CRGE E-Newsletter

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CRGE E-Newsletter No. (64)

August 5, 2020

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Among East Asian international students, many self-identified "atheists" do not hold atheist beliefs

The charts below show the results from a mid-April 2020 survey of Asian international students (N = 1,329) at a large public university in the Midwest, in which respondents were asked about their religious identity and religious beliefs. About 37 percent of respondents from mainland China (n = 307), 13 percent from South Korea (n = 24), and 15 percent from Taiwan (n = 23) identified themselves as atheists.

Percent Self-Identified Atheists among
International Students

Belief in the Existence of God/gods among
Self-identified Atheist International Students

Belief in the Existence of Supernatural Forces among
Self-identified Atheist International Students

Many of these self-identified atheists do not hold strict atheist beliefs, and instead hold beliefs that are better described as agnostic. Only about half of the self-identified atheists from mainland China do not believe in the existence of God or gods, whereas the other half believe that humans can't be sure. About 58 percent of South Korean self-identified atheists and 22 percent of Taiwanese self-identified atheists do not believe in the existence of God or gods. Nearly 70 percent of atheists from Taiwan believe humans can't be sure about the existence of God/gods.

Similarly, nearly half of self-identified atheists from mainland China and South Korea do not believe in the existence of supernatural forces, whereas the other half believe that humans can't be sure. Among self-identified atheists from Taiwan, only about 22 percent do not believe in the existence of supernatural forces. About 4 percent of self-identifed atheists from South Korea, 7 percent from mainland China, and 9 percent from Taiwan believe that supernatural forces exist.

ANNOUNCEMENT

Last month, we announced that moving forward we will be the Center on Religion and the Global East (CRGE), which reflects a broadening of our mission and expansion of our focus to religion in the “Global East," including societies in East Asia and the East Asian diaspora. To read more, see our announcement email. Also, check out our new website at:

globaleast.org

PUBLICATION HIGHLIGHT

JSSR Article:
"Religious Heterogamy and the Intergenerational Transmission of Religion in China"

Brian L. McPhail and Fenggang Yang

CRGE Research Assistant Brian McPhail and Director Fenggang Yang recently published an article in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion about the role of interreligious families in the growth of religion in China. They examine patterns of association between having one or two religious parents during childhood and current religious affiliation, beliefs, behavior, and salience of respondents in China.

Analyses reveal that despite China’s atheist education system and strict religion policies, having at least one religiously affiliated parent is associated with increased religiosity compared to having two nonreligious parents. As the number of interreligious marriages rises in Chinese society, religious heterogamy contributes to the growth of religion among younger generations.

Whereas religious heterogamy in the West has a secularizing effect on the next generation and contributes to religion’s decline, religious heterogamy in secular nations such as China has a religionizing effect and contributes to religion’s rise.

View the article here.

EVENTS

Aug. 7-9, 2020 (cancelled)
Association for the Sociology of Religion (ASR) Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA

Aug. 31-Sept. 2, 2020
Association of Asian Studies (AAS) in Asia Conference, Kobe, Japan

Oct. 23-25, 2020 (cancelled)
Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR) Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA

PUBLICATIONS

Yang, Fenggang. 2020. La religione nella Cina comunista: Dalla sopravvivenza al risveglio. Franco Angeli. (Italian translation of Religion in China)

McPhail, Brian L. and Fenggang Yang. 2020. “Religious Heterogamy and the Intergenerational Transmission of Religion in China.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

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Editor of the CRGE E-Newsletter, Brian McPhail, at bmcphail@purdue.edu.

Center on Religion and the Global East
Purdue University
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West Lafayette, IN 47907
phone: (765) 494-5801 | fax: (765) 494-6983
email: CRGE@purdue.edu