title: Demographics of atheism

text: Globally, some atheists also consider themselves Agnostic, Buddhist, Hindu, Jains, Taoist, or hold other related philosophical beliefs. Some, like Secular Jews and Shintoists, may indulge in some religious activities as a way of connecting with their culture, all the while being atheist. Therefore, given limited poll options, some may use other terms to describe their identity. Some politically motivated organizations that report or gather population statistics may, intentionally or unintentionally, misrepresent atheists. Survey designs may bias results by the wording of questions and the available response options. Statistics are generally collected on the assumption that religion is a categorical variable. Instruments have been designed to measure attitudes toward religion, including one that was used by L. L. Thurstone. This may be a particularly important consideration among people who have neutral attitudes, as it is more likely that prevailing social norms will influence the responses of such people on survey questions that effectively force respondents to categorize themselves either as belonging to a particular religion or as belonging to no religion. A negative perception of atheists and pressure from family and peers may also cause some atheists to disassociate themselves from atheism. Misunderstanding of the term may also be a reason some label themselves differently.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: For example, a Canadian poll released September 12, 2011 sampled 1,129 Canadian adults and collected data on the numbers of declared atheists. These numbers conflicted with the latest Canadian census data that presupposed that a religious affiliation predisposed a belief in a deity and was based on a poorly worded question. A quote from the study:


title: Demographics of atheism

text: Out of all Americans who do not believe in God, 5% identified as Catholic while 9% identified as Protestant and other Christian according to the 2007 Pew Religious Landscape survey. Out of all Americans who identify as unaffiliated including atheists and agnostics, 41% were raised Protestant and 28% were raised Catholic according to the 2014 Pew Religious Landscape survey.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: Even when people directly claim not to believe in a deity, they still do not self-identify as "atheist". For instance, 41% of Norwegians, 48% of the French, and 54% of Czechs claimed not to believe in a deity, but only 10%, 19%, and 20% of those respondents, respectively, self-identified as "atheist". In the United States, only 5% of the population did not have a belief in a god and out of that small group only 24% self-identified as "atheist", while 15% self-identified as "agnostic" and 35% self-identified as "nothing in particular".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: Though China has state atheism, 85% of the population practice various kinds of religious behaviors with some regularity.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: In the Netherlands, beliefs of "convinced atheists" are quite diverse: 41.1% of them say they believe in telepathy, 21.1% in reincarnation, 13.3% in life after death, and 1.6% in heaven. The percentages on telepathy and reincarnation were similar to the percentages of "religious people" in the Netherlands. Furthermore, the author of the study notes, "Thus, despite the fact that they claim to be convinced atheists and the majority deny the existence of a personal god, a rather large minority of the Dutch convinced atheists believe in a supernatural power!"


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A 2004 survey by the BBC in 10 countries showed the proportion of the population "who don't believe in God" to be close to 17% in the countries surveyed; however, 8% of the respondents specifically stated that they consider themselves to be "atheists". Diversity was observed in that "across the entire sample, almost 30% of all atheists surveyed said they sometimes prayed."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A study on global religiosity, secularity, and well-being, sociologists Gregory Paul and Phil Zuckerman note that it is unlikely that most atheists and agnostics do not believe in the gods based on a careful analysis of philosophical and scientific arguments alone, since science testing scores in societies where atheism or theism is widespread, can be just as poor and such societies can have widespread supernatural beliefs besides gods. Reviewing psychological studies on atheists, Miguel Farias noted that studies concluding that analytical thinking leads to lower religious belief "do not imply that that atheists are more conscious or reflective of their own beliefs, or that atheism is the outcome of a conscious refutation of previously held religious beliefs" since they too have variant beliefs such as in conspiracy theories of the naturalistic variety. In terms of apostasy, Farias notes that a greater proportion of people who leave religion do so for motivational rather than rational reasons and the majority of deconversions occur in adolescence and young adulthood when one is emotionally volatile. Furthermore, Farias notes that atheists are indistinguishable from New Age individuals or Gnostics since there are commonalities such as being individualistic, non-conformist, liberal, and valuing hedonism and sensation. According to Phil Zuckerman, the majority of atheists and other secular people who were raised with a religion, leave their religion and beliefs in their late teens or early twenties while a smaller proportion do so at a mature age.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A study on personality and religiosity found that members of secular organizations (like the international Center for Inquiry) have similar personality profiles to members of religious groups. This study found that members of secular organizations are very likely to label themselves primarily as "atheists", but also very likely to consider themselves humanists. It was also found that secular group members show no significant differences in their negative or positive affect. The surveyed individuals also had similar profiles for conscientiousness (discipline or impulse control, and acting on values like "pursuit of truth"). Secular group members tended to be less agreeable (e.g. more likely to hold unpopular, socially challenging views), as well as more open minded (e.g. more likely to consider new ideas) than members of religious groups. Luke Galen, a personality researcher, writes "Many previously reported characteristics associated with religiosity are a function not of belief itself, but of strong convictions and group identification." Catherine Caldwell-Harris notes that "non-believers" are interested in social justice concerns and posits that this is due to their lack of belief in an afterlife, leading to a focus on what can be fixed here and now. Another study by Caldwell-Harris describes atheists as being capable of experiencing awe, which she states debunks stereotypes of atheists as "cynical and joyless". A 2014 study created six different personality profiles of 'types' of nonbelievers and compared them to Big Five personality traits. In countries which have high levels of atheism such as Scandinavian nations, atheist organizations there generally have very low membership and only those that have links to a political party or offer legalized rituals have some noticeable membership.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: According to William Bainbridge's international study, atheism is common among people whose interpersonal social obligations are weak and is also connected to lower fertility rates in advanced industrial nations.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: In a global study on atheism, sociologist Phil Zuckerman noted that countries with higher levels of atheism also had the highest suicide rates compared to countries with lower levels of atheism. He concludes that correlations does not necessarily indicate causation in either case. A study on depression and suicide suggested that those without a religious affiliation have a higher suicide attempt rates than those with a religious affiliation. A study into mental well-being in religious and non-religious people found that mental well-being for both religious people and non-religious people hinged on the certainty of their belief, and that previous studies had not controlled for the effect of belonging to a group when studying churchgoers. Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi regarded atheists in Western society to be "much more likely to be a man, married, with higher education", and regarded the personality of atheists to be "less authoritarian and suggestible, less


title: Demographics of atheism

text: dogmatic, less prejudiced, more tolerant of others, law-abiding, compassionate, conscientious, and well educated. They are of high intelligence, and many are committed to the intellectual and scholarly life". A review of the literature found that being non-religious did not necessarily entail poorer mental health.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: Though atheists are in the minority in most countries, they are relatively common in Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, East Asia and present communist states. It is difficult to determine actual atheist numbers. Furthermore, the conflation of terms such as atheist, agnostic, non-religious and non-theist add to confusion among poll data.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: In 1916, 1,000 leading American scientists were randomly chosen from "American Men of Science" and 41.8% believed God existed, 41.5% disbelieved, and 16.7% had doubts/did not know. When the study was replicated 80 years later using "American Men and Women of Science" in 1996, results were very much the same with 39.3% believing God exists, 45.3% disbelieved, and 14.5% had doubts/did not know.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A 1998 survey based on a self-selected sample of biological and physical scientists of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States found that 7% believed in the existence of God, 72.2% did not, and 20.8% were agnostic or had doubts. Eugenie Scott argued that there are methodological issues in the study, including ambiguity in the questions. A study on leading scientists in the US, with clearer wording and allowing for a broader concept of "god", concluded that 40% of prominent scientists believe in god.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A 2002 survey by Adherents.com estimates the proportion of the world's people who are "secular, non-religious, agnostics and atheists" at about 14%.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A 2004 survey by the BBC in 10 countries showed the proportion of the population "who don't believe in God" varying between 0% (Nigeria) and 39% (UK), with an average close to 17% in the countries surveyed, however, 8% of the respondents specifically stated that they consider themselves to be "atheists". Diversity was observed in the views of atheists including that "across the entire sample, almost 30% of all atheists surveyed said they sometimes prayed."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: 65% of those polled in a 2011 survey by the British Humanist Association answered no to the question "Are you religious?"


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A 2004 survey by the CIA in the World Factbook estimates about 12.5% of the world's population are non-religious, and about 2.4% are atheists.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A 2005 poll by AP/Ipsos surveyed ten countries. Of the developed nations, people in the United States were "most sure" of the existence of God or a higher power (2% atheist, 4% agnostic), while France had the most skeptics (19% atheist, 16% agnostic). On the religion question, South Korea had the greatest percentage without a religion (41%) while Italy had the smallest (5%).


title: Demographics of atheism

text: Sociologist Phil Zuckerman's global studies on atheism have indicated that global atheism may be in decline due to irreligious countries having the lowest birth rates in the world and religious countries having higher birth rates in general.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A 2010 Pew Research global study found that 16 percent of the global population to be unaffiliated with a religion, however, Pew notes that "more than three-quarters of the religiously unaffiliated live in Asia, the majority in China. Many of the people in this group do hold some religious or spiritual beliefs and may even believe in a deity, but they do not identify with a particular faith." Of the global atheist and nonreligious population, 76% reside in Asia and the Pacific, while the remainder reside in Europe (12%), North America (5%), Latin America and the Caribbean (4%), sub-Saharan Africa (2%) and the Middle East and North Africa (less than 1%).


title: Demographics of atheism

text: In terms of the United States, a 2012 Pew report showed that 32% of people under 30, 21% of people between the ages of 30 and 49, 15% of people between the ages of 50-64 and 9% of people over the age of 65 could be characterized as religiously unaffiliated. However, 68% of all the unaffiliated expressed belief in God and out of the whole US population, only 2.4% self identified as "atheist".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A 2013 poll by UPI/Harris showed that three-quarters of U.S. adults say they believe in God, down from 82 percent in 2005, 2007 and 2009. Just under 2-in-10 U.S. adults described themselves as very religious, with an additional 4-in-10 describing themselves as somewhat religious down from 49 percent in 2007. Twenty-three percent of Americans identified themselves as not at all religious, nearly double the 12 percent reported in 2007.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: According to WIN/Gallup International, in their 2012 poll of 57 countries, 23% of respondents were "not religious" and 13% were "convinced atheists" and in their 2014 poll of 65 countries 22% were "not religious" and 11% were "convinced atheists". However, other researchers have advised caution with the WIN/Gallup International figures since other surveys which use the same wording, have conducted many waves for decades, and have a bigger sample size, such as World Values Survey; have consistently reached lower figures for the number of atheists worldwide.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A 2014 survey by David Chalmers and David Bourget on nearly 1,000 professional philosophers from 99 leading departments of philosophy shows that 72.8% considered themselves as atheists, 14.6% considered themselves as theist, and 12.6% as something else.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Pew 2015 global projection study for religion and nonreligion projects that between 2010 and 2050 there was some initial increases of the unaffiliated followed by a decline by 2050 due to lower global fertility rates among this demographic.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: The 2015 Pew Religious Landscape survey reported that , 22.8% of the American population is religiously unaffiliated, atheists made up 3.1% and agnostics made up 4% of the US population. In 2020, the World Religion Database estimated that the countries with the highest percentage of atheists were North Korea and Sweden.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A TNSRMS Cameroon survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 29 October 2012, to 5 November 2012, found that 3% of Cameroon were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A TNS RMS Ghana survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 7 November 2012, to 22 November 2012, found that 0% of Ghana were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Infinite Insight survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on November, 2014, found that 2% of Kenya were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A BJ Group survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on 8 November 2014, to 19 November 2014 found that 1% of Morocco were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Market Trends International survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 13 October 2014 to 9 November 2014, found that 2% of Nigeria were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Topline Research Solutions (TRS) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 24 December 2012, to 2 December 2012, found that 4% of South Africa were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Infinite Insight survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 5 November 2012, to 6 December 2012, found that 6% of South Sudan were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Emrhod International survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 24 November 2012, to 2 December 2012, found that 0% of Tunisia were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A ACSOR-Surveys survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 1 November 2014 to 10 November 2014, found that 0.03% of Afghanistan were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A MPG LLC (Marketing Professional Group) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on November, 2014, found that 2% of Armenia were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A SIAR Research and Consulting Group survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 16 October 2014, to 12 November 2014, found that 0.1% of Azerbaijan were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A SRGB (SRG Bangladesh Limited) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 5 November 2014, to 25 November 2014, found that 0.4% of Bangladesh were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A WisdomAsia survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 1 November 2014, to 15 November 2014, found that 61% of China were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A GORBI (Georgian Opinion Research Business International) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 15 October 2014, to 15 November 2014, found that 1% of the Georgia were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A DataPrompt International survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 20 October 2014 to 14 November 2014, found that less than 3% of India were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Deka survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 15 October 2014 to 5 November 2014, found that 0.19% of Indonesia were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A IIACSS survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 20 November 2012, to 2 December 2012, found that 0% of Iraq were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Maagar Mochot ltd. survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on November, 2014, found that 8% of Israel were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A NRC (Nippon Research Center) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 31 October 2014 to 12 November 2014, found that 32% of Japan were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Romir survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 23 October 2014 to 30 October 2014, found that 8% of Kazakhstan were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A REACH (Research and Consulting House) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 17 October 2014 to 5 November 2014, found that 2% of Lebanon were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A TNS Malaysia survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 27 October 2014 to 15 November 2014, found that 3% of Malaysia were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Gallup Pakistan survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 2 October 2014 to 12 October 2014, found that 1% of Pakistan were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 2 November 2014 to 12 November 2014, found that 1% of Palestine were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A CSG survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 27 October 2014, to 16 November 2014, found that 34% of the Hong Kong were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A PSRC (Philippines Survey & Research Center Inc.) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on 9 October 2014, to 12 November 2014 found that 20% of Philippines were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A PARC (Pan Arab Research Center) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted in November 2011, found that 5% of Saudi Arabia were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Be Research (Index Kosova) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 1 November 2014 to 7 November 2014, found that 6% of South Korea were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Infosearch survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 12 October 2014 to 13 November 2014, found that 1% of Thailand were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: According to KONDA Research and Consultancy, the percentage of atheists in Turkey has tripled in 10 years and went from 1% in 2008, to 3% in 2018.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Romir survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 16 November 2012, to 6 December 2012, found that 2% of Uzbekistan were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Indochina Research survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on 17 October 2014, to 31 October 2014 found that 13% of Vietnam were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: According to a 2010 Eurostat Eurobarometer Poll, 51% of European Union citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", whereas 26% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 20% said that "they don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force" and results were widely varied between different countries.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: According to another Poll about religiosity in the European Union in 2012 by Eurobarometer 16% are Non-believers/Agnostics and 7% are Atheists. 72% of EU citizens are Christians and 2% are Muslims. In 2017, the WIN-Gallup International Association (WIN/GIA) poll found China and Sweden as the top two countries with highest percentage of those who claim themselves atheist or irreligious.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: (**) Identified as "don't know/refused" from the "other/idk/ref" column are excluded from this statistic.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: An Austrian Gallup Institute survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on November, 2014, found that 13% of Austria were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 2% of Belarus were atheists, while 9% stated that they "Do not believe in God".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A iVOX bvba survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 28 October 2014 to 18 November 2014, found that 18% of Belgium were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 2% of Bosnia and Herzegovina were atheists, while 4% stated that they "Do not believe in God".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 2% of Bulgaria were atheists, while 17% stated that they "Do not believe in God".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 4% of Croatia were atheists, while 10% stated that they "Do not believe in God".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A 2010 Eurobarometer poll found that 3% of the Cyprus stated that "I don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 25% of the Czech Republic were atheists, while 66% stated that they "Do not believe in God".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A DMA/Research survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on November, 2014, found that 12% of Denmark were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 9% of Estonian population were atheists, while 45% stated that they "Do not believe in God".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Taloustutkimus Oy survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 19 October 2014 to 7 November 2014, found that 10% of Finland were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A BVA survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 20 October 2014 to 23 October 2014, found that 10% of France were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Produkt + Markt survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on November, 2014, found that 17% of Germany were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 3% of Greece were atheists, while 6% stated that they "Do not believe in God".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 5% of Hungary were atheists, while 30% stated that they "Do not believe in God".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Capacent Gallup survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 29 October 2014 to 12 November 2014, found that 14% of Iceland were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Red C Research and Marketing survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 20 October 2014 to 27 October 2014, found that 10% of Ireland were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A 2019 survey conducted by DOXA found that 9% of Italian citizens were atheists and 6.3 were agnostics.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Be Research (Index Kosova) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 1 November 2014, to 7 November 2014 found that 1% of Kosovo were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 3% of Latvia were atheists, while 15% stated that they "Do not believe in God".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 2% of Lithuania were atheists, while 11% stated that they "Do not believe in God".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A 2010 Eurobarometer poll found that 24% of the Luxembourg stated that "I don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force". A 2012 Eurobarometer poll found that only 6% of the Luxembourg were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A 2010 Eurobarometer poll found that 2% of the Malta stated that "I don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 1% of Moldova were atheists, while 3% stated that they "Do not believe in God".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A BRIMA survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 1 November 2014 to 24 November 2014, found that 2% of the people of North Macedonia were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A 2010 Eurobarometer poll found that 29% of the Norway stated that "I don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 2% of Poland were atheists, while 8% stated that they "Do not believe in God".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 4% of Romania stated that they "Do not believe in God".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 4% of Russia were atheists, while 15% stated that they "Do not believe in God".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A 2010 Eurobarometer poll found that 13% of the Slovakia stated that "I don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A 2010 Eurobarometer poll found that 26% of the Slovenia stated that "I don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 2% of Serbia were atheists, while 10% stated that they "Do not believe in God".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A CMA Research survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 20 October 2014 to 31 November 2014, found that 17% of Sweden were "convinced atheists." A Gallup Poll in 2016 reported that 18% of Swedes self report as atheist and 55% as non-religious.Gallup Pakistan - Pakistan's Foremost Research Lab


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Leger Switzerland survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 29 October 2014 to 9 November 2014, found that 12% of Switzerland were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 3% of Ukraine were atheists, while 9% stated that they "Do not believe in God".


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A ORB International survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 19 November 2014 to 28 November 2014, found that 13% of the United Kingdom were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Leger survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted in November 2014, found that 12% of Canada were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A BRAIN Research survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 27 October 2014, to 7 November 2014 found that 4% of Mexico were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: According to the 2020 federal census, 8.1% of Mexico's population is irreligious, almost double the percentage registered in the 2010 census.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Dichter & Neira survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 16 October 2014 to 19 October 2014, found that 2% of Panamanians were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Colmar Brunton survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 4 November 2014, to 11 November 2014 found that 13% of Australia were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Tebbutt Research survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 1 November 2014, to 15 November 2014, found that 1% of the Fiji were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: The International Social Survey Programme was conducted by Massey University in 2008 found 13% of New Zealand were atheists.


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Tebbutt Research survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 1 November 2014 to 15 November 2014, found that 0.41% of Papua New Guinea were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: An IBOPE Inteligência survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 13 November 2014, to 17 November 2014 found that 2% of Brazil were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A Centro Nacional de Consultoría survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 1 November 2014, to 7 November 2014, found that 3% of the Colombia were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: A CEDATOS survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 31 October 2014, to 20 November 2014, found that 2% of the Ecuador were "convinced atheists."


title: Demographics of atheism

text: In a survey by WIN International, carried out with the support of Datum Internacional, 92% of Peruvians expressed their belief in God, while 72% said they considered themselves religious, 20% non-religious and only 3% declared themselves to be atheist.


title: Mother goddess

text: A mother goddess is a goddess who represents a personified deification of motherhood, fertility, creation, destruction, or the earth goddess who embodies the bounty of the earth or nature. When equated with the earth or the natural world, such goddesses are sometimes referred to as the Mother Earth or Earth Mother, deity in various animistic or pantheistic religions. The earth goddess is usually the wife or feminine counterpart of the Sky Father or "Father Heaven". In some polytheistic cultures, such as the Ancient Egyptian religion which narrates the cosmic egg myth, the sky is instead seen as the Heavenly Mother or Sky Mother as in Nut and Hathor, and the earth god is regarded as the male, paternal, and terrestrial partner, as in Osiris or Geb who hatched out of the maternal "cosmic egg".


title: Mother goddess

text: Between 1961 and 1965 James Mellaart led a series of excavations at Çatalhöyük, north of the Taurus Mountains in a fertile agricultural region of South-Anatolia. Striking were the many statues found here, which Mellaart suggested represented a Great goddess, who headed the pantheon of an essentially matriarchal culture. A seated female figure, flanked by what Mellaart describes as lionesses, was found in a grain-bin; she may have intended to protect the harvest and grain. He considered the sites as shrines, with especially the Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük capturing the imagination. There was also a large number of sexless figurines, which Mellaart regarded as typical for a society dominated by women: "Emphasis on sex in art is invariably connected with male impulse and desire." The idea that there could have been a matriarchy and a cult of the mother goddess was supported by archaeologist Marija Gimbutas. This gave rise to a modern cult of the Mother Goddess with annual pilgrimages being organized at Çatalhöyük.


title: Mother goddess

text: Since 1993, excavations were resumed, now headed by Ian Hodder with Lynn Meskell as head of the "Stanford Figurines Project" that examined the figurines of Çatalhöyük. This team came to different conclusions than Gimbutas and Mellaart. Only a few of the figurines were identified as female and these figurines were found not so much in sacred spaces, but seemed to have been discarded randomly, sometimes in garbage heaps. This rendered a cult of the mother goddess in this location as unlikely.


title: Mother goddess

text: In Egyptian mythology, sky goddess Nut is sometimes called "Mother" because she bore stars and Sun god.


title: Mother goddess

text: In Hinduism, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Radha, Parvati, Durga and other goddesses represents both the feminine aspect and the "shakti" (power) of the supreme being known as the "Brahman". The divine mother goddess, manifests herself in various forms, representing the universal creative force. She becomes Mother Nature (Mula Prakriti), who gives birth to all life forms and nourishes them through her body. Ultimately she re-absorbs all life forms back into herself, or "devours" them to sustain herself as the power of death feeding on life to produce new life. She also gives rise to Maya (the illusory world) and to prakriti, the force that galvanizes the divine ground of existence into self-projection as the cosmos.


title: Mother goddess

text: The Shakti sect is strongly associated with Samkhya, and Tantra Hindu philosophies and ultimately, is monist. The primordial feminine creative-preservative-destructive energy, Shakti, is considered to be the motive force behind all action and existence in the phenomenal cosmos. The cosmos itself is purusha, the unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality that is the divine ground of all being, the "world soul". This masculine potential is actualized by feminine dynamism, embodied in multitudinous goddesses who are ultimately all manifestations of the one great mother. Shakti, herself, can free the individual from demons of ego, ignorance, and desire that bind the soul in maya (illusion). Practitioners of the Tantric tradition focus on Shakti to free themselves from the cycle of karma.


title: Mother goddess

text: The worship of the mother deity can be traced back to early Vedic culture. The Rigveda calls the divine female power Mahimata (R.V. 1.164.33) which means "great mother".


title: Mother goddess

text: Both the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church revere Virgin Mary as the Mother of God, a rendering of "Theotokos" and "Deipara" since the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in 431 AD, and disregard Protestant objections to Marian devotion. She is regarded as "Our Mother", the "Blessed Mother", or the "Holy Mother" as she gave birth to Jesus Christ, since Christians alike refer to themselves as "Brothers and Sisters in Christ". There is a "Pater Noster" but no equivalent "Mater Nostra", however the Hail Mary and the "Sub Tuum Praesidium" have been popular forms of prayer and praise to Virgin Mary for many centuries. Some may perceive a parallel in calling Mary "Our Mother" and the Almighty Yahweh as "Our Father". In contrast to the Pagan notion of a fertility goddess, Mary is both the Perpetual Virgin and the Mother of God at the same time, she is not considered the "Heavenly Mother" in reference to God the Father or the "Heavenly Father" as her consort. St Mary has never been referred to as a goddess in the Gospel's accounts of the Annunciation, Wedding at Cana, or the Magnificat. The Orthodox Church since the Apostolic age have believed that Mary entered heaven alive after her death and subsequent resurrection, known as the Dormition; while Catholics led by the Pontifex teach that her body and soul were taken up, without death or resurrection into heaven (Assumption of Mary). As the foremost saint, some Christians believe she continues to supernaturally intervene in the world through Marian apparitions (Our Lady of Velankanni), Marian shrines (Our Lady of Zeitoun)& Marian devotions (Our Lady of the Rosary). According to Mariology and Scholasticism branches of study, though Mary is venerated as the foremost saint, she is still a creature and never viewed as an equal of the Triune God who is the Creator.


title: Mother goddess

text: In pre-Islamic Arabia, Collyridians were an unorthodox Christian denomination who reportedly worshipped Virgin Mary by making burnt offerings of dough to her. Ancient Christians viewed the Collyridians as heretics, holding that Mary was only to be honoured, and not to be worshipped like the God-man of Christianity.


title: Mother goddess

text: In the Latter Day Saint movement, particularly the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, many adherents believe in a Heavenly Mother as the wife of God the Father. The theology varies, however, according to denomination. The only clear declaration regarding a Heavenly Mother figure is that she exists. Some offshoot denominations disavow a belief in her, some do not make her a part of the official doctrine, and others openly acknowledge her.


title: Mother goddess

text: Zahng Gil-jah is a South Korean woman, by the World Mission Society Church of God believed to be “God the Mother” (; pronounced ). Church members may also call her “New Jerusalem Mother”, “Mother Jerusalem”, or “Heavenly Mother”.


title: Mother goddess

text: The Mother Goddess, or Great Goddess, is a composite of various feminine deities from past and present world cultures, worshiped by modern Wicca and others broadly known as Neopagans. She is considered sometimes identified as a Triple Goddess, who takes the form of Maiden, Mother, and Crone archetypes. She is described as Mother Earth, Mother Nature, or the Creatress of all life. She is associated with the full moon and stars, the Earth, and the sea. In Wicca, the Earth Goddess is sometimes called Gaia. The name of the mother goddess varies depending on the Wiccan tradition.


title: Mother goddess

text: Carl Gustav Jung suggested that the archetypal mother was a part of the collective unconscious of all humans; various adherents of Jung, most notably Erich Neumann and Ernst Whitmont, have argued that such an archetype underpins many of its own mythologies and may even precede the image of the paternal "father." Such speculations help explain the universality of such mother goddess imagery around the world.


title: Mother goddess

text: The Upper Paleolithic Venus figurines have been sometimes explained as depictions of an Earth Goddess similar to Gaia.


title: Mother goddess

text: In the Baha'i Faith, Baha'u'llah uses the Mother as an attribute of God: "And when He Who is well-grounded in all knowledge, He Who is the Mother, the Soul, the Secret, and the Essence thereof, revealeth that which is the least contrary to their desire, they bitterly oppose Him and shamelessly deny Him.". Baha'u'llah further writes that "Every single letter proceeding out of the mouth of God is indeed a Mother Letter, and every word uttered by Him Who is the Well Spring of Divine Revelation is a Mother Word, and His Tablet a Mother Tablet."


title: Mother goddess

text: There is difference of opinion between the academic and the popular conception of the term "Mother goddess". The popular view is mainly driven by the Goddess movement and reads that primitive societies initially were matriarchal, worshipping a sovereign, nurturing, motherly earth goddess. This was based upon the nineteenth-century ideas of unilineal evolution of Johann Jakob Bachofen. According to the academic view, however, both Bachofen and the modern Goddess theories are a projection of contemporary world views on ancient myths, rather than attempting to understand the "mentalité" of that time. Often this is accompanied by a desire for a lost civilization from a bygone era that would have been just, peaceful, and wise. However, it is highly unlikely that such a civilization ever existed.


title: Mother goddess

text: For a long time, feminist authors claimed that these peaceful, matriarchal agrarian societies were exterminated or subjugated by nomadic, patriarchal warrior tribes. An important contribution to this was that of archaeologist Marija Gimbutas. Her work in this field has been questioned. Among feminist archaeologists this vision is nowadays also considered highly controversial.


title: Mother goddess

text: Since the 1960s, especially in popular culture, the alleged worship of the mother goddess and the social position that women in prehistoric societies supposedly assumed, were linked. This made the debate a political one. According to the goddess movement, the current male-dominated society should return to the egalitarian matriarchy of earlier times. That this form of society ever existed was supposedly supported by many figurines that were found.


title: Mother goddess

text: In academic circles, this prehistoric matriarchy is considered unlikely. Firstly, worshiping a mother goddess does not necessarily mean that women ruled society. In addition, the figurines can also portray ordinary women or goddesses, and it is unclear whether there really ever was a mother goddess.


title: Karoshi

text: , which can be translated into "overwork death", is a Japanese term relating to occupation-related sudden death.


title: Karoshi

text: The most common medical causes of karoshi deaths are heart attacks and strokes due to stress and malnourishment or fasting. Mental stress from the workplace can also cause karoshi through workers taking their own lives. People who die by suicide due to overwork are called "karōjisatsu" ().


title: Karoshi

text: The phenomenon of death by overwork is also widespread in other parts of Asia and can also be considered a worldwide phenomenon.


title: Karoshi

text: The first case of karoshi was reported in 1969 with the stroke-related death of a 29-year-old male worker in the shipping department of Japan's largest newspaper company.


title: Karoshi

text: In 1988, the Labor Force Survey reported that almost one fourth of the male working employees worked over 60 hours per week (equivalent of over two-and-a-half days), which is 50% longer than a typical 40-hour (equivalent of a day and a half) weekly working schedule. Realizing the seriousness and widespread nature of this emerging problem, a group of lawyers and doctors set up "karoshi hotlines" that are nationally available, dedicating to help those who seek consultation on karoshi-related issues.


title: Karoshi

text: Japan's rise from the devastation of World War II to economic prominence and the huge war reparations they have paid in the post-war decades have been regarded as the trigger for what has been called a new epidemic. It was recognized that employees cannot work for 12 or more hours a day, 6–7 days a week, year after year, without suffering physically as well as mentally.


title: Karoshi

text: In an International Labour Organization article about karoshi, the following four typical cases of karoshi were mentioned:


title: Karoshi

text: As well as physical pressure, mental stress from the workplace can cause karoshi. People who die by suicide due to mental stress are called "karōjisatsu" (). The ILO also lists some causes of overwork or occupational stress that include the following:


title: Karoshi

text: In a 1988 report published by the Karoshi Hotline Network, the majority of the clients who consulted were not workers, but the wives of the workers who had either died because of karoshi or were at high risk of doing so. This indicated that those who were stressed out by work either did not realize the cause was overwork or were under social pressure to not express it explicitly or to seek help.


title: Karoshi

text: The Karoshi Hotline received the highest number of calls when it was first established in 1988. From 1988 to 1990, there were a total number of 1806 calls received. From 1990 to 2007, the number of calls received per year decreased, but still maintained an average of 400 calls per year.


title: Karoshi

text: Suicide can be induced by overwork-related stress or when people are dismissed. The deceased person's families demand damages when such deaths occur. Life insurance companies started putting one-year exemption clauses in their contracts. They did this so that the person must wait one year to commit suicide in order for the family to receive the money.


title: Karoshi

text: There is a new movement of Japanese workers, formed as a result of karoshi. Compared to older Japanese people who often work overtime, young Japanese people are preferring part-time work. This is a new style of career choice for the young Japanese people who want to try out different jobs in order to figure out their own potential. These individuals work for "hourly wages rather than regular salaries," and are called "freeters." The number of freeters has increased throughout the years, from 200,000 in the 1980s to about 400,000 in 1997.


title: Karoshi

text: Freeters undergo a special kind of employment, defined by Atsuko Kanai as those who are currently employed and referred to as "part-time workers or arbeit (temporary workers), who are currently employed but wish to be employed as part time workers, or who are currently not in the labor force and neither doing housework nor attending school but wish to be employed only as part-time workers."


title: Karoshi

text: To provide a strategic plan to decrease the rate of karoshi, the National Institute of Health proposed the establishment of a comprehensive industrial health service program to reduce karoshi and other diseases caused by work-related stress in its 2005 annual report. The program requires communal efforts from three different groups, a) the government, b) the labor unions and employers, and c) the employees.


title: Karoshi

text: As a formal response to this proposal, the Industry Safety and Health Act was revised in 2006. The Act established various terms that focus on work-related health issues, including mandatory health checks and consultations with professional medical personnel for employees who work long hours and have a higher probability of having work related illnesses.


title: Karoshi

text: Many companies have been making an effort to find a better work–life balance for their employees. Toyota Motor Company generally limits overtime to 360 hours a year (an average of 30 hours monthly), and, at some offices, issues public address announcements every hour after 7 p.m. pointing out the importance of rest and urging workers to go home. Nissan allows for remote work to make it easier to care for children or elderly parents. Dozens of large corporations have also implemented "no overtime days", which require employees to leave the office promptly at 5:30 p.m. In 2007, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking, a division of Japan's largest banking group, started to allow employees to go home up to 3 hours early to care for children or elderly relatives. As of January 5, 2009, just 34 of the company's 7,000 employees had signed up for the plan.


title: Karoshi

text: In February 2017, the Japanese government launched a campaign called "Premium Friday" asking companies to allow their workers to leave at 3pm on the last Friday of the month. The initiative is part of an attempt to address the punishingly long hours many Japanese are expected to work, prompted by the suicide of a 24-year-old employee at the advertising firm Dentsu who was doing more than 100 hours' overtime in the months before her death. While some major companies, such as Honda, the drink maker Suntory and the confectioner Morinaga & Company, have adopted the optional scheme, others are less enthusiastic about the prospect of a mid-afternoon staff exodus. A survey of 155 big companies by the Nikkei business newspaper showed that 45% had no immediate plans to implement the scheme, with 37% saying they had either decided to enter into the spirit of Premium Friday or had plans to do so.


title: Karoshi

text: The French-German TV channel Arte showed a documentary titled "Alt in Japan" (literal translation: "Old in Japan") on 6 November 2006 dealing with older workers in Japan. In 2008, karoshi again made headlines: a death back in 2006 of a key Toyota engineer who averaged over 80 hours overtime each month was ruled the result of overwork. His family was awarded benefits after his case was reviewed.


title: Karoshi

text: Taiwanese media have reported a case of karoshi. An engineer had worked for Nanya Technology for 3 years from 2006 to 2009. It was found that he died in front of his computer surrounded by company documents. The prosecution found that the engineer had died of cardiogenic shock. The engineer's parents said that he worked for 16–19 hours a day. CNN shows another reported case of karoshi in Taiwan. This short clip called "The Dangers of Overwork" shows a man who suffered a stroke and was left for three hours before being taken to the hospital. It was made known that physicians are starting to make people more aware of these health deficits due to overwork. More people have been visiting their doctor, recognizing signs and symptoms of overwork.


title: Karoshi

text: The phenomenon of death by overwork is also widespread in other parts of Asia. 745,194 deaths worldwide were attributable to long working hours in 2016, based on WHO/ILO data.


title: Karoshi

text: In China, the analogous "death by overwork" concept is guolaosi (), which in 2014 was reported to be a problem in the country.


title: Karoshi

text: In Eastern Asian countries, like China, many businessmen work long hours and then feel the pressures of expanding and pleasing their networks. Making these connections is called building guanxi. Connections are a big part of the Chinese business world, and throughout different parts of China, businessmen would meet up in teahouses to take their job outside of the work atmosphere. It was important for businessmen to broaden their guanxi relationships, especially with powerful officials or bosses.


title: Karoshi

text: There is a lot of pressure to go to these nightclubs almost every night to drink heavily to move up in the business world. It has been shown that this kind of work could lead to health related problems down the line. For example, a businessman named Mr. Pan discussed with John Osburg, an anthropologist who wrote "Anxious Wealth: Money and Morality Among China's New Rich," about his health and the need to continue working. Mr. Pan, the 'biggest boss in Chengdu,' was in the hospital for 'excessive drinking.' This has happened to him before. Mr. Pan said, "I can't stop or slow down. I have many people whose livelihoods depend on me (literally 'depend on me to eat'). I've got about fifty employees and even more brothers. Their livelihoods depend on my success. I have to keep going."


title: Karoshi

text: In South Korea, the term gwarosa (, , alternatively romanised as kwarosa) is also used to refer to death by overworking. South Korea has some of the longest working hours in the world, even more so than Japan with the average being 42. This has caused many workers to feel the pressure of their jobs which has taken a toll on both their physical and mental health. Many have died from being overworked and the issue has only begun to gain more national attention due to many government workers having died from gwarosa. In 2018, the South Korean government enacted a law cutting working hours from 68 to 52.


title: Michael Kelly (actor)

text: Michael Kelly (born May 22, 1969) is an American actor, best known for his role as Doug Stamper on the television drama series "House of Cards".


title: Michael Kelly (actor)

text: Kelly was grew up in Lawrenceville, Georgia, the son of Maureen and Michael Kelly. His father is of Irish descent, and his mother is of Italian ancestry. Kelly graduated from Coastal Carolina University in 1992 with a degree in performing arts.


title: Michael Kelly (actor)

text: In addition to playing Doug Stamper in all six seasons of "House of Cards", Kelly has appeared in films such as "Changeling", "Dawn of the Dead", "The Adjustment Bureau", "Chronicle", "Now You See Me", and "Everest". He also appeared in the television miniseries "Generation Kill", six episodes of "The Sopranos" as Agent Ron Goddard, the "Criminal Minds" spin-off series "", and as Dr. Edgar Dumbarton in "Taboo".


title: Post-punk revival

text: Post-punk revival (also known as garage rock revival, new wave revival, and new rock revolution) is a genre of indie rock that emerged in the early 2000s as musicians started to play a stripped down and back-to-basics version of guitar rock emerged into the mainstream. Inspired by the original sounds and aesthetics of garage rock, new wave and post-punk. The music ranged from the atonal tracks, to melodic pop songs and popularised distorted guitar sounds.


title: Post-punk revival

text: Bands shared an emphasis on energetic live performance and used aesthetics (in hair and clothes) closely aligned with their fans, often drawing on fashion of the 1950s and 1960s, with "skinny ties, white belts [and] shag haircuts". There was an emphasis on "rock authenticity" that was seen as a reaction to the commercialism of MTV-oriented nu metal, hip hop and "bland" post-Britpop groups. The commercial breakthrough of the genre came with the release of The Strokes' "Is This It" and The White Stripes' "White Blood Cells" in 2001. After a decline in popularity in the late 2000s, post-punk had a resurgence in acclaim and prominence in the early 2020s.


title: Post-punk revival

text: The term post-punk was coined to describe groups who took punk and experimented with more challenging musical structures and lyrical themes, and a self-consciously art-based image, while retaining punk's initial iconoclastic stance.


title: Post-punk revival

text: In the early 2000s, a new group of bands that played a stripped down and back-to-basics version of guitar rock emerged into the mainstream. They were variously characterized as part of a garage rock, new wave or post-punk revival. Inspired by the original sounds and aesthetics of garage rock of the 1960s and new wave and post-punk of the late 1970s and early 1980s, with other influences that ranged from traditional blues, through new wave to grunge. The music ranged from the atonal tracks of bands like Liars to the melodic pop songs of groups like the Sounds, popularising distorted guitar sounds. They shared an emphasis on energetic live performance and used aesthetics (in hair and clothes) closely aligned with their fans, often drawing on fashion of the 1950s and 1960s, with "skinny ties, white belts [and] shag haircuts". There was an emphasis on "rock authenticity" that was seen as a reaction to the commercialism of MTV-oriented nu metal, hip hop and "bland" post-Britpop groups. Because the bands came from countries around the world, cited diverse influences and adopted differing styles of dress, their unity as a genre has been disputed. For garage rock historian Eric James Abbey, these were diverse bands that appropriated (or were given) the label "garage" to gain a degree of credibility.


title: Post-punk revival

text: AllMusic argued that rather than a revival, the history of post-punk was more of a continuum from the mid-1980s, with scattered bands that included Big Flame, World Domination Enterprises, and Minimal Compact extending the genre. In the mid-1990s, notable bands in this vein included Six Finger Satellite, Brainiac and Elastica. At the turn of the century, the term "post-punk" began to appear in the music press again, with a number of critics reviving the label to describe a new set of bands that shared some of the aesthetics of the original post-punk era. Music critic Simon Reynolds noted that bands like the Rapture and Franz Ferdinand were influenced by the more angular strain of post-punk, particularly bands such as Wire and Gang of Four. Others identified this movement as another wave of garage rock revivalism, with "NME" in 2003 designating it a "new garage rock revolution", or simply a "new rock revolution". According to music critic Jim DeRogatis, the Strokes, the White Stripes and the Hives all had a sound "to some extent rooted in ""-era garage rock".


title: Post-punk revival

text: There was interest in garage rock and elements of punk in the 1980s and 1990s, and by 2000 local music scenes in several countries had bands playing alternative and indie music. The Detroit rock scene included the White Stripes and the Von Bondies. New York's scene included the Strokes, Interpol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV On the Radio, LCD Soundsystem, the Walkmen, the Rapture, and Liars. In Los Angeles & San Francisco, the scene was centered around Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Brian Jonestown Massacre, the Dandy Warhols and Silversun Pickups. Other countries had their own local bands incorporating post-punk music.


title: Post-punk revival

text: The commercial breakthrough from these scenes began initially in the UK, and was led by a small group of bands. The Strokes emerged from the New York club scene with their debut album, "Is This It" (2001), which debuted at No. 2 in the UK and cracked the Top 50 in America. The White Stripes, from Detroit, released their third album, "White Blood Cells" (2001), which charted decently in both the US and the UK, as well as spawning two transatlantic Top 25 singles. The Hives, from Sweden, became a mainstream success with their compilation album "Your New Favourite Band" (2001) which peaked at No. 7 on the UK charts. Also in 2001, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's debut album hit No. 5 in the UK. The Vines, from Australia, released "Highly Evolved" in 2002, which was a top 5 success in both England and Australia, and peaked at No. 11 in the US. Along with the Strokes, White Stripes, Hives and others, they were christened by parts of the media as the "The" bands, and dubbed "the saviours of rock 'n' roll", prompting "Rolling Stone" magazine to declare on its September 2002 cover, "Rock is Back!" This press attention, in turn, led to accusations of hype, and some dismissed the scene as unoriginal, image-conscious and tuneless. According to Reynolds, "apart from maybe the White Stripes, none could really be described as retro".


title: Post-punk revival

text: In the wake of this attention, existing acts like Yeah Yeah Yeahs were able to sign to major record labels. A second wave of bands that managed to gain international recognition as a result of the movement included Interpol, the Black Keys, the Killers, Kings of Leon, Modest Mouse, the Shins, the Bravery, Spoon, the Hold Steady, and the National in the US, and Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, the Futureheads, The Cribs, the Libertines, Kaiser Chiefs and the Kooks in the UK. Arctic Monkeys were the most prominent act to owe their initial commercial success to the use of Internet social networking, with two No. 1 singles and "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (2006), which became the fastest-selling debut album in British chart history.


title: Post-punk revival

text: As a dominant commercial force, the revival was relatively short-lived. By 2007, the initial success of the movement was beginning to subside, leading commentators to discuss its decline as a phenomenon and argue that it had been overtaken by the more musically and emotionally complex music of indie rock bands like Arcade Fire (which, nevertheless, has been characterized by critics as featuring post-punk influences and sound) and Death Cab for Cutie.


title: Post-punk revival

text: By the end of the decade, many of the bands of the movement had broken up, were on hiatus, or had moved into other musical areas, and very few were making significant impact on the charts. Bands that returned to recording and touring in the 2010s included Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, the Strokes and Interpol.


title: Post-punk revival

text: Post punk artists that attained prominence in the 2010s and early 2020s included Parquet Courts, Protomartyr and Geese (United States), Preoccupations (Canada), Iceage (Denmark), and Viagra Boys (Sweden).


title: Post-punk revival

text: In the mid-to-late 2010s and early 2020s, a new wave of post-punk bands from Britain and Ireland emerged. The groups in this scene have been described with the term "Crank Wave" by "NME" and The Quietus in 2019, and as "Post-Brexit New Wave" by NPR writer Matthew Perpetua in 2021. Perpetua describes the groups in the scene as "U.K. bands that kinda talk-sing over post-punk music, and sometimes it's more like post-rock." Many of the acts are associated with producer Dan Carey and his record label Speedy Wunderground, and with The Windmill, an all-ages music venue in Brixton, London. Artists that have been identified as part of the style include Black Midi, Squid, Black Country, New Road, Dry Cleaning, Shame, Sleaford Mods, Fontaines D.C., The Murder Capital, Idles and Yard Act.


title: Revenge (2017 film)

text: Revenge is a 2017 French action thriller film written and directed by Coralie Fargeat, and starring Matilda Lutz, Kevin Janssens, Vincent Colombe and Guillaume Bouchède. The plot follows a young woman who is assaulted and left for dead in the desert by three men, where she recovers and seeks vengeance upon her attackers.


title: Revenge (2017 film)

text: "Revenge" had its world premiere on 11 September 2017 at the Toronto International Film Festival, as part of the Midnight Madness section. The film was released theatrically in France on 7 February 2018 by Rezo Films, and received critical acclaim, with praise for the screenplay, direction, cinematography, and Lutz's performance.


title: Revenge (2017 film)

text: Jennifer (dubbed "Jen"), an American socialite, is in a secret relationship with a married Richard. The two fly out to Richard's secluded home in the middle of the desert for a weekend tryst before his annual hunting trip with friends Stan and Dimitri. Stan and Dimitri arrive a day early, disappointing Richard, who was hoping to keep Jen a secret. That night the three men and Jen have a fun night of drinking and dancing.


title: Revenge (2017 film)

text: The next morning, while Richard is away, Stan tries to initiate sex with Jen, claiming she had come on to him the night before. When she refuses, he rapes her. Dimitri sees the rape but ignores it. Richard returns, berates Stan, and offers Jen money to forget about the incident. Jen demands to be sent home and threatens to reveal their relationship to Richard's wife. Richard slaps Jen and she runs off into the desert, pursued by the three men give chase. Cornering Jen at a cliff, Richard pushes her off, and she is impaled on a tree. The trio return to the house, planning to retrieve her body later.


title: Revenge (2017 film)

text: After a while, Jen wakes up and painfully frees herself. She wanders the desert with a piece of the tree branch stuck in her torso, trying to avoid the three men, who realized she survived the fall and had split up to search. Jen catches Dimitri alone and after a brief fight, manages to stab both of his eyes with his hunting knife. He bleeds out as Jen takes his supplies. She hides in a cave and treats her injuries. After a series of nightmares of the men hunting her, Jen sets out to find them first.


title: Revenge (2017 film)

text: After Richard and Stan discover and dispose of Dimitri's body, Richard orders Stan to track Jen down in his SUV. Jen spots Stan first and ambushes him when he runs out of gas. A gunfight ensues, ending with Jen killing him with Dimitri's shotgun and takes the car.


title: Revenge (2017 film)

text: Richard returns to the house, calls the helicopter, and takes a shower, but hears a noise and searches the property for Jen. She finds him once he has given up and shoots him in the stomach. The two chase each other around the house with shotguns, and Richard knocks Jen out with his shotgun. He tries to strangle her, but she shoves her hand in his stomach wound, forcing him to drop her. Jen recovers her shotgun and shoots Richard in the chest, killing him. A bloodied but triumphant Jen walks out of the house and turns around as she hears the helicopter approach.


title: Revenge (2017 film)

text: The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 11 September 2017. Prior to that, Shudder acquired distribution rights to the film. It was later revealed Neon would distribute the film theatrically in the United States, before its release on Shudder.


title: Revenge (2017 film)

text: The film was released in France on 7 February 2018 by Rézo Films. It was released in the United States on 11 May 2018, in a limited release and through video on demand.


title: Revenge (2017 film)

text: A.O. Scott of "The New York Times" said, "Blunt, bloody and stylish almost in spite of itself, "Revenge" is a synthesis of exploitation and feminism." Kevin Maher of "The Times" provides a more negative review: "Labelled a 'feminist rape-revenge movie', it takes all the traditional tenets of that most dubious of genres and simply does them again."


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: Wang Chung are an English new wave band, formed in London in 1980 by Nick Feldman, Jack Hues and Darren Costin. The name Wang Chung is Chinese (, ), meaning "yellow bell" in English, and is the first note in the Chinese classical music scale. The band found their greatest success in the US, with five top 40 hits there, all charting between 1983 and 1987, including "Dance Hall Days" (No. 16 in 1984), "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" (No. 2 in 1986) and "Let's Go!" (No. 9 in 1987).


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: Jeremy Ryder, known professionally as Jack Hues (lead vocalist and guitarist), and Nick Feldman (guitar) would eventually form the core of Wang Chung. They first met when Hues answered Feldman's advertisement for musicians in the classifieds section of the weekly British music magazine "Melody Maker" in 1977. They were joined by Bud Merrick on bass and Paul Hammond (ex-Atomic Rooster) on drums, forming the Intellektuals.


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: In less than a year, that band broke up. Hues and Feldman then joined up with future Wang Chung drummer Darren Costin, bassist Leigh Gorman, keyboardist Simon Campbell and vocalist Glenn Gregory, to form 57 Men. This band lasted for about eighteen months before breaking up. Gorman would go on to play bass in Adam and the Ants, Gregory went on to become the lead vocalist for Heaven 17, and Gorman later played in Bow Wow Wow.


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: Hues, Feldman and Costin stayed together and renamed themselves Huang Chung. According to Feldman, he came across the term "Huang Chung," meaning "yellow bell" in Mandarin, in a book he was reading, and used it as the name for the band.


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: At the beginning of Huang Chung's career, all the members performed under pseudonyms. Jeremy Ryder was "Jack Hues" (a play on Emile Zola's 1898 open letter "J'Accuse...!"), Nick Feldman was "Nick DeSpig", and Darren Costin was "Darren Darwin" (and later, just "Darwin"). The band then signed to a label called 101 Records. The first Huang Chung release, "Baby I'm Hu-man", appeared on a 101 compilation album in 1980. Three live tracks were subsequently released on another 101 Records compilation in 1981.


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: Later in 1980, the independent record company Rewind Records signed the band for a two-single deal. Huang Chung's debut single for Rewind Records was "Isn't It About Time We Were on TV", followed by "Stand Still". Neither single charted, but the group had begun to attract the attention of Arista Records, who signed them on a two-album deal in early 1981. Around the same time, the group expanded to a quartet, with the addition of saxophonist Dave Burnand. In keeping with the all-pseudonymous nature of the band, Burnand was known as "Hogg Robinson" for the first Arista single, and later, simply as "Hogg".


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: Under the direction of producer Rhett Davies, Huang Chung issued two singles on Arista in 1981, neither of which charted. A third single, produced by Roger Bechirian, appeared in early 1982; it too failed to chart. The band's debut studio album was issued in 1982. Self-titled, it compiled the three non-charting Arista A-sides, one of the Arista B-sides, and six other new tracks. Like the associated singles, the "Huang Chung" album failed to chart.


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: At the time the band's self-titled album was issued, Hues, DeSpig and Burnand also contributed to the lone studio album by mysterious pseudonymous group Blanket of Secrecy. Hues and DeSpig wrote the song "Lovers" for the album, and Hues scored the strings for that song, while Burnand played saxophone on the album. Despite some speculation at the time, no member of Huang Chung was actually a member of Blanket of Secrecy — that band consisted of Roger Bechirian, Andrew Howell and Pete Marsh, operating under the pseudonyms Tinker, Soldier, and Tailor.


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: In late 1982, Huang Chung returned to the studio to start work on their second studio album for Arista Records. A new single, "Dance Hall Days", was produced by Tim Friese-Greene and appeared as both a 7" and 12" single in October, but did not chart. The band were still a quartet at this point, with Feldman dropping the assumed "De Spig" surname and billing himself simply as "Nick".


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: After the failure of "Dance Hall Days", the group's manager, David Massey, convinced Arista to close their contract with Huang Chung, and instead placed the band with American label Geffen Records, making the group the second UK-based act to be signed to Geffen worldwide after Asia (not counting then-New York-based John Lennon in 1980). Burnand left the group around this time, citing "musical differences".


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: In 1983 they were still billed under the band name "Huang Chung" at BBC 2 music show "The Old Grey Whistle Test".


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: At this juncture, according to Hues, the band changed the spelling of their name to "Wang Chung", at Geffen's suggestion, to make the pronunciation easier for English-speakers.


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: At the same time, Nick Feldman and Darren Costin opted to be billed under their real full names; only Jack Hues kept his pseudonym. The band spent most of 1983 recording their second studio album, "Points on the Curve". Released in July 1983, the album yielded two moderately successful hits, "Don't Let Go" (No. 38 US) and a re-recorded version of "Dance Hall Days" (No. 16 US, No. 21 UK). The popularity of the latter song gave Wang Chung the ability to spend two months touring the United States on their own and with the Romantics and Berlin. In 1984 they would be the opening act for the Cars on their "Heartbeat City" tour; Costin would leave the band following this tour, and went on to form his own group, Heroes, which released the studio album "Here We Are" on RCA Records in 1987.


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: In late 1983, Hues and Feldman collaborated in a one-off project with vocalist David Van Day of duo Dollar. A demo of the track "Ringing the Bell" was submitted to Van Day by their publisher as one of many songs for consideration by Van Day as a possible follow up to his single "Young Americans Talking". It was recorded in November 1983 but remained unreleased for some time before eventually surfacing under the band name "Music Academy" in 1985. Wang Chung followed up the release of "Points on the Curve" with a spate of soundtrack work. Director William Friedkin specifically sought out Wang Chung to score his 1985 film "To Live and Die in L.A".


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: The resulting soundtrack became the group's third studio album, and is recognizable as one of their more mainstream works. It went top ten on the US "Billboard" chart for soundtracks. The band recorded "Fire in the Twilight" for the 1985 John Hughes film "The Breakfast Club" and contributed "There Is a Nation" for the soundtrack to "First Born". With Costin gone, Hues and Feldman continued to record new material, employing producer Peter Wolf as their new drummer (although he never became an official member of the band).


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: Wang Chung released their fourth studio album, "Mosaic", in 1986. This album spun off their biggest hits: "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" (No. 2 US) and "Let's Go!" (No. 9 US). "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" features the lyric "Everybody Wang Chung tonight", and also has a music video (directed by Godley & Creme) where virtually every frame featured a jump cut. During some US dates in the Summer 1987, they were the opening act for Tina Turner during her Break Every Rule World Tour.


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: Their final US top 40 single, "Hypnotize Me" (No. 36), was also from the same album, and also was featured on the soundtrack of the 1987 film "Innerspace". Wang Chung released their fifth studio album, "The Warmer Side of Cool", in 1989. The album featured "Praying to a New God" (No. 63 US), which charted but was not a hit. The album was considered a commercial disappointment. Hues and Feldman then went on to other projects and the band effectively disbanded in 1990.


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: During the 1990s, Feldman joined up with drummer Jon Moss of Culture Club to form the band Promised Land, and subsequently released their self-titled debut studio album, "Promised Land", in 1992. Also in the 1990s, Hues worked on various film soundtracks, including 1990's "The Guardian". He was signed to a solo deal by Sony Records in the early 1990s, but his intended debut solo studio album, "The Anatomy Lesson", was shelved by the label and remains unreleased. Hues later teamed up with Tony Banks of Genesis to form the one-off group Strictly Inc., which released a self-titled studio album in 1995.


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: 1997 saw the return of Wang Chung, still consisting of Hues and Feldman, with a greatest hits collection entitled "." Included on this CD was a new single, "Space Junk". The group also toured North America around this time to promote the new compilation. A 2000 edition of Wang Chung played several dates in the United States, both headlining their own tour and also a part of the Club 80s Flashback Tour with A Flock of Seagulls, Missing Persons, and Gene Loves Jezebel with Michael Aston. Hues was the only original member of this iteration of the band, as Feldman bowed out due to other commitments.


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: In March 2005, Wang Chung (once again consisting of Hues and Feldman) contributed "Akasha", a previously unreleased song, to the "Of Hands and Hearts" compilation, in response to the 2004 Southeast Asia tsunami crisis. In June 2005, Wang Chung appeared on the reality TV series "Hit Me Baby One More Time", performing "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" and a cover of "Hot in Herre" by Nelly.


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: Beginning in June 2009, Wang Chung were a part of the Regeneration '80s tour along with ABC, Berlin, Cutting Crew, and Missing Persons. In June 2010, Wang Chung released a digital "double EP" entitled "Abducted by the 80s". This was subsequently released as a double CD set in mid-2011. The eight song collection included four re-recordings of previous hits, and four new songs. Wang Chung toured the United States from June to July 2010 to promote the new release.


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: On 21 September 2010, The Beatles Complete on Ukulele released Wang Chung's reworking of the Beatles' "Rain", in an arrangement which features the ukulele. On 31 October 2010 their song "Space Junk" was featured in the pilot episode of the AMC series "The Walking Dead" (and is also included on the episode "What Comes After"). "The Fighter", a 2010 film starring Mark Wahlberg, featured Wang Chung's music.


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: They played the Rewind Festival in Perth in July 2012, and Henley-on-Thames in August 2012. In December that year, Wang Chung released "Tazer Up!", their first studio album in 23 years. All four original tracks from "Abducted by the 80s" appear on "Tazer Up!" (some in remixed and/or edited form); the album also features a remix of the re-recorded "Abducted" version of "Dance Hall Days". The remaining 6 tracks are unique to this release. In 2013, Darren Costin rejoined Wang Chung for a special one-off performance in England.


title: Wang Chung (band)

text: In 2017, Hues returned to performing live with Wang Chung, and in 2019, they recorded a greatest hits album with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra titled "Orchesography." Two EPs consisting of the orchestral versions and remixes were released of "Dance Hall Days" and "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" on both CD and digital download. "Orchesography" was released on 10 May 2019.


title: George Meade

text: George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was a United States Army officer and civil engineer best known for decisively defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. He previously fought with distinction in the Second Seminole War and the Mexican–American War. During the Civil War, he served as a Union general, rising from command of a brigade to that of the Army of the Potomac. Earlier in his career, he was an engineer and was involved in the coastal construction of several lighthouses.


title: George Meade

text: Meade's Civil War combat experience started as a brigade commander (brigadier general) in the Peninsula Campaign and the Seven Days Battles. He was severely wounded while leading his brigade at the Battle of Glendale. As a division commander, he had notable success at the Battle of South Mountain and assumed temporary corps command at the Battle of Antietam. Meade's division was arguably the most successful of any at the Battle of Fredericksburg in December. It was part of a force charged with driving the Confederate troops under Stonewall Jackson back from their position on Prospect Hill. The division made it further than any other, but was forced to turn back due to a lack of reinforcements. Meade was promoted to commander of the V Corps, which he led during the Battle of Chancellorsville.


title: George Meade

text: During the Gettysburg Campaign, he was appointed to command the Army of the Potomac just three days before the Battle of Gettysburg. Arriving on the field after the first day's action on July 1, Meade organized his army on favorable ground to fight an effective defensive battle against Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, repelling a series of massive assaults throughout the next two days. Lee was forced to retreat to Virginia, ending his hope of winning the war through a successful invasion of the North. This victory was marred by Meade's ineffective pursuit during the retreat, allowing Lee and his army to escape instead of completely destroying them. The Union Army also failed to follow up on its success during the Bristoe Campaign and Battle of Mine Run that fall, which ended inconclusively. Meade suffered from intense political rivalries within the Army, notably with Major Gen. Daniel Sickles, who tried to discredit Meade's role in the victory at Gettysburg.


title: George Meade

text: In 1864–1865, Meade continued to command the Army of the Potomac through the Overland Campaign, the Richmond–Petersburg Campaign, and the Appomattox Campaign, but he was overshadowed by the direct supervision of the general-in-chief, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, who accompanied him throughout these campaigns. Grant conducted most of the strategy during these campaigns, leaving Meade with significantly less influence than before. His image was harmed by his notoriously short temper and disdain for the press. After the war, he commanded several important departments during Reconstruction.


title: George Meade

text: George Gordon Meade was born on December 31, 1815, in Cádiz, Spain, the eighth of eleven children of Richard Worsam Meade and Margaret Coats Butler. His family were Pennsylvanians of Catholic, part Irish descent. His father, of a Philadelphia merchant family, had become wealthy in the American–Spanish trade and was appointed U.S. naval agent. He was ruined financially because of his support of Spain in the Peninsular War; his family returned to the United States in 1817, in precarious financial straits. He died in 1828 when Meade was not yet a teenager.


title: George Meade

text: His elder brother Richard Worsam Meade II became a naval officer, while several sisters married military men. Likewise, young George attended the American Classical and Military Lyceum in Philadelphia and the Mount Hope Institution in Baltimore, and entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1831. He graduated 19th in his class of 56 cadets in 1835. Meade was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 3rd US Artillery, his first assignment being in Florida, fighting against the Seminole Indians. He became a full second lieutenant by year's end, and in the fall of 1836, he resigned from the army, a career he had not intended to pursue, even while attending West Point. He worked as a civil engineer for the Alabama, Georgia, and Florida Railroad and for the War Department.


title: George Meade

text: On December 31, 1840 (his birthday), he married Margaretta Sergeant, daughter of John Sergeant, running mate of Henry Clay in the 1832 presidential election. They had seven children together: John Sergeant Meade; George Meade (who became a colonel in the US Army); Margaret Butler Meade; Spencer Meade; Sarah Wise Meade; Henrietta Meade; and William Meade.


title: George Meade

text: Finding steady civilian employment was difficult for the newly married man, so he reentered the army in 1842 as a second lieutenant in the Corps of Topographical Engineers. Meade served in the Mexican–American War, assigned to the staffs of Generals Zachary Taylor, William J. Worth, and Robert Patterson. He was brevetted to first lieutenant for gallant conduct at the Battle of Monterrey.


title: George Meade

text: After that war he was chiefly involved in lighthouse and breakwater construction and coastal surveying in Florida and New Jersey. He designed Barnegat Light on Long Beach Island, Absecon Light in Atlantic City, Cape May Light in Cape May, Jupiter Inlet Light in Jupiter, Florida, and Sombrero Key Light in the Florida Keys. He also designed a hydraulic lamp that was adopted by the Lighthouse Board for use in American lighthouses. Meade received an official promotion to first lieutenant in 1851, and to captain in 1856.


title: George Meade

text: In 1857, Meade relieved Lt. Col. James Kearney on the Lakes Survey mission of the Great Lakes. Completion of the survey of Lake Huron and extension of the surveys of Lake Michigan down to Grand and Little Traverse Bays were done under his command. Prior to Captain Meade's command, Great Lakes' water level readings were taken locally with temporary gauges; a uniform plane of reference had not been established. In 1858, based on his recommendation, instrumentation was set in place for the tabulation of records across the basin. In 1860, the first detailed report of Great Lakes was published. Meade stayed with the Lakes Survey until the 1861 outbreak of the Civil War.


title: George Meade

text: Meade was appointed brigadier general of volunteers on August 31, 1861, a few months after the start of the American Civil War, based on the strong recommendation of Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin. He was assigned command of the 2nd Brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserves, recruited early in the war, which he led competently, initially in the construction of defenses around Washington, D.C. He eventually came to command a brigade in the Pennsylvania Reserves Division of the Army of the Potomac. In early 1862, with the army being reorganized into corps, Meade served as part of the I Corps under Maj. Gen Irvin McDowell. The I Corps was stationed in the Rappahannock area, but in June, the Pennsylvania Reserves were detached and sent to the Peninsula to reinforce the main army. With the onset of the Seven Days Battles on June 25, the Reserves were in the thick of the fighting. At Mechanicsville and Gaines Mill, Meade's brigade was mostly held in reserve, but at Glendale on June 30, it was heavily engaged. Meade was shot in the right arm and through the back. He was sent home to Philadelphia to rest and recuperate. Meade resumed command of his brigade in time for the Northern Virginia Campaign and the Second Battle of Bull Run, in which he led his brigade, then assigned to Maj. Gen. Irvin McDowell's corps of the Army of Virginia. His brigade made a heroic stand on Henry House Hill to protect the rear of the retreating Union Army. At the start of the Maryland Campaign, the division's commander John F. Reynolds was sent to Pennsylvania to train militia units, so Meade assumed temporary division command. When Meade's brigade stormed the heights at South Mountain, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, his corps commander, was heard to exclaim, "Look at Meade! Why, with troops like those, led in that way, I can win anything!" At the Battle of Antietam, Meade assumed command of the I Corps after Hooker was wounded and the ranking division commander, James B. Ricketts, was injured when his horse was shot from underneath him.


title: George Meade

text: During the Battle of Fredericksburg, Meade's division made the only breakthrough of the Confederate lines, spearheading through a gap in Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's corps at the southern end of the battlefield. For this action, Meade was promoted to major general of volunteers, to rank from November 29, 1862, and major in the regular army, to rank from June 18. However, his attack was not reinforced, resulting in the loss of much of his division.


title: George Meade

text: Meade considered himself deserving of a corps command after the hard service he'd performed during the summer 1862 campaigns, but instead Daniel Butterfield, his junior in rank and a political appointee, received command of the V Corps on November 16. New Army of the Potomac commander Ambrose Burnside told Meade that this was only a temporary arrangement. He replaced Butterfield in command of the corps on Christmas Day, but a month later was elevated to grand division command after the departure of William B. Franklin. After Hooker's dissolution of the grand division system, Meade was returned to command of V Corps, which he led in the Battle of Chancellorsville the following spring. General Hooker, then commanding the Army of the Potomac, had grand plans for the campaign, but was unsuccessful in execution, allowing the Confederates to seize the initiative. Meade's corps was left in reserve for most of the battle, contributing to the Union defeat. Afterward, Meade argued strongly with Hooker for resuming the attack against Lee, but to no avail.


title: George Meade

text: Hooker resigned from command of the Army of the Potomac while pursuing Lee in the Gettysburg Campaign. In the early morning hours of June 28, 1863, a messenger from President Abraham Lincoln arrived to inform Meade of his appointment as Hooker's replacement. Meade was taken by surprise and later wrote to his wife that when the officer entered his tent to wake him, he assumed that Army politics had caught up with him and he was being arrested. He had not actively sought command and was not the president's first choice. John F. Reynolds, one of four major generals who outranked Meade in the Army of the Potomac, had earlier turned down the president's suggestion that he take over. The four generals, Reynolds, John Sedgwick, Henry Slocum, and Winfield Hancock, recommended him for command of the army and agreed to serving under him despite outranking him.


title: George Meade

text: Meade assumed command at Prospect Hall in Frederick, Maryland. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was invading Pennsylvania and, as a former corps commander, Meade had little knowledge of the disposition of the rest of his new army. Having known Meade during the Mexican War, Lee declared that Meade would make no blunders in his front and that if he (Lee) did so, Meade would readily exploit them. Only three days later Meade confronted Lee in the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg, July 1–3, 1863. The battle began almost by accident, as the result of a chance meeting engagement between Confederate infantry and Union cavalry in Gettysburg on July 1. By the end of the first day, two Union infantry corps had been almost destroyed, but had taken up positions on favorable ground. Meade rushed the remainder of his army to Gettysburg and skillfully deployed his forces for a defensive battle, reacting swiftly to fierce assaults on his line's left, right, and center, culminating in Lee's disastrous assault on the center, known as Pickett's Charge.


title: George Meade

text: During the three days, Meade made excellent use of capable subordinates, such as Maj. Gens. John F. Reynolds and Winfield S. Hancock, to whom he delegated great responsibilities. Unfortunately for Meade's reputation, he did not skillfully manage the political manipulators he inherited from Hooker. Maj. Gens. Daniel Sickles, III Corps commander, and Daniel Butterfield, Meade's chief of staff, caused him difficulty later in the war, questioning his command decisions and courage. Sickles had developed a personal vendetta against Meade because of Sickles's allegiance to Joseph Hooker, whom Meade had replaced, and because of controversial disagreements at Gettysburg. Sickles had either mistakenly or deliberately disregarded Meade's orders about placing his corps in the defensive line, which led to that corps' destruction and placed the entire army at risk on the second day of battle. Radical Republicans, some of whom like Thaddeus Stevens were former Know Nothings and hostile to Irish Catholics like Meade's family, in the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War suspected that Meade was a Copperhead and tried in vain to relieve him from command.


title: George Meade

text: Following their severe losses at Gettysburg, General Lee's army retreated to Virginia. Meade was criticized by President Lincoln and others for not aggressively pursuing the Confederates during their retreat. Meade's perceived caution stemmed from three causes: casualties and exhaustion of the Army of the Potomac which had engaged in forced marches and heavy fighting for a week, heavy general officer casualties that impeded effective command and control, and a desire to guard a hard won victory against a sudden reversal. At one point, the Army of Northern Virginia was trapped with its back to the rain-swollen, almost impassable Potomac River, however, the Army of Northern Virginia was able to erect strong defensive positions before Meade, whose army had also been weakened by the fighting, could organize an effective attack. Lincoln believed that this wasted an opportunity to end the war and was concerned by an exultant message from Meade that the enemy had been driven from "our soil." Lincoln heard echoes of McClellan in this. Nonetheless, Meade was rewarded for his actions at Gettysburg by a promotion to brigadier general in the regular army and the Thanks of Congress, which commended Meade "... and the officers and soldiers of [the Army of the Potomac], for the skill and heroic valor which at Gettysburg repulsed, defeated, and drove back, broken and dispirited, beyond the Rappahannock, the veteran army of the rebellion." Meade wrote the following to his wife after meeting President Lincoln:


title: George Meade

text: During the rest of the campaigning season in 1863, Meade was hobbled by the transfer of his XI and XII Corps to the Western Theater. Meade outmaneuvered Lee in the Bristoe Campaign, gaining a small victory. But his Mine Run Campaign failed when General French and the Third Corps bogged down.


title: George Meade

text: Meade was a competent man and outwardly modest, although wartime correspondence with his wife reveal his ego and ambition. A British reporter described Meade: "He is a very remarkable looking man—tall, spare, of a commanding figure in presence, his manner pleasant and easy but having much dignity. His head is partially bald and is small and compact, but the forehead is high. He has the late Duke of Wellington class of nose, and his eyes, which have a serious and almost sad expression, are rather sunken, or appear so from the prominence of the curve nasal appearance. He has a decidedly patrician and distinguished appearance." Meade's short temper earned him notoriety, and while he was respected by most of his peers, he at times was not well loved by his army. Some referred to him as "a damned old goggle-eyed snapping turtle."


title: George Meade

text: When Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was appointed commander of all Union armies in March 1864, Meade offered to resign. He stated the task at hand was of such importance that he would not stand in the way of Grant choosing the right man for the job and offered to serve wherever placed. Grant assured Meade he had no intentions of replacing him. Grant later wrote that this incident gave him a more favorable opinion of Meade than the great victory at Gettysburg.


title: George Meade

text: Grant made his headquarters with Meade for the remainder of the war, which caused Meade to chafe at the close supervision he received. Following an incident in June 1864, in which Meade disciplined reporter Edward Cropsey from "The Philadelphia Inquirer" newspaper for an unfavorable article, all of the press assigned to his army agreed to mention Meade only in conjunction with setbacks. Meade apparently knew nothing of this arrangement, and the reporters giving all of the credit to Grant angered Meade.


title: George Meade

text: Additional differences caused further friction between Grant and Meade. Waging a war of attrition in his Overland Campaign against Robert E. Lee, Grant was willing to suffer previously unacceptable losses with the knowledge that the Union Army had replacement soldiers available, whereas the Confederates did not. Meade, despite his aggressive performance in lesser commands in 1862, had become a more cautious general and more concerned about the futility of attacking entrenched positions. Most of the bloody repulses his army suffered in the Overland Campaign were ordered by Grant, although the aggressive maneuvering that eventually cornered Lee in the trenches around Petersburg were Grant's initiative as well.


title: George Meade

text: Meade was additionally frustrated by the manner in which Grant sometimes gave preferable treatment to subordinates that he had brought with him from the Western Theater. A primary example of this was Grant's interference with Meade's direction of Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan's Cavalry Corps. The Army of the Potomac had used cavalry for couriers, scouting, and headquarters guards for most of its existence. Only Joe Hooker had contemplated using them in an aggressive fashion, and Meade had largely continued established practice. Sheridan objected and told Meade that he could "whip Stuart" if Meade let him. Meade reported the conversation to Grant, who replied, "Well, he generally knows what he is talking about. Let him start right out and do it." Meade deferred to Grant's judgment and issued orders to Sheridan to "proceed against the enemy's cavalry" and from May 9 through May 24, sent him on a raid toward Richmond, directly challenging the Confederate cavalry.