ATHEISM
The exact number of atheists in the world is not known. 2% to 11% of the world population is believed to be atheists. According to a Gallup International survey 2012 the figure was 13% but becomes 11% in 2015. Scandinavia and East Asia, particularly China account for more numbers. Europe have around 12%, North America 5%, Middle East and North Africa with less than 1% is the other share. South America is also in single digits. Atheism existed in India during Vedic period. Western atheism has its roots in pre Socratic Greek philosophy. According to Gallup survey atheism is on the rise. 'No religion' or non religious account for 9.66% in USA. Growth of atheism is the result of fundamentalism or fanaticism in various religions. However atheism act as a counter balance to these fundamentalists and fanatics. KVGeorge