基督教信仰, 基督徒

誠惶誠恐

各國宗教信徒時代新變遷

來源：伊光編譯 伊斯蘭人文學術 2006-11-26

　　東方人迷信西方國家﹐錯以為他們是以基督教信仰為基礎的文明社會﹐絕大多數人是虔誠基督徒﹐這是老教科書中的舊觀念。 西方的科技先進﹐重商主義﹐市場自由競爭經濟﹐金錢利益第一﹐引導民眾貪圖物質享樂﹐大多數西方國家都把宗教排擠到了接近滅亡的邊緣。

　　根據最近美國私營國際社會調查公司 (The Angus Reid World Poll) 對各大洲二十個國家宗教信仰狀況的調查報告﹐發現歐洲和加拿大民間宗教信仰呈迅速衰敗趨勢﹐只有印度﹑南美洲和中東三大地區的宗教信仰保持傳統高度。西方國家宗教信仰衰落最低谷的國家是法國﹐現在僅有17%的居民承認有宗教信仰﹐其次是英國﹐為23%﹐德國為24%﹐西班牙為31%。意大利是傳統天主教最盛行的國家﹐現在有51%的居民承認保持信仰﹐是歐洲大陸國家最高的比率。

　　法國在希拉克擔任總統期間﹐世俗化進程最為明顯﹐因此在2004年2月﹐政府決定在公立學校中取締任何宗教信仰的標誌﹐在國會中順利通過並且開始執行﹐基本上沒有阻力﹐證明人們習慣於現代的世俗化生活﹐對宗教沒有強烈的需求。百分之83的法國人在回答「是否信仰宗教」問題時說﹐「沒有興趣」﹐或者「不信仰任何宗教」。前內閣部長伯納德‧斯塔西在國會中發起動議﹐取消公立學校中一切宗教性標誌﹐如穆斯林女子的蓋頭﹑猶太人的小帽﹑基督教的十字架﹐獲得絕大多數議員的支持﹐表明法國取消社會中宗教文化水到渠成的趨勢。

　　西班牙非宗教化運動從保守主義的總統扎帕特羅開始﹐他在2004年4月擔任總統以來﹐國會和政府對宗教活動採取一系列抵消措施。在國會中佔優勢的社會主義黨﹐對總統的非宗教化給予支持﹐例如通過了表現激進的同性婚姻合法化法案。這是公開與西班牙傳統的天主教教會對抗﹐並且第一次迫使天主教教會交納地產稅。

　　在被調查的二十個國家中﹐宗教信仰保持最高程度的國家是伊斯蘭國家﹐如沙特阿拉伯為96%﹐埃及為89%﹐其次是西方傳統殖民地國家﹐如南非為70%﹐墨西哥為65%﹐印度為55%。伊斯蘭在許多國家是「國教」﹐例如沙特阿拉伯﹐伊斯蘭信仰貫徹在全面的社會管理和人民生活中﹐形成與西方國家世俗法制對立的宗教法律治國。埃及人口90%是穆斯林﹐幾乎全體承認伊斯蘭是他們的信仰。 印度和黎巴嫩是宗教信仰比率很高的國家﹐因為其中穆斯林佔的信仰比率超過其它宗教﹐如印度教和基督教。

　　今年年初﹐歐洲某些國家對丹麥報紙侮辱先知穆罕默德漫畫事件表示支持﹐因為他們認為對丹麥出現的辱聖漫畫引發席卷全球的穆斯林抗議浪潮﹐不合理﹐不民主﹑干涉言論自由。從本質上說﹐他們是以西方人的驕傲﹐把自己的理念強加於人﹐認為歐洲人對基督教感情單薄﹐可以任意謾罵和侮辱﹐伊斯蘭也是宗教﹐沒有理由排除在言論自由法則之外﹐受到特殊保護。對宗教的信仰和感情深刻程度﹐歐洲人遠遠不如穆斯林﹐構成「文明衝突」的因素之一。

　　北美洲的基督教徒信仰十多年來出現銳減的趨勢。 十四年前的一次調查發現﹐加拿大有61%的居民承認基督教信仰﹐而最近的一次調查﹐信仰的人比率突降到39%﹔美國的1992年調查是83%﹐而2006年發現堅持信仰的人降落到63%。美國社會以高度自由化為榮耀﹐宗教戒律受到藐視﹐多數信徒處於有法不遵的狀態﹐宗教信仰理解為隨意性的教條選擇。最近幾年來的社會習俗改革討論﹐表現人們不堅持宗教規則﹐而贊同遠離宗教自由化﹐如墮胎﹑同性戀﹑安樂死﹑非婚姻同居。在人們心目中﹐需要在享樂與宗教之間做選擇的時候﹐他們願意拋棄宗教﹐所以﹐雖然大多數民眾聲稱信仰基督教﹐但信仰得不真實﹐多是虛報。

　　市場化的經濟和商業廣告宣傳給世界人民帶來更多的自由﹐傳統的文化色彩在退化﹐而形成多元文化圖像﹐但大多數人民的生活方式沒有擺脫宗教的精神影響。在調查中發現﹐有60%的人對未來世界的宗教持樂觀態度﹐他們認為宗教將永遠成為生活內容的一部分﹔而也有63%的被調查對象對宗教的實際存在表示悲觀﹐他們認為未來的世界﹐宗教功能越來越沒有意義。這是大多數西方國家的民意表現﹐宗教隨著經濟和生活方式在變遷﹐西方人信仰的基督教只是歷史傳統﹐現在不是這樣了。

http://zhongguoysl.bokee.com/5898035.html

誠惶誠恐

《林以諾牧師暢談歐洲巡迴佈道體會》有以下一段：

歐洲行體會到教會的衰落

林以諾牧師這次歐洲之行，看到歐洲教會的衰落，他去的歐洲4個國家：英國、比利時、荷蘭和法國中，不論在倫敦、伯明翰、曼城、巴黎、鹿特丹、阿姆斯特丹、安多芬等地，看到很多的教會已經關門：有的賣予百貨公司、有的已改建成娛樂場所。現實是：歐洲很多人不返教會，不信耶穌——這與很多人對歐洲是「基督教國家」的了解截然不同。

誠惶誠恐

根據最近美國私營國際社會調查公司 (The Angus Reid World Poll) 對各大洲二十個國家宗教信仰狀況的調查報告﹐發現歐洲和加拿大民間宗教信仰呈迅速衰敗趨勢 ...
誠惶誠恐 發表於 2009/9/11 14:33

Angus Reid Global Monitor : Politics In Depth

Religion on the Way Out in Europe
November 12, 2006

The 2006 Angus Reid World Poll

Mario Canseco - The Angus Reid World Poll conducted for Maclean’s found that most Europeans and Canadians appear to be turning away from religion, while Indians, South Africans, Mexicans and residents of three Middle East countries still consider it an important part of their daily lives.

France is at the bottom of the list, with only 17 per cent of respondents expressing interest in religion, with Britain at 23 per cent, Germany at 24 per cent and Spain at 31 per cent. Italy, traditionally one of the most Catholic countries in Europe, is the exception among continental nations with 51 per cent.

The trend towards secularism has been evident in France during the presidency of Jacques Chirac. In February 2004, the French government implemented a ban on religious symbols in schools as a measure to reaffirm the country’s secular identity. Former government minister Bernard Stasi headed the panel, which concluded that some garments—such as Islamic scarves, Jewish kippas and crosses—represent a "conspicuous" sign of spiritual affiliation that should not be allowed in the classroom.

Spain has also shown a tendency towards secularism during the tenure of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who took over as president from a conservative government in April 2004. The Socialist administration legalized same-sex marriage over the objections of religious associations, and compelled the Catholic Church to pay the Value Added Tax (VAT) for the first time.

Saudi Arabia was the most religious country of the 20 nations surveyed at 96 per cent, followed by Egypt with 89 per cent, South Africa with 70 per cent, Lebanon and Mexico with 65 per cent each, and India with 55 per cent.

Islam is the official religion of Saudi Arabia, the legal system is based on Islamic law or Sharia, and all citizens have to be Muslims. In Egypt, 90 per cent of the population is Muslim. South Africa is predominantly Christian, but a third of the population follows traditional and indigenous beliefs, Islam or Hinduism. In Lebanon, religious diversity is entrenched in the Constitution, and the Assembly of Representatives allocates half of the seats to Catholics, and the other half to Muslims.

Earlier this year, some newspapers in Western Europe decided to re-print a series of controversial cartoons depicting Muslim prophet Mohammed, which had originally appeared in Denmark’s Jyllands-Posten. The two most contentious drawings show Mohammed with a bomb for a turban, and greeting suicide bombers in heaven. Public protests occurred in more than a dozen countries, and the embassies of Denmark and Norway in Syria—as well as the Danish consulate in Lebanon and an Italian consulate in Libya—were torched by mobs.

In North America, a change in Canadian perspectives has been evident over the past 14 years. In 1992, 61 per cent of respondents said religion was very important for their daily lives. This year, the number dropped to 39 per cent. In the United States there was also a decrease, from 83 per cent in 1992 to 63 per cent in 2006.

The U.S. has faced constant debates that have examined the role of religion in daily life, particularly in regard to the ethical questions posed by embryonic stem cell research and abortion, as well as euthanasia—exemplified during the case of Terri Schiavo in 2005. Another avenue of discussion is the emergence of the theory of intelligent design, which suggests certain biological mechanisms are too complex to have developed without the involvement of a powerful force or intelligent being, and has been chastised by scientists as a concealed method of teaching creationism.

Mexico is the only predominantly Catholic country where more than 60 per cent of respondents express an interest in religion. Mexican president Vicente Fox—who will step down in December after a six-year term—openly discussed his faith during speeches and press conferences, a rarity for Mexican heads of state.

Despite the variations across the globe, spirituality clearly has an influence on the way people feel. 60 per cent of global respondents who expressed optimism in the future say religion is very important to their daily lives. Conversely, 63 per cent of respondents who feel pessimistic about their outlook think religion is simply not that significant.

Methodology (PDF)

More Data (PDF)

http://www.angus-reid.com/analysis/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/13765