The Rise of the Nones

One of the fastest growing religious affiliations in the United States are the un-affiliated.  Sometimes called the Nones for checking off "none" for the question of religion, such people are usually categorized separately from atheists.  The un-affiliated may include a range of people including agnostics and spiritually-oriented people who dislike organized religion.  Non-religious people now make up majorities in Turkey (73%), Vietnam (65%) and Azerbaijan (51%).  Almost a third of Americans (30%) report they are non-religious. Worldwide, almost 1 in 4 people report they are non-religious.

Atheism Around the World

Today's map shows data from a worldwide survey which asked respondents if they were a) religious, b) not religious, or c) identified as an atheist.  This map shows the percentages of people in various countries who identify as atheists.  By far the Chinese are the people most likely to self-identify as atheists.  Between 1 in 5 and 1 in 3 people in Japan, France, and the Czech Republic also identify as atheists.  In 2012, 5% of Americans identified as atheists.

This survey was also given in both 2005 and 2012 in some countries including Japan, France, the Czech Republic, and the US.  In all four countries the percentage of people identifying as atheists has risen:  8%, 15%, 10%, and 4% respectively.  In a reverse trend, the percentage of atheists has dropped in Malaysia and Bosnia (-4% and -5% respectively). In fact, in 2012 in the increasingly conservative Muslim country of Malaysia, zero respondents reported being atheists.

(Note:  French Guiana and other overseas French territories are an overseas departments or territories of France and thus appears as the same color as France's European departments.)