28th Annual Student Research Conference
The Effect of Modernization on Religiosity
Melissa L. Kern
Dr. Anton Daughters, Faculty Mentor
This presentation examines the effects modernization poses on a country's atheist and agnostic populations. Utilizing Zuckerman's list of the top 50 most atheist countries and the WIN-Gallup International Global Index, a complete list of 64 countries was created. The percentages of the agnostic and atheist populations were retrieved employing the Association of Religion Data Archives. The Social Progress Imperative provided a composite score of modernization based upon three elements: basic human needs, foundations of wellbeing, and opportunity. Countries were ranked on a three-point scale depending on their modernization. The general hypothesis being tested predicts that a positive correlation exists between modernization and the percentages of agnostic and atheist populations. The findings reveal that a country's level of modernization impacts its atheist and agnostic populations. More modern nations tend to have higher percentages of agnostic and atheist populations, whereas developing nations have lower percentages.
Keywords: Agnosticism, Atheism , Modernization, Religiosity
Topic(s):Sociology
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 11-3
Location: GEO-SUB
Time: 3:30