Wow, I thought this kind of thing was done away with years ago

[Jester]

If you eliminate godless communists (at the height was > 60% of the world population) and any religious people (86% of the world), then no, the population of megalomaniacal agnostic socialists doesn't seem that large.

Well, it's probably around half a billion people right now, not counting dogmatic Communists (or those living under their boots). I'm not sure when it ever got to 60% of the world's population, even including all peoples living under Communist regimes. Maybe 30%, before the end of the cold war?

Still, you'd then need to look into nations such as Britain, US, Germany, Netherlands, etc. in their colonial land grabs, and extermination of the indigenous peoples.

Back when all of those countries, both people and leaders, were overtly religious?

There are by and large more examples of non-religious genocide than the other, yet, again, I would say because of Europes Protestant/Catholic wars, most Europeans have an ingrained pathology towards organized religion.

That's strange, because most Europeans are religious.

Those unfortunates in Europe who are outed as "Chuch goers" are considered to be ape like throw backs who've rejected everything enlightenment stood for. So, as eppie pointed out, you have legislated religious tolerance, but have implemented social intolerance.

Uh hunh. Poor persecuted Christians. It's like the 1st century AD all over again, being thrown to the lions. Never mind that the majority of the population in nearly all European countries are Christians, at least nominal ones. Never mind that "Christian democratic" parties dominate the legislatures of many European countries. Never mind that practically all heads of state and government are religious, and most of those quite overtly religious. Never mind that Christianity is practised freely, daily, and everywhere in Europe by hundreds of millions of people with no persecution. And certainly don't look at the tendency to conflate religious belief with nationalism (see both: anti-semitism and anti-islamic sentiments). It makes for a much better story that there's just so darn much intolerance against Christians.

This is why, in an ironic turnabout, the largest producer of missionaries is Africa, and the most popular destination for mission outreach by these African missionaries is the US, and Europe.

Did they give Canada a miss? Overwhelmingly, the missionaries I've seen in my life, everywhere in the world, have been Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses.

Also, living in the first world is rather popular for all sorts of reasons. I'm not sure the "ironic" ones factor quite as highly as the "Europe and the US are nice places to live" ones.

-Jester