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.
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 […]
The religiously unaffiliated population is the world’s third-largest religious category and grew the second-fastest between 2010 and 2020.
Read about U.S. religious groups’ demographics – such as race/ethnicity, age, immigrant status, gender and sexual orientation – and their trends since 2007. Religious Landscape Study by Pew Research Center.
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.
This Pew Research Center study calculates Religious Diversity Index (RDI) scores for countries, territories and world regions based on the distribution of seven religious categories: Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, adherents of all other religions (an umbrella category) and people with no religious affiliation. The underlying estimates of the size of religious populations were previously […]
Read about where religiously unaffiliated populations have had the largest net gains, and how those who’ve joined the “nones” identified previously.
On balance, people in middle-income countries are more likely to say they would be uncomfortable than comfortable if they had a child who came out as gay or lesbian.
Read how demographic factors – age composition, life expectancy and fertility rates – and religious switching changed the global religious landscape.
Notifications