anyone know which nations have the most Atheists/Agnostics ?

[JI7]

does anyone know which nations have the greatest percentage of those who are atheist or agnostic and what those numbers are ?

[Az]

1. Scotland 80% atheist

Of course the Asian nations have some different religions and as such may not be theistic but still spiritual.

[progressoid]

2. Really? You're just making that up right?

[Az]

7. Not making it up

I would like to find a link to verify it though. This one I heard some time ago during a convention. Richard Dawkins reported it IIRC.

[JI7]

5. wow, that's really high and especially surprising for Scotland

[PassingFair]

6. I have heard this too, AZ

though I thought the percentage was more like 60. I have a very Scottish last name, both sets of my grandparents immigrated from Scotland and my dad was raised there.
Guess it's genetic.
My grannie had a saying that I hear in my head many times a year:
"What canna be cured, must be endured"
Talk about exceptance of reality!

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. Seems far too high

As the following web page says, the exact question can make quite a lot of difference to the answer, but 80% still seems way too much:

2001 Scotland Census
What religion, religious denomination or body do you belong to?

None (answer: 29.1%)
Church of Scotland
Roman Catholic
Other Christian (please write in)
Buddhist
Jewish
Muslim
Sikh
Another religion (please write in)

Labour Force Survey (2002 onwards)– Great Britain
What is your religion, even if you are not currently practising

Christian
Buddhist
Hindu
Jewish
Muslim
Sikh
Any other religion
Or no religion at all (answer: 16.1%)

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=984

[PassingFair]

9. I know I've read the 60% figure somewhere...

...but this was interesting, too:

"9 in 10 Scots avoid kirk. Only 1 individual in 10 in Scotland goes to church each Sunday. Worshippers at the national Church of Scotland fell by 22% in the last eight years, with the Catholic Church reporting attendance down by nearly 20%." Source: The Scotsman, May 20, 2003

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. Someone on wikipedia reckons the Czech Republic at 59%

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheist#Statistics

"The state with the highest percentage of atheists is the Czech republic which, at 59%, reflects the influence of both Communism and the campaign against Hussites in the 17th century."

[JI7]

4. i wonder

after the fall of communism in eastern europe the Czech Republic has largely avoided much of the negative results we have seen in places like the former yugoslavia or even russia with the religious,ethnic and other conflicts.

i wonder if the high percentage of atheists could have anything to do with it.