ONLY 13 Out Of The 30, 000 (Surveyed) Indians Aren't Affiliated With Any Religion!

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 16 October 2023 "Only 13 out of the 30, 000 Indians surveyed by Pew said they were unaffiliated with any religion, while many more responded that there was no such thing as having no religion. " “Such a tiny percentage of people with no religion is unusual,” Kramer said. That most of the Indians are all at sea to understand the extremely exalted and liberating notion that there could be people sans religion and caste may be the main reason for a negligible number of 'nones' (not affiliated with any faith). But visit a western country and you'll find quite a few individuals having no faith and no god. Here I don't want to get into the issue of theism and atheism. That may be justifiably irritating to many. My point is: The western ideas of freedom and individualism are unintelligible to Indians and the people of the sub-continent who're blindly religious, god-fearing and morbidly superstitious. The reason is: Improper education that leads to lack of scientific temperament. Philosophy and logic as subjects at colleges and varsities are no longer appealing to a majority of students. Philosophy liberates you. Logic teaches you to be discerning. That apart, according to the Dutch News Agency, The Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau BV, 2022, at the moment, India is swamped by a squall of popular or derogatorily called, 'pavement' spirituality, overwhelming religiosity and varying degrees of zealotry, propounded by a host of dubious and affluent spiritual gurus, organizations and the government itself. This has a debilitating influence on Indians' spirit of free will and logic. This kind of excessive religiosity doesn't let you think logically. It kills your rationality. This is happening to Indians who're being bombarded by an overdose of religiosity and spirituality 24x7. Moreover, we're facing existential and survival issues on all fronts. A large number of Indians are living under the poverty line. Mark Twain said, " Poorer a person, the more religious he'll be." Vulnerable people always resort to god, religion and astrology (yet another universally popular superstition). Today's Indians talk about their rich and ancient past but are completely unaware of it. They must know that the concept of religion came rather late. Earlier, it was in the form of a nebulous spirit and an ever-questioning mind. What happened to Ijtihad (logic and independent reasoning regarding religious issues) in Islam also happened to the pure and unadulterated consciousness of the people of India. Now we cannot imagine our existence sans religions and their paraphernalia. That's why religion is so important to the hoi polloi, the plebs and proles and the Great Unwashed. ------ A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/indians-affiliated-religion/d/130910 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism