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Least religious countries, according to Gallup

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RoadHazard

RoadHazard

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The significance of religion in human life has varying degrees depending on which direction one looks at. Thanks to research companies we may get clearer estimates on the matter. For instance, Gallup, Inc., USA, which is a performance management and consulting company made a research covering 155 countries. The method is quite simple. The participants of the study are asked if religion has an important place in their lives and the ones who say “no” are counted, thus giving the below results.
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http://www.ecotripsos.com/en/lessreligious/

The list (check the article for details):

10. Finland
9. Japan
8. Czech Repulic
7. France
6. United Kingdom
5. Norway
4. Estonia
3. China
2. Denmark
1. Sweden

Scandinavia leading the way as usual in these matters, with Sweden reigning supreme in terms of not living our lives in accordance with some old book(s). Bit surprised seeing the UK so high up the list though, thought religion was more pervasive there.

For our US friends, here's what the article has to say about you:

United States of America, on the other hand, is in approximately the 50th place in the list of countries ranked by “irreligiousness” with a percentage of 36%, which makes around 115 million people.
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Crucify me if old.

EDIT: The actual Gallup poll results are here. The site quoted above seems to have taken some liberties to get a more complete list (the Gallup one is completely missing several countries, such as Finland and Norway).
 
Surprised Japan isn't higher. Does their work hours even allow them to visit those shrines and what not? I get there's a cultural connection to Shinto but how many "actually" believe it.
 
RoadHazard said:
Scandinavia leading the way as usual, with Sweden reigning supreme in terms of not living our lives in accordance with old fairytales. Bit surprised seeing the UK so high up the list though, thought religion was more pervasive there.

For our US friends, here's what the article has to say about you:
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I'm not religious, but is this shit really necessary?

Solid list, though.

zomaha said:
36% in america aren't religious? that's much larger than i would have thought...it's certainly growing, there's no doubt about that, but i didn't think it was over 25% yet
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Same.
 
36% in america aren't religious? that's much larger than i would have thought...it's certainly growing, there's no doubt about that, but i didn't think it was over 25% yet
 
RoadHazard said:
Scandinavia leading the way as usual, with Sweden reigning supreme in terms of not living our lives in accordance with old fairytales. Bit surprised seeing the UK so high up the list though, thought religioun was more pervasive there.
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After the reactions in the thread about some of their higher ranking politicians saying they're "a Christian nation" I'm not surprised, though I guess some parts may be an exception. I guess that statement really is along the lines of an American Senator saying something like, I don't know, that Americans value wholesome prime time Television like Leave It to Beaver most of all, when I doubt that's the case for all but a minority anymore.
 
zomaha said:
36% in america aren't religious? that's much larger than i would have thought...it's certainly growing, there's no doubt about that, but i didn't think it was over 25% yet
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I reckon a lot of those people are officially part of a church, just don't practice, no?
That's happens here in Finland, a large majority of this country's population is Christian, officially. In practice, not so much.
 
RoadHazard said:
Bit surprised seeing the UK so high up the list though, thought religion was more pervasive there.
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Nah, feels like you have to go out of your way to find a religious person in this country. Most celebrities/politicians/people just don't flaunt their beliefs here, it's seen as a personal thing really.

We're majority non religious anyway.
 
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Crayons said:
I don't know how anyone could believe in god if they lived in Sweden.
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You're right, because we've moved past that into a more enlightened age.

That's probably not what you meant though.

Woorloog said:
I reckon a lot of those people are officially part of a church, just don't practice, no?
That's happens here in Finland, a large majority of this country's population is Christian, officially. In practice, not so much.
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Yeah, I think that happens a lot here in Sweden as well. The official percentage of "Christians" is definitely higher than the percentage of people who actually consider themselves religious.
 
Woorloog said:
I reckon a lot of those people are officially part of a church, just don't practice, no?
That's happens here in Finland, a large majority of this country's population is Christian, officially. In practice, not so much.
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that's definitely a factor and probably true...but I would still think they would classify themselves as "religious" for a survey since the stigma of being atheist still exists. maybe not, though.
 
Not a particularly surprising list, but I would have expected Japan to be higher than the UK at least. I thought there'd be more people who assigned themselves Christian even though they don't give a shit about religion. Seems I'm far too cynical.
 
zomaha said:
that's definitely a factor and probably true...but I would still think they would classify themselves as "religious" for a survey since the stigma of being atheist still exists. maybe not, though.
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It doesn't really exist, no. Not here in Sweden anyway, and I'd say it's probably the same in Finland/Norway/etc. Atheists aren't viewed in a negative light at all here (except by certain people, I guess), it's not at all like in the US where they seem to get demonized.
 
RoadHazard said:
It definitely doesn't exist. Not here in Sweden anyway, and I'd say it's probably the same in Finland/Norway/etc. Atheists aren't viewed in a negative light at all here (except by certain people, I guess), it's not at all like in the US where they seem to get demonized.
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Yeah if anything it's the other way around.
 
Betty said:
Nah, feels like you have to go out of your way to find a religious person in this country. Most celebrities/politicians/people just don't flaunt their beliefs here, it's seen as a personal thing really.

We're majority non religious anyway.
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Which made it all the more bizarre when Cameron nervously sputtered something about God the other week.
 
RoadHazard said:
It definitely doesn't exist. Not here in Sweden anyway, and I'd say it's probably the same in Finland/Norway/etc. Atheists aren't viewed in a negative light at all here (except by certain people, I guess), it's not at all like in the US where they seem to get demonized.
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well yea that's what i'm saying. i'm american. if an american at the very least belongs to a church, i would guess they would classify themselves as religious even if they truly weren't.
 
The problem with these polls is that types of religious and how they are actually practiced can vary so much from country to country and civiliation to civilisation.
 
zomaha said:
well yea that's what i'm saying. i'm american. if an american at the very least belongs to a church, i would guess they would classify themselves as religious even if they truly weren't.
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Yeah, that's just an area where the US and Scandinavia (and many other European countries) are very, very different. People saying they're religious even though they're really not is extremely rare here, if it even happens at all. As previously stated, it's probably more likely that the opposite would happen.

genjiZERO said:
The problem with these polls is that types of religious and how they are actually practiced can vary so much from country to country and civiliation to civilisation.
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That's true, of course, but this simply asks if religion is an important aspect of one's life. If you're really religious you probably think it is.
 
hmm i thought Finland would be even higher. i'm a Finn and i don't know a single religious person lol. non-religiosity is pretty much the status quo here, and in most situations (outside churches basically) anyone who even utters the words "Jesus" or "God" gets funny looks. (i try not to give those looks though, doesn't do any good and most religious folk are well-meaning).

ok i lied, i kinda know one or two religious people (great guys), but i'm not even absolutely sure if they are religious anymore, since whenever i've had the chance to talk to them they never mention religion.

i recently got a new job (at a hospital) and i've met like 30-40 new people most of whom are awesome, and every single one of them is atheist (as far as i can tell from what they've said etc). it's kind of weird when i think about it, it's not that long ago when most people here were religious too. i'm REALLY glad i was born at a time when i don't have to hide or be ashamed of my atheism.. i can just be myself with no fear of being ostracized.
 
RoadHazard said:
Well, that's my personal opinion on the matter. I'm allowed those, right? Not meant to offend anyone though.
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Of course you're allowed your opinion. But calling all religions fairy tales, especially since many live/die by them? Seems kind of smug.

I'm not religious myself, but I'm not going to denigrate others religions. As for Sweden, it's secular history is actually quite young, as is the rest of Europe for that matter. Also funny that countries like the UK/France which have a history of colonization and missionary work in other countries, now abandon the very religions they forced others into.
 
RoadHazard said:
Yeah, that's just an area where the US and Scandinavia (and many other European countries) are very, very different. People saying they're religious even though they're really not is extremely rare here, if it even happens at all. As previously stated, it's probably more likely that the opposite would happen.
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yeah, it sounds like it's the opposite from what you experience. i wish i lived in sweden, trust me (most of my family is swedish, maybe i'll move there some day).

people will claim to be religious to their peers at the drop of a hat even if they aren't, just so that they aren't perceived as some godless sodomite. shit, just look at our politicians...coming out as an atheist is practically a death wish, hence why you have all of these "family values" sort of folk even when they themselves aren't really religious. they pander to a religious audience that is still very large in america....and i absolutely hate it.
 
DUFFMCWALIN said:
Really fucking quick way to offend someone. Have a little tact
I don't have a religion I follow
. Surprised the US is as high as 50 tbh.
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Brakke said:
That's a real weak defense if you going to throw shade like that.
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Madness said:
Of course you're allowed your opinion. But calling all religions fairy tales, especially since many live/die by them? Seems kind of smug.

I'm not religious myself, but I'm not going to denigrate others religions. As for Sweden, it's secular history is actually quite young, as is the rest of Europe for that matter. Also funny that countries like the UK/France which have a history of colonization and missionary work in other countries, now abandon the very religions they forced others into.
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Ok, I changed it to "old books" instead of "fairytales". Now it's unquestionably factual, and hopefully less offensive!
 
RoadHazard said:
http://www.ecotripsos.com/en/lessreligious/

The list (check the article for details):

10. Finland
9. Japan
8. Czech Repulic
7. France
6. United Kingdom
5. Norway
4. Estonia
3. China
2. Denmark
1. Sweden

Scandinavia leading the way as usual in these matters, with Sweden reigning supreme in terms of not living our lives in accordance with old fairytales. Bit surprised seeing the UK so high up the list though, thought religion was more pervasive there.

For our US friends, here's what the article has to say about you:



Crucify me if old.
Click to expand...

For what it's worth I'm in Japan, often my adult students tell me they're not religious but they all pray at the shrine, go to temples and if pushed will concede when they die they believe they will go to heaven. I think there is a big gap between the perception and the reality in this country.
 
t26 said:
You mean aside from hockey and soccer?
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Eh, football (we're talking Europe here!) is debatable. Denmark are two spots above us in the official rankings. Hockey though, haha, yes. Along with every other winter sport ever. And lots of other things.
 
4 of the 4 Scandiavian countries are in. The whole Europe is marching towards to an all atheist/agnostic future, save for Balkan countries. I don't think 30 years from now there will be any millennial who gives a shit about religion.
 
RoadHazard said:
... but this simply asks if religion is an important aspect of one's life. If you're really religious you probably think it is.
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Well, right here you're devaluing any kind of merit these types of polls have. For example, if I was asked this question, I'd answer no. I believe in God, but I don't consider myself religious, and thus I don't believe religion is an important aspect of my life. Being "irreligious" doesn't make one atheist, for example, yet is erroneously considered to be one and the same.

For more thorough polling and census record keeping, it is important to count the non-religious and atheist populations separately. For example, at best count, the non-religious account for something like 9% of the global population, while atheists account for only around 2% of the global population. Its important to make that distinction.
 
I guess they're ignoring Uruguay for being small or something?

religion barely exists here and it's basically in no way promoted. I'd definetly guess it's more subdued than in the UK for example.
 
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