The concept of religion has played a significant role in shaping the development of many societies. In some nations, religion continues a central part of everyday life, whilst in others very much less so.
Newsweek has mapped the most religious countries in the world, according to data compiled by the Pew Research Center.
To create its report, Pew drew on research conducted in over 100 locations between 2008 and 2023. Adults were asked how important religion is in their lives.
Of the countries included in the surveys, Indonesia ranked first, with 98 percent of respondents saying religion was very important in their lives.
Indonesia is one of the world’s largest Muslim-majority nations – approximately 87 percent of Indonesia’s population adheres to Islam. The Southeast Asian country is also home to smaller groups of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and Confucians.
Indonesia was followed by Senegal, Pakistan, Mali, and Tanzania.
The Sub-Saharan Africa region was one of the most religious, with more than 80 percent of citizens in well over a dozen nations reporting that religion played an important role in their lives.
According to Pew’s findings, East Asia and Western Europe were among the least religious parts of the world.
Specifically, less than 10 percent of Japanese respondents said religion was very important to their lives. Respondents in Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea were similarly unlikely to say religion was important to them.
Less than 20 percent said religion was important in Denmark, Switzerland, the U.K., Sweden, Finland, Norway, Austria, France, Belgium, and Germany.
Several Eastern European countries were also unlikely to say religion was important. Less than 20 percent of Russian, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Bulgarian, Czech, and Estonian respondents said so. In Greece, on the other hand, over half said it was important.
Just over 40 percent of citizens in the U.S. said religion was very important in their lives.
A majority of Latin American nations featured in the report ranked in the top half, including Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic.
Pew’s data also included which countries had the highest rates of daily prayer. Indonesia ranked first here also, followed by Nigeria, Senegal, Iraq, and Niger.
Around 45 percent of Americans said they prayed daily. Newsweek has previously mapped the most religious states in America.
Alabama topped that list, followed by Virginia. Towards the other end of the spectrum were Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
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