The vast majority of people are not particularly religious. This includes most members of the major religions.
Sure, they know the correct song and dance, but outside of specific settings it has little influence on behavior.
Granted, they may self identify very strongly as X, but how many people view say speeding in religious terms? Your actively harming the world though increased pollution and directly risking others lives, but meh.
I would counter that outside of Western Europe people are MORE religious. Religious with a default negative cogitations and belittle of religion really is a bias.
> The vast majority of people are not particularly religious. This includes most members of the major religions.
You just belittled all major religions in two sentences without any data. I can tell that is not your intent and you are expressing an opinion but it is still belittling something without any evidence of your simple conclusion.
First the impact of religion on behavior has been studied for a long time. Perhaps the most famous being the increased economic growth of Protestant areas over Catholic areas.
Anyway, you misunderstand what I am saying. Cheating, Murder, Stealing, are often directly referenced in religious terms and so they are influenced by religion. It's behaviors that are not described in religious terms (aka speeding) that have minimal impact.
In other words, religion is generally a 'narrow' change in thought and behavior rather than influencing all actions.
PS: Now, if some religious leader takes up the cause that speeding is meaningful then that's going to have an impact. But, again only because of the direct focus.
But I am not talking impact (Which there is conflicting data) but data that shows a upward trend of religion around the world. You keep pushing down religion like its a bad thing and individual people are lesser because of it. There are millions that would say their own lives were changed and you should just say glad for you. :) Don't have a First World bias :)
The least religious nations, according to the poll, are China (14 percent saying they are religious), Japan (16 percent), Czech Republic (20 percent), Turkey (23 percent), Sweden (29 percent), Vietnam (30 percent), Australia (37 percent),
So, the EU is still fairly religious compared to much of the world.
Though the most religious countries are not really a list you want to join:
Ghana (96 percent of the participants that they are religious), Nigeria (93 percent), Armenia (92 percent), Fiji (92 percent), Macedonia (90 percent), Romania (89 percent), Iraq (88 percent), Kenya (88 percent), Peru (86 percent), and Brazil (85 percent).
Sure, they know the correct song and dance, but outside of specific settings it has little influence on behavior.
Granted, they may self identify very strongly as X, but how many people view say speeding in religious terms? Your actively harming the world though increased pollution and directly risking others lives, but meh.