 90% of entire population believing in Buddhism.
What happened in historical events between India vs. Sri Lanka to cause India to change religious demographics and have much less Buddhism? The overall level of spirituality might have some similarities in Sri Lanka vs. India, even when they are not the same. Whenever I met Sri Lankans, they always seemed like Kerala Tamil Nadu Southern Indians to me, and not a separate nation in people scene, national personality, character, and temperament.
01-25-2014, 01:37 PM
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Though Mexico is becoming very left and liberal and secular kind of quickly, I think it's one of the most religious countries in the world. I believe Mexico City is the city with the most churches in the world, though now the city is really really liberal. Maybe not like the Northeastern USA or San Francisco, but for being in Mexico or in a 3rd world country, it's really liberal. Poland, The Phillipines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Burma and Thailand have to also be there as highly religious. Oh not forget the central american countries like Guatemala and El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, add maybe Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Cuba. Maybe some south American countries but I wouldn't know about them. I'm thinking San Marino and the Vatican must be very religious still. Also a lot of Sub-Saharan and North African countries maybe. India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka also. China must have a lot of religious people because of its large population, but that's because it has so many people, percentage wise is very low though. South Korea is pretty religious especially in comparison to the Japanese and Chinese. I believe around 30% are Christian and another 30% are Buddhist.
Well, I visited Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico for 15 days/2 weeks and doesn’t seem very religious over there. That probably depends on region and province of Mexico.
Yeah, Thailand, Malaysia, and Philippines are very religious for Asian countries. You are right about almost every country you included.
South Korea’s religious demographics is completely fascinating to me to have an even mix of around 30% Buddhists, 30% Christians, and 30% secular/non religious representing 50 million people in South Korea. I find that an ideal religious demographic representation in the world, and my religious beliefs is somewhere between Christian, Buddhist, and secular. I am much more spiritual than religious.
In Europe, the most religious countries right now are Portugal, Poland, Romania, Italy, and Spain.
Well, I visited Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico for 15 days/2 weeks and doesn’t seem very religious over there. That probably depends on region and province of Mexico.
Yeah, Thailand, Malaysia, and Philippines are very religious for Asian countries. You are right about almost every country you included.
South Korea’s religious demographics is completely fascinating to me to have an even mix of around 30% Buddhists, 30% Christians, and 30% secular/non religious representing 39 million people in South Korea. I find that an ideal religious demographic representation in the world, and my religious beliefs is somewhere between Christian, Buddhist, and secular. I am much more spiritual than religious.
In Europe, the most religious countries right now are Portugal, Poland, Romania, Italy, and Spain.
You call Spain in the group the most religious country in Europe? So far the people I have met that are from Spain or originally from Spain admitted they are atheist.
here is the comparison between Spain and America:
A survey released in February showed 70 percent of Spaniards describe themselves as Catholic, a fall of almost 10 percent in a decade. Among Spanish Catholics just 12.5 percent attend mass at least once a week.
In comparison, 40 percent of Americans describe themselves as "very religious" and normally attend service at least once a week, according to a recent Gallup poll. Religion in Europe, also in crisis | GlobalPost
Well, I included regions all over the world, so is that one of the only countries where you don’t agree on? Culture, and some of Lifestyle feels very spiritual over there, including Architecture scenery in cities like Prague, People Scene, interesting geographic location in Continental Europe, and Philosophy is a very prominent and popular topic over there.
Atheism doesn’t always discourage a high level form of spirituality, and there are some religious people continuing to live over there.
How about Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Bhutan, some of China, some islands in Oceania and Indian Ocean, some Eurasian countries, France, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, overseas EU island regions, and India as some of the highest level spiritual regions of the world?
Maybe that depends on exact topic, or role in lifestyle, and involvement of culture. I feel regions of Asia in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam have a high level of spirituality, including spiritual mysticism.
I wouldn’t make a false accusation about South Korea becoming less religious/more secular. However, yeah South Koreans are more materialistic in recent times and a paradox happening between religion vs. a form of materialism.
I didn’t expect such a high level of religion in Sri Lanka, and almost a complete pure Buddhist nation with more than 90% of entire population believing in Buddhism.
What happened in historical events between India vs. Sri Lanka to cause India to change religious demographics and have much less Buddhism? The overall level of spirituality might have some similarities in Sri Lanka vs. India, even when they are not the same. Whenever I met Sri Lankans, they always seemed like Kerala Tamil Nadu Southern Indians to me, and not a separate nation in people scene, national personality, character, and temperament.
I'm not sure how architecture makes a place spiritual. The UK still has a lot of churches that feel you feel 'closer to God' but I wouldn't say the people there on the whole seem very spiritual. Haven't been to the Czech Republic so I can't so, all I know is it's got a reputation for atheism.
I can't really even speak much about nations I've been to, and can also only go by stats and subjective feel, so I don't really feel that qualified to make absolute judgements, but as I said, I don't feel Vietnam is particularly spiritual, neither is China. Maybe Taiwan is more than you'd think, I don't think, it seems they have a more 'work/life balance' at least than China and are more philosophical. Buddhism seems quite strong there, especially in it's 'purer form' and you see quite a lot of buddhist monks even in Taipei. There are a lot of temples everywhere. I would say in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and a lesser extent Vietnam and China, superstition at least is still quite common. I don't know how much that counts as spirituality. Malaysia is mostly Muslim. The ethnic Chinese are mostly Buddhist/Taoist or Christian. I think because most of the Christians are more recent converts they are more fervent than many Christians in the West. Indians are mostly Hindus with some Christians, who are similarly more fervent and sometimes 'spiritual' if you like. Belief in demons and evil spirits, for instance, is quite high there. I remember meeting an older man and his wife, Bornean natives who were quite westernised in their education.etc, talking vividly about a case of demonic possession they had witnessed. As you might know the native peoples of Borneo, the Iban, Dayak.etc were once very into animism with it's superstitions, but now most are Christian, being the only group in Malaysia that are majority Christian. They are classified under the 'Bumiputra' label with Malays even if they are culturally different.
Well that's just what I've heard about SK...it seems most Koreans I've met haven't been all that religious, but i notice a lot of older Koreans who come here are Christians. It's not a place I've visited or am familiar with.
Most Buddhists in Sri Lanka are Sinhalese, which make up 74% of the population, there's significant Hindu (mostly Tamil), Muslim (mostly 'Moors' and Tamil) and Christian (both Sinhalese, Tamil and Burgher) minorities. Buddhism is integral to Sri Lankan identity, from it's early years, and a lot of Sinhalese take it very seriously. They consider it the destiny of the Sinhalese people to preserve Buddhism in it's pure form, although like anywhere it's mixed over time with traditional beliefs and Hinduism. I have seen first hand the reverence of people bowing to the tooth relic in Kandy, which bordered on worship. I also went inside a Hindu temple in Sri Lanka, very colourful and noisy and exotic inside. The north and east of Sri Lanka, and the highlands, are mostly Tamil and Hindu. You also have towns that are majority Christian and Muslim. Negombo, for instance, being almost 90% Catholic north of Colombo. My guide was Catholic but he would bow down to statues of Buddha, Ganesha, Vishnu.etc, so maybe it's either a respect for those religions or even a sort of syncretism. It seems very rare to find a Sri Lankan who's not religious.
A combination of Islamic influence from outside as well as a resurgence of Hinduism was responsible for Buddhism receding in India. The priestly class, the brahmins, felt threatened by it's rise (especially the fact it was more democratic than the caste-bound Brahminism/Hinduism). The Mughals and earlier Muslim invaders of course did not like Buddhism but their influence was focused on the north. I'm not sure if Buddhism ever took as much hold in Southern India, which is sort of the stronghold of Hindu belief now.
Sri Lanka is very distinct from India, being a separate kingdom/nation for nearly 3000 years now. Sinhala/Sinhalese probably has similarities to the languages spoken in Orissa, where the Sinhalese are said to have arrived from. Before that, however, there were native people on the island called Veddas. Tamils have also lived on the island probably as long as the Sinhalese. While similar on the surface, Sri Lankan culture has distinct things, many related to being Buddhist. Today, for instance, many men still wear 'sarongs', similar to the Malay sarong, like long skirts. Western clothing is becoming more common in Colombo however.
One of the wrongest assumptions I've ever read.
Russia is one of the most spiritual countries by default, even in its present form.
The country that's historically standing on crossroads between East and West, the one that went through biggest social experiments in history, the one that historically combined staunch atheism with staunch Orthodoxy ( not to mention the admixture of paganism.) The definitions of what is "East" and "West" - the positives and negatives of both, the social problems of past and present in the country, the moral issues, the philosophical questions, the scientific questions that Russians ( often educated in physics) love to ponder in their spare time, the discussions about the place and meaning of Russia in history, about the future of the country - all of it is still there, in spite of the materialistic nature of today's ruling class, (or may be because of its controversy the spirituality is actually again on the rise.)
some of Eastern Europe including Russia, Romania, Czech Republic, some of Central and Western Europe France, Austria, Spain, Portugal
Czech republic is Central European country. Not Eastern Europe!
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