2. Beliefs about the afterlife
In nearly every place surveyed, half or more say life after death is likely. Fewer believe in reincarnation or that ancestral spirits can affect their lives.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
In nearly every place surveyed, half or more say life after death is likely. Fewer believe in reincarnation or that ancestral spirits can affect their lives.
Large majorities around the world say they believe in God. Read about beliefs in spiritual presence “beyond the natural world,” and in animals and nature.
Across the 36 countries surveyed, people’s views on the importance of religion to national identity vary widely. Large shares in middle-income countries say being a member of the historically predominant religion in their country is very important to truly sharing the national identity – for example, to being truly Filipino or truly Nigerian. In high-income […]
Americans’ views differ by party and age on whether public school teachers should be allowed to lead students in Christian prayers.
By some measures, the world’s most religious countries are mostly in the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.
Compared with last year, perceptions of discrimination against Jews and Muslims have declined among both Republicans and Democrats (including independents who lean toward each party). There also has been a modest decrease in the share of the public saying evangelical Christians face at least some discrimination, largely due to a change among Republicans. Read the […]
Majorities say more women in the workforce is a good thing. Read more about religious groups’ views on gender in the labor force, and stay-at-home parents. Religious Landscape Study by Pew Research Center.
Hindus, Muslims and the unaffiliated each make up about a quarter or more of the Asia-Pacific population. These groups all grew there from 2010-2020.
When asked what it takes to “truly” belong in a country, many people globally say speaking the local language is key.
In the Religious Landscape Study (RLS), we group Protestant respondents into one of three “traditions” – the evangelical tradition, mainline tradition or the historically Black Protestant tradition – based on the specific denomination they identify with. For instance, all respondents who identify with the Southern Baptist Convention are classified as members of the evangelical Protestant […]
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