Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Across three dozen countries, belief in life after death is widespread, as is the belief that spirits can reside in animals and in parts of nature such as mountains, rivers or trees.
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In this video, we dive into the impact spirituality has on Americans and how it overlaps with and differs from religiousness.
After years of decline, the U.S. Christian share has been relatively stable since 2019, while the rise in the share of religious “nones” has slowed – at least for now.
The Religious Landscape Study is a comprehensive survey of more than 35,000 Americans’ religious identities, beliefs and practices that’s been conducted in 2007, 2014 and 2023-24. Pew Research Center.
Few are religiously affiliated, but many in the region hold religious or spiritual beliefs and engage in traditional rituals.
Around six-in-ten U.S. atheists are men (64%). And seven-in-ten are ages 49 or younger, compared with about half of U.S. adults overall (52%).
Most Americans are spiritual or religious in some way and many also say their spirituality and level of religiosity have changed over time.
A rising share of Asian Americans say they have no religion (32%), but many consider themselves close to one or more religious traditions for reasons such as family or culture. Christianity is still the largest faith group among Asian Americans (34%).
Read about some of the ways focus group participants with ties to different faith traditions explain the complex relationship of religion and culture in their lives.
Despite the Chinese Communist Party’s ban on religion, some 6% of party members formally identify with a religion.
Based on formal religious identity, China is the least religious country in the world – with just 10% of Chinese adults self-identifying with a religion.
