Q&A: Non-Religious Majority
Non-Religious Majority
Question
I’m fairly sure that most of the world is not religious / does not believe in God — isn’t it more reasonable that this majority is right?
If the answer is that we prefer to rely on reason rather than the majority (or any other answer), what is the explanation for why most of the world does not believe?
I’d be happy with at least a reference to a source. (Honestly, I didn’t have enough time or energy to check the site or your book The First Available thoroughly enough.)
Thank you
Answer
And if the majority did believe, would that be a reason for others to believe? I’m not at all sure that most people do not believe. On the contrary, I tend to think the opposite.
But in my view, the majority really does not determine anything. As was written in Sefer HaChinukh: even if there were many ignoramuses like those who left Egypt who thought something — why should that matter? What matters are the arguments, not the number of people making them. See column 247–8 and a few others.
Discussion on Answer
I don’t know if it matters, but your factual assumption is technically incorrect. The percentage of atheists in the world is only a few percent, with estimates ranging from 3–9%. See here:
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%93%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%92%D7%A8%D7%A4%D7%99%D7%94_%D7%A9%D7%9C_%D7%90%D7%AA%D7%90%D7%99%D7%96%D7%9D
There is the well-known story about Rabbi Yonatan Eybeschutz: a priest asked him, after all, according to your view one follows the majority, so Christianity must be the truth because we are the majority. Rabbi Yonatan answered him that one follows the majority only in a case of doubt…
That is not the same question. The priest wanted to persuade Rabbi Yehonatan according to Jewish law itself (what Jewish law says one should do). Here this is a philosophical question dealing with truth itself (who is right).
But seemingly it is the same logic. According to Jewish law, when I have no knowledge I follow the majority, and when I do have knowledge I can go even against the majority, since the majority has no essential superiority, only a quantitative one. The same applies to the question of who is right: if I have a substantive reason to believe one side, then even if the other side is the majority, I have no reason to follow the majority.
This can be discussed, but this is not the place.
A reason for others — I think for some people, yes. Thanks for the reply.