17.2 % of Icelanders believe in the creation story
61.9 percent believe that the world was created in the Big Bang. Photo/Wikepedia. The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo
A new survey gives an insight into the faith of Icelanders. In the survey, 68% of Icelanders consider themselves to be Christian but 43.4% doubt the existence of God but believe in Christian values. 17.7 percent of Icelanders believe in the creation story.
The study was conducted by Siðmennt, the Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association to study what Icelanders believe in. The survey was published yesterday.
Men more religious than women
Over half of those who responded to the survey consider themselves religious but 30 % say they are not religious. The survey, conducted for Siðmennt by Maskina in November 2015 selected Icelanders of both sexes aged 17- 85 from all over the country so that the answers would best reflect the nation's general ideas.
More men than women said they were religious, with 48.8 % compared to 44 % of women.
Age made a great difference: 61.3 % of people aged 55 years and older are religious whereas 17.4 % of people aged 25 or younger are religious. Over half of those aged 25 or younger say that they are not religious.
Voters of Progressive Party most religious
The least religious people of Iceland, according to the survey, live in Reykjavik or 39.2 %. Those with a university education are relatively less religious than those with secondary education exams with 38 % of those with a university education replied that they were not religious and 16.3% of people with secondary education qualifications are not religious.
Political beliefs also seemed to make a difference, with 69.9 % of people voting for the Progressive party (Framsóknarflokkurinn) saying that they were religious. Most of those who vote for the Pirate Party are not religious (30.7 %).
Just under one percent believe in Ásatrú
Those with a shorter education adher to the teachings of the Bible compared to those with a higher education. 1.9 % believe in "a good power" or a "higher power" , 0.8 percent believe in the pagan Ásatrú religion and 0.5 percent are Buddhists. 4.5 percent believe in something entirely different such as "The Goddess," "Life after death," "Nature religion," or "Philosophy."
Most believe the world was created in the Big Bang
Interestingly, 17.7 percent of people in the survey believe in the creation story, but 61.9 believe that the world was created in the Big Bang. 8.3 percent said that they didn't know or didn't have an opinion on the matter. 12.1 percent answered that they thought the world was created in a different manner or that God had created the Big Bang. Others mentioned Darwin's theory of evolution.
Over 55% of people agreed with public playschools, primary and secondary schools should remain neutral about religion. Women tend to agree more with schools being neutral about religion than men.
