with a religion jumped by almost 35% percent. That’s about 72 million Americans

大大減少了35個百分比，算起來將近有7千2百萬人

who consider themselves irreligious - and may be atheist, agnostic, or spiritual, but unaffiliated.

認為自己非篤信宗教人士，或者說是無神論者、不可知論者或精神層次信仰者，但並不能說他們是未信仰宗教者。

And worldwide, 13% of people considered themselves “convinced atheists”,

根據2012年Gallup國際民調

according to a 2012 Gallup International poll. So why is Atheism more popular than ever?

全世界有13個百分比的人口「篤信無神論」。不過，為何無神論會越來越受歡迎呢？

Well, first it’s important to understand that atheists are distinct from the religiously unaffiliated.

第一，我們要知道，無神論者和未歸依宗教者之間可是天壤之別

Atheists firmly believe that there is no higher power. This is not to be confused with agnostics,

無神論者堅信沒有神的力量，可別和不可知論者混淆了

who are uncertain of the existence of a higher power.

不可知論者對最高力量是否存在，是抱持著懷疑態度的

However, many people use the two terms interchangeably.

然而，很多人將這兩個詞混用了

For much of history atheism has been considered a taboo around the world. In medieval times,

從歷史來看，無神論在世界各地被視為禁忌，在中古時期

it wasn’t uncommon for atheists and other free thinkers to be burned at the stake for heresy.

無神論者或自由思想者被視為異議份子，被綁在木樁上施以火刑的事時有所聞。

And even today, atheists can still be executed for their beliefs in about 13 countries

即使現在，無神論者在非洲、亞洲與中東的十三個國家，仍可能因信仰的關係而被處以死刑

in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Despite their growing popularity, negative stigmas and stereotypes

即使無神論越來越受歡迎，在美國這樣的國家，

also continue to affect atheists and the religiously unaffiliated,

負面標籤和刻板印象

even in developed countries like the United States.

仍然繼續影響著無神論者與未歸依宗教者

However, there have been growing trends away from religion in America and many other western nations.

然而，在美國與其他西方國家，捨棄宗教信仰也成一股趨勢

Pew has attributed the change to the maturing millennial generation, of whom,

這項 Pew 的調查，將此轉變歸因於思想越趨成熟的千禧年世代

more than 30% identify as non-religious. Comparatively, only about 11% of the silent generation,

其中超過30個百分比的人認為自己是無宗教信仰的；相較之下

born between 1928 and 1945, is non-religious.

於1928到1945年出生在這個沉默世代的人，只有11個百分比的人沒有宗教信仰

Other news sources have noted that, for millennials, the rise in atheism has corresponded to increased

其他內文資訊指出，在千禧年世代來說，無神論越來越多和漸漸被接受的議題有關聯

acceptance of things like gay marriage, and abortion. Conversely, many religious institutions

例如： 同志婚姻和墮胎。相對地，許多宗教機構

still do not accept these practices. And this conflict of ideas could indicate that

仍然無法接受這些概念。種種觀念上的衝突可以看出，

millennials are looking away from religions which exclude themselves or their peers.

千禧世代正在遠離這些，將他們和同儕們排除在外的宗教

In the coming years the number of non-religious people are predicted to grow to over 1.2 billion worldwide,

在未來，相較於近60億的基督教徒與穆斯林

compared to nearly 6 billion Christians and Muslims. However, the total percentage

全世界無宗教信仰者的數量，估計會突破10億2千萬人。然而，整個非宗教信仰者的比例

of the non-religious is actually set to decline overall, as other, religious populations grow faster.

事實上勢必下滑，因為其他宗教信仰的人口比例成長仍然迅速

So which religion is growing the fastest? If you want to dive deeper, make sure you

哪一個宗教成長最為迅速呢？ 如果你想了解更多，你可以

check out our video here… and if you want to stay up to date with everything TestTube,

來看一下我們這則影片的說明；若你想持續更新TestTube的所有影片

join us on Facebook and Twitter! There are links in the description below. Thanks for watching!

可以加入我們的Facebook 和 Twitter！ 下方有連結以及說明，謝謝你的觀看！