Population Statistics of
Religions, Atheists and Non-Believers

Major Religions of the World
Ranked by Number of Adherents (2002)

      1. Christianity: 2 billion
      2. Islam: 1.3 billion
      3. Hinduism: 900 million
      4. Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 850 million
      5. Buddhism: 360 million
      6. Chinese traditional religion: 225 million
      7. primal-indigenous: 150 million
      8. African Traditional & Diasporic: 95 million
      9. Sikhism: 23 million
      10. Juche: 19 million
      11. Spiritism: 14 million
      12. Judaism: 14 million
      13. Baha'i: 6 million
      14. Jainism: 4 million
      15. Shinto: 4 million
      16. Cao Dai: 3 million
      17. Tenrikyo: 2.4 million
      18. Neo-Paganism: 1 million
      19. Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand
      20. Rastafarianism: 700 thousand
      21. Scientology: 600 thousand
      22. Zoroastrianism: 150 thousand

    Source

 

 

Friends/ Family
How many of your friends and family are atheists?
none
1
2
3
4
5+

View current results

 

Top Twenty Religions in the United States, 2001

(self-identification, ARIS)

Religion 1990 Est.
Adult Pop.
2001 Est.
Adult Pop.
% of U.S. Pop.,
2000
% Change
1990 - 2000
Christianity 151,225,000 159,030,000 76.5% +5%
Nonreligious/Secular 13,116,000 27,539,000 13.2% +110%
Judaism 3,137,000 2,831,000 1.3% -10%
Islam 527,000 1,104,000 0.5% +109%
Buddhism 401,000 1,082,000 0.5% +170%
Agnostic* 1,186,000 991,000 0.5% -16%
Atheist*   902,000 0.4%  
Hinduism 227,000 766,000 0.4% +237%
Unitarian Universalist 502,000 629,000 0.3% +25%
Wiccan/Pagan/Druid   307,000 0.1%  
Spiritualist   116,000    
Native American Religion 47,000 103,000   +119%
Baha'i 28,000 84,000   +200%
New Age 20,000 68,000   +240%
Sikhism 13,000 57,000   +338%
Scientology 45,000 55,000   +22%
Humanist 29,000 49,000   +69%
Deity (Deist) 6,000 49,000   +717%
Taoist 23,000 40,000   +74%
Eckankar 18,000 26,000   +44%

* many atheists/ agnostics undoubtably respond with 'non-religious/ secular' due to the stigma of 'atheism'

source

Collection of polls showing population of Atheists, Agnostics, Secularists and Non-Religious

Poll
Date
Group
Adherents
%
total pop.
Source
The Universal Almanac 1990
Atheist
9.9%
210,500,000
Non-Religious
16.9%
805,900,000
Breakdown of world religions 1989
Nonbelievers
21.6%
1,100,000,000
Major Religions of the World Ranked by Number of Adherents 2001
Secular/Nonreligious/
Agnostic/Atheist
*
850,000,000
United Kingdom Gallup - Telegraph 1999 UK 16-25 age-group Atheist/ Agnostic
40%
*
Gallup - Telegraph
Major religious denominations, Canada 2001 Canada No Religion
16.2%
4,796,325
Major religious denominations, Canada, 1991 1 and 2001
U.S. Religious Affiliation, self-identification,
2002
Atheist
1%
*
Agnostic
2%
*
Top Twenty Religions in the United States, (self-identification)
2001
Nonreligious/Secular
13.2%
27,539,000
Atheist
0.4%
902,000
Agnostic
0.5%
991,000
Non-Christian Religious Adherents in the United States
2000
Atheist
0.3%
925,000
Non-Religious
8.8%
24,554,000

Atheist Prison Population

Canadian Prisons
1925
Ca. prisoners Atheist/ Agnostic, non-religious Uniterain
0%
0 of 1,2061
Prison Population executed for murder at Sing-sing
1925
US Sing-Sing Pen. non-religious
0.33%
*
Prison Population
1925
US Prisoners convicts without
religious training
0.1%
*
Prison Population
1997
U.S. Prisoners
Atheist
0.209%
156 of 74,731

 

Other Groups

National Academy of Sciences 1998 members of the National Academy of Sciences Personal disbelief in god
72.2%
517 members, half responded
doubt or agnosticism
20.8%
Religious Affiliation US voters
2000
U.S. Voters
Agnostic or Atheist
7.1%
*
Nonreligious/No answer
10%
*
What religious or nonreligious group doesn’t share your vision of American society 2003
Atheist
(Muslims were second)
54%
*

Christianity sinking; "none of the above" rising

 

* No data given
+ Collected from secondary source

Conclusions
The world population of non religious** ranges anywhere from 850 million to 1.1 billion making up 15 to 26.8%.
The US population of non religious** ranges anywhere from 25 to 30 million making up 9 to 15%.
If the US Prison Population statistics are accurate then there are far less nonbelievers in the prison system. This can be interpreted in many ways. Note that religious conversion is very active in prisons.

** the ambiguous term non religious as used above includes those identified as atheist, agnostic, secular, nonbeliever and non-religious as defined by those responsible for the polls and statistics.

 


The Largest Atheist Populations


Top 10 Countries
With Highest Percentage of Atheists (1991)

Country Percent
Atheist
East Germany 88.20%
Slovenia 29.80%
Russia 27.30%
Israel 25.60%
Netherlands 24.10%
Hungary 23.30%
Norway 14.90%
Britain 14.00%
West Germany 12.10%
New Zealand 11.50%

 

source

 

Divorce rates by religion (U.S.)

Religion
% have been divorced
Jews
30%
Born-again Christians
27%
Other Christians
24%
Atheists, Agnostics
21%

The Associated Press computed divorce statistics from data supplied by the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Health. They showed that the highest divorce rates were found in the 'Bible Belt'. "Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama and Oklahoma round out the Top Five in frequency of divorce...the divorce rates in these conservative states are roughly 50 percent above the national average" of 4.2/1000 people.

The Smartest US States
Average IQ scores (estimated from SAT and ACT)

"Out of convicted rapists, 57% admitted to reading
pornography. 95% admitted to reading the Bible."

 

source

Recommended Links

Adherents.com

RELIGION IN THE WORLD AT THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM

The Demand for Religion: Hard Core Atheism and "Supply Side" Theory

American Religion Data Archive

Intelligence and religious beliefs - statistics

 

| Main | Reference | About Atheism |