Around the World, Many People Are Leaving Their Childhood Religions
In many places surveyed, 20% or more of all adults have left their childhood religious group. Christianity and Buddhism have had especially large losses.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
In many places surveyed, 20% or more of all adults have left their childhood religious group. Christianity and Buddhism have had especially large losses.
Most Americans say religion’s influence is shrinking, and about half (48%) see conflict between their own religious beliefs and mainstream American culture.
Most U.S. adults say whether something is right or wrong often depends on the situation (55%), and that you can be moral without believing in God (68%). Religious Landscape Study by Pew Research Center.
Highly religious Americans are less likely than less religiously engaged adults to think the government should help people in need more. Religious Landscape Study by Pew Research Center.
About three-in-ten are “cultural” or former Catholics, or have other ties to the faith. Read about these groups and why some say they left the religion.
Large shares of adults in most of the 36 countries we surveyed say religion helps society rather than harms it.[2. numoffset=”2″ In the U.S., we previously asked very similar questions about the impact of religion on society using a slightly different scale. For more, read the 2023 report “Spirituality Among Americans.”] Most also say religion […]
Explore our interactive database to find how religious adults are in your state based on service attendance, prayer, belief in God, and importance of religion.
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 […]
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.
The gender gap in American religion is shrinking. Historically, women have been more religious than men. But the gap is smaller than it once was.
Notifications