The
demographics of atheism are difficult to quantify. Different people interpret "atheist" and related terms differently, and it can be hard to draw boundaries between atheism, non-religious beliefs, and non-theistic religious and spiritual beliefs. Furthermore, atheists may not report themselves as such, to prevent suffering from
social stigmaSocial stigma is severe social disapproval of personal characteristics or beliefs that are perceived to be against cultural norms. Stigma is often based on ignorance, irrational or unfounded fears, mass hysteria, lack of education, or a lack of information pertaining to a particular person or group...
,
discriminationDiscrimination against atheists includes the persecution and discrimination faced by atheists and those labelled as atheists in the past and in the current era. Differing definitions of atheism historically and culturally mean that those discriminated against might not be considered truly atheist...
, and persecution in certain regions, or in cases where the situation is reversed, religious people may keep their beliefs secret in societies with a pro-atheist government. Despite these problems, one study classified 2.5% of the world's population as atheists, and a separate 12.7% as non-religious.
Studies and statistics
Because some governments have strongly promoted
atheismAtheism can be either the rejection of theism,or the position that deities do not exist.In the broadest sense, it is the absence of belief in the existence of deities....
and others have strongly condemned it, atheism may be either over-reported or under-reported for different countries. There is a great deal of room for debate as to the accuracy of any method of estimation, as the opportunity for misreporting (intentionally or not) a category of people without an organizational structure is high. Also, many surveys on religious identification ask people to identify themselves as "
agnosticsAgnosticism is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims — particularly metaphysical claims regarding theology, afterlife or the existence of deities, spiritual beings, or even ultimate reality — are unknown or, in some forms of agnosticism, unknowable.It is not a...
" or "atheists", which is potentially confusing, since these terms are interpreted differently, with some identifying themselves as being both atheist and agnostic. Additionally, many of these surveys only gauge the number of
irreligiousIrreligion is an absence of religion, indifference to religion, and/or hostility to religion. Depending on the context, it may be understood as referring to atheism, deism, nontheism, agnosticism, ignosticism, antireligion, skepticism, freethought, or secular humanism. Irreligious people may have...
people, not the number of actual atheists, or group the two together.
Statistical problems
Statistics on atheism are often difficult to represent accurately for a variety of reasons. Atheism is a position compatible with other forms of identity. Some atheists also consider themselves
AgnosticAgnosticism is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims — particularly metaphysical claims regarding theology, afterlife or the existence of deities, spiritual beings, or even ultimate reality — are unknown or, in some forms of agnosticism, unknowable.It is not a...
,
BuddhistBuddhism, as traditionally conceived, is a path of salvation attained through insight into the ultimate nature of reality. It encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha...
,
JainsJainism is an ancient dharmic religion from India that prescribes a path of non-violence for all forms of living beings in this world. Its philosophy and practice relies mainly on self-effort in progressing the soul on the spiritual ladder to divine consciousness...
,
UnitarianUnitarianism as a theology is the belief in the single personality of God, in contrast to the doctrine of the Trinity ....
,
TaoistDaoism refers to a variety of related philosophical and religious traditions and concepts that have influenced East Asia for over two millennia and the West for over two centuries. The word 道, Tao , means "path" or "way", although in Chinese folk religion and philosophy it has taken on more...
or hold other related philosophical beliefs. 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 due to the nature of elements such as the wording of questions and the available response options. Also, many atheists, particularly former Catholics and former Mormons, are still counted as
ChristiansChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
in church rosters, although surveys generally ask samples of the population and do not look in church rosters. Other Christians believe that
"once a person is [truly] saved, that person is always saved", a doctrine known as
eternal securityPerseverance of the saints is a Christian teaching taught in some branches of Protestantism which teaches that none who are truly saved can be condemned for their sins or finally fall away from the faith...
. 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 prevailing social norms will influence the responses of such people on survey questions which effectively force respondents to categorize themselves either as belonging to a particular religion or 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.
Discrimination
Legal and social discrimination against atheists in some places may lead some to deny or conceal their atheism due to fears of persecution. A 2006 study by researchers at the
University of MinnesotaThe University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States...
involving a poll of 2,000 households in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
found atheists to be the most distrusted of minorities, more so than Muslims, recent immigrants, gays and lesbians, and other groups. Many of the respondents associated atheism with immorality, including criminal behaviour, extreme materialism, and elitism. However, the same study also reported that, “The researchers also found acceptance or rejection of atheists is related not only to personal religiosity, but also to one’s exposure to diversity, education and political orientation — with more educated, East and West Coast Americans more accepting of atheists than their Southern counterparts.”
Distribution
Though atheists are in the minority in most countries, they are relatively common in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
,
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
,
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
and
UruguayUruguay , is a country located in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to 3.46 million people, of whom 1.1 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area. An estimated 88–94% of the population are of mostly European and/or mixed descent.Uruguay's only land border is...
, in former and present Communist states, and, to a lesser extent, in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. A 1995 survey attributed to the
Encyclopædia BritannicaThe Encyclopædia Britannica is a general English-language encyclopaedia published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., a privately held company. The articles in the Britannica are aimed at educated adult readers, and written by a staff of about 100 full-time editors and more than...
indicates that the non-religious are about 14.7% of the world's population, and atheists around 3.8%. Another survey attributed to
Britannica shows the population of atheists at around 2.4% of the world's population. It is difficult to determine whether atheism is growing or not. What is certain is that in some areas of the world (such as Europe) atheism and
SecularizationSecularization or secularisation generally refers to the transformation by which a society migrates from close identification with religious institutions to a more separated relationship...
seem to be on the rise.
While there are more atheists than ever before, polls show that atheism's percentages seems to be declining. This may be because birth rates in religious societies are much higher. This is similar to a 2002 survey by Adherents.com, which estimates the proportion of the world's people who are "secular, non-religious, agnostics and atheists" at about 14%. 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. About 8% of the respondents stated specifically that they consider themselves to be atheists. 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. A 2004 survey by the
Pew Research CenterThe Pew Research Center is an American think tank organization based in Washington, D.C. that provides information on issues, attitudes and trends shaping the United States and the world. The Center and its projects receive funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts...
showed that in the United States, 12% of people under 30 and 6% of people over 30 could be characterized as non-religious. A 2005 poll by AP/Ipsos surveyed ten countries. Of the developed nations, people in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
had most certainty about the existence of God or a higher power (2% atheist, 4% agnostic), while
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
had the most skeptics (19% atheist, 16% agnostic). On the religion question,
South KoreaSouth Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often simply referred to as Korea, is a country in East Asia, located on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, the second largest...
had the greatest percentage without a religion (41%) while
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
had the smallest (5%).
A study has shown atheism in the
west to be particularly prevalent among
scientistA scientist, in the broadest sense, is any person who engages in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge or an individual that engages in such practices and traditions that are linked to schools of thought or philosophy. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the...
s, a tendency already quite marked at the beginning of the 20th century, developing into a dominant one during the course of the century. In 1914,
James H. LeubaJames Henry Leuba was an American psychologist, best known for his contributions to the psychology of religion. His work in this area is marked by a reductionistic tendency to explain mysticism and other religious experiences in physiological terms. Philosophically, his position may be described...
found that 58% of 1,000 randomly selected U.S.
natural scientistsIn Science, the term natural science refers to a naturalistic approach to the study of the universe, which is understood as obeying rules or laws of natural origin...
expressed "disbelief or doubt in the existence of God" (defined as a personal God which interacts directly with human beings). The same study, repeated in 1996, gave a similar percentage of 60.7%; this number is 93% among the members of the
National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine."The group holds a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code....
. Expressions of positive disbelief rose from 52% to 72%. (See also
Relationship between religion and scienceThe relationship between religion and science has been a focus of the demarcation problem. Statements about the world made by science and religion rely on different methodologies. Religions rely on revelation while science relies on observable, repeatable experiences...
.)
Europe
According to the most recent relevant
EurostatEurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide the European Union with statistical information at European level and to promote the harmonisation of statistical methods across the Member States of the European Union,...
Eurobarometer poll, in 2005, 52% of European Union citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", whereas 27% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 18% that "they do not believe there is a spirit, God, nor life force". Results were widely varied between different countries, with 95% of Maltese respondents stating that they believe in God, on the one end, and only 16% of Estonians stating the same on the other.
Eurobarometer Poll 2005
Country |
Belief in a god |
Belief in a spirit
or life force |
Belief in neither a spirit,
god or life force |
|---|
Turkey Turkey Islam is the largest religion of Turkey. More than 99 percent of the population is Muslim, mostly Sunni. The Shia Alevi community, a distinct Muslim sect, make up 20 percent of the population...
|
95% |
2% |
1% |
Malta Malta The predominant religion in the Mediterranean island nation of Malta is Roman Catholicism.-Saint Paul:The Church in Malta is described in the Book of Acts to have been founded by its patrons Saint Paul the Apostle and Saint Publius, who was its first bishop. The Islands of St. Paul The predominant...
|
95% |
3% |
1% |
Cyprus Cyprus Most Greek Cypriots, and thus the majority of the population of Cyprus, are members of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Cyprus , whereas most Turkish Cypriots are Muslim. According to Eurobarometer 2005 , Cyprus is one of the most religious countries in Europe, along with Turkey, Malta,...
|
90% |
7% |
2% |
Romania RomaniaRomania is a secular state, and it has no state religion. However, an overwhelming majority of the country's citizens are Christian. 86.7% of the country's population identified as Eastern Orthodox in the 2002 census...
|
90% |
8% |
1% |
Greece Greece The Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the religion of 95%-98% of the Greek population and is accorded the status of "prevailing religion" in the constitution.According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005,...
|
81% |
16% |
3% |
Portugal Portugal The most predominant religion in Portugal is Roman Catholicism. Approximately 84% of the population are nominally Catholic, but only about 19% attend mass and take the sacraments regularly...
|
81% |
12% |
6% |
Poland PolandMost Poles, by far, adhere to the Christian faith, with in 2007 about 88,4% belonging to the Roman Catholic Church . Catholicism plays an important role in the lives of many Poles and the Roman Catholic Church in Poland enjoys immense social prestige and political influence...
|
80% |
15% |
1% |
Italy Italy Catholicism is by far the largest religious group in Italy. However, there are also some important religious minorities....
|
74% |
16% |
6% |
Ireland Ireland The island of Ireland is divided into two jurisdictions Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. For religion in each, see one of:* Religion in the Republic of Ireland* Religion in Northern Ireland...
|
73% |
22% |
4% |
Croatia Croatia According to the 2001 census the majority of Croatians belong to the Roman Catholic Church. Orthodox Christians make up around 4.4 percent of the population, Muslims around 1.3 percent, and Protestants around 0.3 percent of the population...
|
67% |
25% |
7% |
Slovakia Slovakia Christianity is the main religion in Slovakia.The majority of Slovaks belong to the Roman Catholic Church. The country is divided into 8 dioceses including 3 archdioceses. Various Protestant denominations make up around 10.8% of the population...
|
61% |
26% |
11% |
Spain SpainRoman Catholicism is the largest religion in the country by far. According to a July 2009 study by the Spanish Center of Sociological Research about 76% of Spaniards self-identify as Catholics, 2% other faith, and about 20% identify with no religion. Most Spaniards do not participate regularly in...
|
59% |
21% |
18% |
Austria Austria - Adherence Figures:Among religions in Austria, Roman Catholic Christianity is predominant. According to the 2001 census, 73.6% of the country's population adhered to this denomination. The number of Sunday churchgoers stood at around 11.5%...
|
54% |
34% |
8% |
Lithuania Lithuania The Religion in Lithuania is predominantly Catholic, reflecting Lithuania's history, with a strong presence from other minorities.According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005,...
|
49% |
36% |
12% |
Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland has no country-wide state religion, though most of the cantons recognize official churches , in all cases including the Catholic Church and the Swiss Reformed Church...
|
48% |
39% |
9% |
Germany GermanyChristianity is the largest religion in Germany with 54,765,265 adherents as of the end of 2006. The second largest religion is Islam with 3.3 million adherents followed by Buddhism and Judaism.-Christianity:...
|
47% |
25% |
25% |
Luxembourg Luxembourg There are many active religions in Luxembourg. The most important, in terms of size of congregation and historical importance, is Roman Catholicism, but the state does not support, or discriminate against, any one single religion.-Demographics:...
|
44% |
28% |
22% |
Hungary Hungary |
44% |
31% |
19% |
Belgium Belgium A 2006 inquiry in Flanders, long considered more religious than the Brussels or Wallonia regions in Belgium, showed 55% of its inhabitants calling themselves religious while 36% claimed believing that god created the world.- Status of recognized denominations :...
|
43% |
29% |
27% |
Finland Finland Religion in Finland is primarily Christian, prior to Christianisation, Finnish paganism was the primary religion.-Churches and Religion:Finland is a country with both eastern and western influences. Christian influences from both East and West reached Finland a thousand years ago...
|
41% |
41% |
16% |
Bulgaria Bulgaria Bulgaria is traditionally a Christian state since the adoption of Constantinople Christianity in 865, and therefore the dominant confession is being Eastern Orthodoxy of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church...
|
40% |
40% |
13% |
Iceland Iceland Religion in Iceland was initially the Norse paganism that was commonly believed by Vikings . Later, the nation became half-Christian and then more fully Christian. This increasing Christianization culminated in the Pietism period when non-Christian entertainments were discouraged. At present, the...
|
38% |
48% |
11% |
United Kingdom United Kingdom |
38% |
40% |
20% |
Latvia Latvia Religion in Latvia has had minimal conflict over the centuries. Christianity was brought to Latvia relatively late, in the 13th century. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia has 450,000 members. The Latvian Orthodox Church is semi-autonomous and has 350,000 members. Roman Catholicism in Latvia...
|
37% |
49% |
10% |
Slovenia Slovenia |
37% |
46% |
16% |
France France France is a country where freedom of thought and of religion are preserved, in virtue of the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. The Republic is based on the principle of laïcité enforced by the 1880s Jules Ferry laws and the 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches...
|
34% |
27% |
33% |
Netherlands Netherlands |
34% |
37% |
27% |
Norway NorwayReligion in Norway is overwhelmingly Protestant with 82.7% belonging to the state Evangelical Lutheran Church of Norway. Early Norwegians, like all of the people of Scandinavia, were pagans believing in Norse mythology; the Sámi having a shamanistic religion...
|
32% |
47% |
17% |
Denmark Denmark Of the religions in Denmark, the most prominent is the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark which is the official state religion. However, pockets of virtually all faiths can be found among the population. The second largest faith is Islam, due to mass immigration in the 1980 and 90s.In general,...
|
31% |
49% |
19% |
Sweden SwedenSweden was pagan before the 11th century, when the country underwent Christianization. Since the Protestant Reformation in the 1530s, the country is Lutheran, with the Church of Sweden being allowed the status of state church until 2000. As of 2008, 72.9% of the Swedes were members of the church,...
|
23% |
53% |
23% |
Czech Republic Czech Republic |
19% |
50% |
30% |
Estonia Estonia |
16% |
54% |
26% |
Several studies have found
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
to be one of the most atheist countries in the world.
According to Davie (1999), 80% of Swedes do not believe in God. In the Eurostat survey, 23% of Swedish citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", whereas 53% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 23% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force". This, according to the survey, would make Swedes the third least religious people in the 27-member
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
, after
EstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russian Federation...
and the
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
. In 2001, the Czech Statistical Office provided census information on the ten million people in the
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
. 59% had no religion, 32.2% were religious, and 8.8% did not answer.
A 2006 survey in the Norwegian newspaper
AftenpostenAftenposten is Norway's largest subscription newspaper , and second largest newspaper over all . It is based in Oslo. The morning edition, which is distributed across all of Norway, had a circulation of 250,179 in 2007...
(on February 17), saw 1,006 inhabitants of
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
answering the question "What do you believe in?". 29% answered "I believe in a god or deity", 23% answered "I believe in a higher power without being certain of what", 26% answered "I don't believe in God or higher powers", and 22% answered "I am in doubt". Still, some 85% of the population are members of the Norwegian state's official Lutheran Protestant church. Part of this deviance is because Norwegians are signed into this church at birth, and that signing out, if they are even aware of being signed in, is a time-consuming, bureaucratic affair yielding no immediate gains.
In
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, about 12% of the population reportedly attends religious services more than once per month. In a 2003 poll 54% of those polled in France identified themselves as "faithful", 33% as atheist, 14% as agnostic, and 26% as "
indifferentApatheism , also known as pragmatic or critically as practical atheism, is acting with apathy, disregard, or lack of interest towards belief, or lack of belief in a deity. Apatheism describes the manner of acting towards a belief or lack of a belief in a deity; so applies to both theism and atheism...
". However, either the poll results are flawed or the categories were not mutually exclusive, as the total percentages add up to 127%. According to a different poll, 32% declared themselves atheists, and an additional 32% declared themselves agnostic.
In the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, a poll in 2004 by the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
put the number of people who do not believe in a God to be 50%, while a
YouGovYouGov is an international internet-based market research firm launched in the UK in May 2000 by Stephan Shakespeare and Nadhim Zahawi . In 2005 the company opened an office in the Middle East, YouGovSiraj, and in 2007 it further expanded by acquiring market research firms in the USA, Germany and...
poll in the same year put the percentage of non-believers at 35% with 21% uncertain. In the YouGov poll men were less likely to
believe in a god than women and younger people were less likely to believe in a god than older people.
In early 2004, it was announced that atheism would be taught during religious education classes in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. A spokesman for the
Qualifications and Curriculum AuthorityThe Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Children, Schools and Families in the United Kingdom...
stated: "There are many children in England who have no religious affiliation and their beliefs and ideas, whatever they are, should be taken very seriously." There is also considerable debate in the UK on the status of faith-based schools, which use religious as well as academic selection criteria. A 2009 study reported that two thirds of teenagers in the UK do not believe in God.
In
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
, 81.7% are believers, 11% are non-believers and 6% are atheists (according to the 2005 poll of the public Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas).
There is a complex situation with atheism in
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. According to a surveys of
Levada CenterLevada Center is a Russian independent, non-governmental polling and sociological research organisation. It is named after its founder, the first Russian professor of sociology Yuri Levada...
only 30% of those surveyed self-described as non-religious, agnostic or atheist. Although there are 66% of Orthodox believers (and 3% Muslims) in Russia, only 42% of people fully trust religious organizations and just 8% regularly (at least once a month) attend the service.
North America
A 2004
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
poll showed the number of people in the US who don't believe in a god to be about 9%. A 2005
Gallup pollThe Gallup Poll is the division of Gallup that regularly conducts public opinion polls in more than 140 countries around the world. Gallup Polls are often referenced in the mass media as a reliable and objective measure of public opinion...
showed that a smaller 5% of the US population believed that a god didn't exist.
The 2001 ARIS report found that while 29.5 million U.S. Americans (14.1%) describe themselves as "without religion", only 902,000 (0.4%) positively claim to be atheist, with another 991,000 (0.5%) professing agnosticism.
The most recent ARIS report, released March 9, 2009, found in 2008, 34.2 million Americans (15.0%) claim no religion. Of which, 1.6% explicitly describe themselves as atheist or agnostic, double the previous 2001 ARIS survey figure. The highest occurrence of "nones", according to the 2008 ARIS report, reside in Vermont, with 34% surveyed.
The
First AmendmentThe First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the Congress from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion", prohibiting the free exercise of religion, infringing on the freedom of speech and infringing on the freedom of the...
of the United States Constitution says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." This, in conjunction with the
no religious test clauseThe no religious test clause of the United States Constitution is found in Article VI, section 3, and states that:This has been interpreted to mean that no federal employee, whether elected or appointed, career or political, can be required to adhere to or accept any religion or belief...
, is used to support the
separation of church and stateSeparation of church and state is a political and legal doctrine that government and religious institutions are to be kept separate and independent from each other...
by its advocates. U.S. courts have regularly interpreted the constitution as protecting the freedoms of non-believers, as well as prohibiting the establishment of any state religion.
In
Board of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. GrumetBoard of Education of Kiryas Joel Village School District v. Grumet, 512 U.S. 687 , was a case in the United States Supreme Court.-Opinion of the court:...
, Justice Souter wrote in the opinion for the Court that: "government should not prefer one religion to another, or religion to
irreligionIrreligion is an absence of religion, indifference to religion, and/or hostility to religion. Depending on the context, it may be understood as referring to atheism, deism, nontheism, agnosticism, ignosticism, antireligion, skepticism, freethought, or secular humanism. Irreligious people may have...
."
Everson v. Board of EducationEverson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1 was the seminal United States Supreme Court case in Establishment Clause law in the United States...
established that "
neither a state nor the Federal Government can...
pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another". This applies the Establishment Clause to the states as well as the federal government. Interestingly, several state constitutions make the protection of persons from religious discrimination conditional on their acknowledgment of the existence of a deity. These state constitutional clauses have not been tested. Additionally, some state constitutions (namely those of
ArkansasThe Constitution of the State of Arkansas is the governing document of the U.S. state of Arkansas. It was adopted in 1874, shortly after the Brooks-Baxter War replacing the 1868 constitution that had allowed Arkansas to rejoin the Union after the conclusion of the American Civil War; the new...
,
PennsylvaniaThe current Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, most recently revised in 1968, forms the law for the United States Commonwealth of Pennsylvania...
,
South CarolinaThe Constitution of the State of South Carolina is the governing document of the U.S. State of South Carolina. It describes the structure and function of the state's government. The current constitution took effect on December 4, 1895...
and
North CarolinaThe Constitution of the State of North Carolina governs the structure and function of the North Carolina state government. The constitution is the highest legal document for the state of North Carolina and subjugates North Carolina law. Like all state constitutions in the United States, this...
) forbid atheists from holding public office, in violation of
Article Six of the United States ConstitutionArticle Six establishes the United States Constitution and the laws and treaties of the United States made in accordance with it as the supreme law of the land, forbids religion as a requirement for holding a governmental position and holds the United States under the Constitution responsible for...
. These provisions are probably not enforceable.
In the
Newdow caseNewdow v. United States Congress, Elk Grove Unified School District, et al., 542 U.S. 1 , was a lawsuit originally filed in 2000 which led to a 2002 ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance are an endorsement of...
, after a father challenged the phrase "under God" in the United States
Pledge of AllegianceThe Pledge of Allegiance to the United States is an oath of loyalty to the republic of the United States of America, originally composed by Francis Bellamy in 1892. The Pledge has been modified four times since then, with the most recent change adding the words "under God" in 1954...
, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found the phrase unconstitutional. Although the decision was stayed pending the outcome of an appeal, there was the prospect that the pledge would cease to be legally usable without modification in schools in the western United States, over which the Ninth Circuit has jurisdiction. This resulted in political furor, and both houses of Congress passed resolutions condemning the decision. A large group consisting of many Senators and House Representatives was televised standing on the steps of Congress, hands over hearts, swearing the pledge and shouting out "under God". The Supreme Court subsequently reversed the decision, ruling that
Michael NewdowMichael Arthur Newdow is an American attorney and emergency medicine physician. He is best known for his efforts to have recitations of the current version of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools in the United States declared unconstitutional because of its inclusion of the phrase "under God"...
did not have standing to bring his case, thus disposing of the case without ruling on the
constitutionalityThe Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the federal government of the United States...
of the pledge. Regarding this, atheists point out that the phrase "under God" was not originally in the Pledge of Allegiance, but added in 1954 during the
Cold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, and economic competition existing after World War II , primarily between the USSR and its satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, including the United States...
to counter the USSR's official atheist state. Four years later, the phrase “
In God We TrustIn God We Trust is the official motto of the United States and the U.S. state of Florida. The motto first appeared on a United States coin in 1864 during strong Christian sentiment emerging during the Civil War, but In God We Trust did not become the official U.S. national motto until after the...
” began appearing on US paper currency.
Atheism is more prevalent in Canada than in the United States, with 19-30% of the population holding an atheistic or agnostic viewpoint. The 2001 Canadian Census states that 16.2% of the population holds no religious affiliation, though exact statistics on atheism are not recorded. In urban centres this figure can be substantially higher; the 2001 census indicated that 42.2% of residents in Vancouver hold "no religious affiliation." A recent survey in 2008 found that 23% of Canadians said they did not believe in a god.
Separation of church and state is guaranteed by Article 130 of the Mexican Constitution, which also designates religious leaders as ineligible for public office, while the majority of the population identifies as Roman Catholic (89%).
The latest statistics show that a lack of religious identity increased in every US state between 1990 and 2008. However less than 2% of the U.S. population describe themselves as atheist.
Asia
In
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
, around 50% of Israelis who were born
ethnically Jewish"Who is a Jew?" is a basic question about Jewish identity. The question has gained particular prominence in connection with several high-profile legal cases in Israel since the founding of the Jewish state in 1948....
consider themselves "secular" or
hilonim, some of them still keep certain religious traditions for cultural reasons, but most are immersed within the
Secular Jewish cultureFor religious Jewish culture, see Judaism and Yiddishkeit.Secular Jewish culture embraces several related phenomena; above all, it is the culture of secular communities of Jewish people, but it can also include the cultural contributions of individuals who identify as secular Jews, or even those of...
. The number of Atheists and Agnostics is lower, and it stands at 15 to 37 precent.
East Asian religions define religion differently than in the West, making classification of certain adherents of
BuddhismBuddhism, as traditionally conceived, is a path of salvation attained through insight into the ultimate nature of reality. It encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha...
and
TaoismDaoism refers to a variety of related philosophical and religious traditions and concepts that have influenced East Asia for over two millennia and the West for over two centuries. The word 道, Tao , means "path" or "way", although in Chinese folk religion and philosophy it has taken on more...
particularly difficult, as belief in gods is often not required by some of the schools of thought of those religions. Japan can be especially confusing, with most of the population incorporating practices from multiple religions into their lives (see
Religion in JapanThere are many religions in Japan that have come along with current times but most follow Shintō or Buddhism. Most Japanese people do not identify as exclusively belonging to just one religion, but incorporate features of both religions into their daily lives in a process known as syncretism....
). In the
People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
, 59% of the population claim to be non-religious However, this percentage may be significantly greater (up to 80%) or smaller (down to 30%) in reality, because some Chinese define religion differently. Some Chinese define religion as practicing customs (which may be done for cultural or traditional reasons), while others define it as actually consciously believing their religion will lead to post-mortem salvation/reincarnation. According to the surveys of Phil Zuckerman on
Adherents.comAdherents.com is a website that aims to collect and present information about religion including "churches, denominations, religious bodies, faith groups, tribes, cultures, movements, ultimate concerns, etc." As of July 2006, the site contains approximately 44,000 statistics on over 4,300 faith...
in 1993, 59% (over 700 million) of the Chinese population was irreligious and 8% - 14% was atheist (from over 100 to 180 million) as of 2005. (see
Religion in ChinaReligion in China has been characterized by pluralism since the beginning of Chinese history. The Chinese religions are family-oriented and do not demand the exclusive adherence of members. Some scholars question the use of the term "religion" in reference to Buddhism and Daoism, and suggest...
).
Oceania
In the Australian 2006 Census of Population and Housing, in the question which asked
What is the person's religion?, 18.7% ticked the box marked
no religion or wrote in a response which was classified as non religious (e.g. humanism, atheist), which is a growth of 3.2% since the 2001 Census. This question was optional and 11.2% did not answer the question. There are often popular and successful
campaignsThe Jedi census phenomenon is a grassroots movement that was created in 2001 for citizens of a number of English-speaking countries to record their religion as "Jedi" or "Jedi Knight" on the national census...
to have people describe themselves as non-mainstream religions (eg.
JediThe Jedi census phenomenon is a grassroots movement that was created in 2001 for citizens of a number of English-speaking countries to record their religion as "Jedi" or "Jedi Knight" on the national census...
).
In 2006, the New Zealand census asked,
What is your religion?. 34.7% of those answering indicated no religion. 12.2% did not respond or objected to answering the question.
Trends
In the United Kingdom, religious adherence rates have been falling for some time while the proportion of people who self-classify as having no religion has been increasing.
The graph below shows the trends of people who self-classify as Christian, Non-Christian Religions and Non-Believers as measured by the
British Social Attitudes SurveyThe British Social Attitudes survey is the leading social research survey in Britain and is produced by the National Centre for Social Research.Each year around 3,300 randomly selected adults are asked to give their views on an extensive range of topics....
between 1983 and 2007 :
External links
- The Demand for Religion - A study on the demographics of Atheism by Wolfgang Jagodzinski (University of Cologne) and Andrew Greeley (University of Chicago and University of Arizona).