Friday, February 12, 2010

Belief, Enlightenment, Philosophy, Religion and Spirituality

The start of a further examination of belief, enlightenment, philosophy, religion and spirituality.

A big topic? ... Yes!

Some would say that it is beyond the scope of this author's experience or training. Yet, we all start as small beings; and, we learn. Now, at age 65 years, I'm well along the way of experiencing the rich tapestry of life; and death. Yes, I do ask the BIG QUESTIONS; always have, always will.

And why not? Is there a God (Higher Power)84% of the world's population seems to think, YES!; and only 16% say that they are nonreligious. (See, Adherents.com: Major Religions of the WorldRanked by Number of Adherents here, and following):

(Sizes shown are approximate estimates, and are here mainly for the purpose of ordering the groups, not providing a definitive number. This list is sociological/statistical in perspective.)

Introduction
The Adherents.com counts presented in the list below are current estimates of the number of people who have at least a minimal level of self-identification as adherents of the religion. Levels of participation vary within all groups. These numbers
tend toward the high end of reasonable worldwide estimates. Valid arguments can be made for different figures, but if the same criteria are used for all groups, the relative order should be the same. Further details and sources are available below and in the Adherents.com main database.”

  1. Christianity: 2.1 billion

  2. Islam: 1.5 billion

  3. Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 1.1 billion

  4. Hinduism: 900 million

  5. Chinese traditional religion: 394 million

  6. Buddhism: 376 million

  7. primal-indigenous: 300 million

  8. African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million

  9. Sikhism: 23 million

  10. Juche: 19 million

  11. Spiritism: 15 million

  12. Judaism: 14 million

  13. Baha'i: 7 million

  14. Jainism: 4.2 million

  15. Shinto: 4 million

  16. Cao Dai: 4 million

  17. Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million

  18. Tenrikyo: 2 million

  19. Neo-Paganism: 1 million

  20. Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand

  21. Rastafarianism: 600 thousand

  22. Scientology: 500 thousand

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Whether you like this and agree with me, or not, thank you for your comments. I normally do not purge an individual comment, unless it is obscene or obvious spam. If you have a question, do feel free to e-mail me at this address rulesforlife@gmail.com – Stan W.