Major religious groups
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| - | '''Chaos magic''' is a form of [[magic (paranormal)|magic]] which was first formulated in [[West Yorkshire]], [[England]], in the 1970s. Through a variety of techniques often reminiscent of Western [[ceremonial magic]] or [[neoshamanism]], many practitioners believe they can change both their subjective experience and objective reality, though some chaos magicians dispute that magic occurs through [[paranormal]] means. | + | The world's principal '''[[religion]]s''' and spiritual traditions may be classified into a small number of major groups or '''world religions'''. According to the 2005 survey of ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', the vast majority of religious and spiritual adherents follow [[Christianity]] (33% of [[world population]]), [[Islam]] (20%), [[Hinduism]] (13%), [[Chinese folk religion]] (6.3%) or [[Buddhism]] (5.9%). The [[Irreligion|irreligious]] and [[Atheism|atheists]] make up about 14%, and about 4% follow indigenous [[tribal religion]]s. A number of classical "world religions" (including [[Sikhism]], [[Judaism]], [[Bahá'í]], [[Jainism]], [[Shinto]] and others) are each followed by under 0.5% of the world's population; they are sometimes considered world religions in terms of cultural significance and historic recognition, but are not deemed to be "major religious groups" due to their size. |
| + | ==Religious demographics== | ||
| - | One of the most frequently cited tenets of Chaos magic is that "[[Nothing is True and Everything is Permitted]]", a quote attributed to [[Hassan-i Sabbah]] and used by [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] in his work ''[[Thus Spoke Zarathustra]]''. Like Crowley's "'Do what thou wilt' shall be the whole of the law", this phrase is often mistakenly interpreted in its most literal sense to mean that objective reality does not exist and therefore that free will is unlimited. However, "Nothing is True and Everything is Permitted" is more widely interpreted to mean "there is no such thing as an objective truth outside of our perception; therefore, all things are true and possible". | + | One way to define a major religion is by the number of current adherents. The population numbers by religion are computed by a combination of census reports and population surveys (in countries where religion data is not collected in census, for example the United States or France), but results can vary widely depending on the way questions are phrased, the definitions of religion used and the bias of the agencies or organizations conducting the survey. Informal or unorganized religions are especially difficult to count. |
| - | Although there are a few techniques unique to chaos magic (such as some forms of [[sigil (magic)|sigil magic]]), chaos magic is often highly individualistic and borrows liberally from other belief systems, due to chaos magic having a central belief that belief is a tool. Some common sources of inspiration include such diverse areas as [[science fiction]], [[theory|scientific theories]], [[ceremonial magic]], [[shamanism]], [[Eastern philosophy]], [[major religious groups|world religions]], and individual [[experiment]]ation. Despite tremendous individual variation, chaos magicians often work with chaotic and humorous paradigms, such as the worship of [[Chaos (Chinese god)|Hundun]] from [[Taoism]] or [[Eris (mythology)|Eris]] from [[Discordianism]]. | + | There is no consensus among researchers as to the best methodology for determining the religiosity profile of the world's population. A number of fundamental aspects are unresolved: |
| + | |||
| + | * Whether to count "historically predominant religious culture[s]" | ||
| + | * Whether to count only those who actively "practice" a particular religion | ||
| + | * Whether to count based on a concept of "adherence" | ||
| + | * Whether to count only those who expressly self-identify with a particular denomination | ||
| + | * Whether to count only adults, or to include children as well. | ||
| + | * Whether to rely only on official government-provided statistics | ||
| + | * Whether to use multiple sources and ranges or single "best source(s)" | ||
| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | * [[Irreligion]] | ||
| + | * [[Religious text]] | ||
| + | * [[Religious conversion]] | ||
| + | * [[Dharma]] | ||
| + | * [[Numinous]] | ||
| + | * [[Cosmological argument]] | ||
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Revision as of 10:39, 7 January 2019
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The world's principal religions and spiritual traditions may be classified into a small number of major groups or world religions. According to the 2005 survey of Encyclopædia Britannica, the vast majority of religious and spiritual adherents follow Christianity (33% of world population), Islam (20%), Hinduism (13%), Chinese folk religion (6.3%) or Buddhism (5.9%). The irreligious and atheists make up about 14%, and about 4% follow indigenous tribal religions. A number of classical "world religions" (including Sikhism, Judaism, Bahá'í, Jainism, Shinto and others) are each followed by under 0.5% of the world's population; they are sometimes considered world religions in terms of cultural significance and historic recognition, but are not deemed to be "major religious groups" due to their size.
Religious demographics
One way to define a major religion is by the number of current adherents. The population numbers by religion are computed by a combination of census reports and population surveys (in countries where religion data is not collected in census, for example the United States or France), but results can vary widely depending on the way questions are phrased, the definitions of religion used and the bias of the agencies or organizations conducting the survey. Informal or unorganized religions are especially difficult to count.
There is no consensus among researchers as to the best methodology for determining the religiosity profile of the world's population. A number of fundamental aspects are unresolved:
- Whether to count "historically predominant religious culture[s]"
- Whether to count only those who actively "practice" a particular religion
- Whether to count based on a concept of "adherence"
- Whether to count only those who expressly self-identify with a particular denomination
- Whether to count only adults, or to include children as well.
- Whether to rely only on official government-provided statistics
- Whether to use multiple sources and ranges or single "best source(s)"
See also
