Religious ‘nones’ on rise, many believe in afterlife but 50% say religion hurts society—Pew survey

In all 22 countries, 20% or more of religious 'nones' believe in life after death, while the number was 50% or more in seven countries.

In 22 countries, 20% or more of religious “nones” believe in life after death | Representative image | Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

New Delhi: Religiously unaffiliated adults, or religious “nones”, do hold a variety of spiritual beliefs, including that there is life after death, but most express negative views about religion’s influence on society, a new survey by Pew Research Center has found.

The “nones” are defined as those who proclaim that they are atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” when asked about their religion. The survey focused on religious “nones” in 22 countries and was conducted in the US and outside over periods in 2023 and 2024. Atheism was the most common affiliation among “nones” in Greece and Italy.

The survey, published Thursday, noted that the number of “nones” had surged in the last few years across North America, Europe, parts of Latin America and some countries in the Asia-Pacific region, such as Australia and South Korea.

In all 22 countries, 20% or more of religious “nones” believe in life after death, while the number was 50% or more in seven of the 22 countries.

Large shares of “nones” in some countries say “there is something spiritual beyond the natural world, even if we cannot see it”, according to the survey report, and solid majorities in South Africa (77%) and several countries in Latin America, such as Brazil (92%), Colombia (86%) and Chile (69%) express belief in God. It added that another common belief among “nones” was that animals can have spirits or spiritual energies. Women were generally more likely than men to hold such beliefs.

The Pew report listed Sweden (28%), Australia (24%), the Netherlands (24%) and South Korea (23%) as nations where relatively large shares of “nones” expressed non-belief in the above.

Further, 53% of “nones” across 22 countries say that “religion hurts society”. Greece has the highest percentage of this section, at 74%. It is followed by Australia at 73%, UK at 67%, and the Netherlands and Canada (66% each).

The survey also notes that 75% of “nones” in Australia, Germany and Sweden think religion encourages intolerance. Japan, South Africa, and Singapore have the least share of “nones” holding the same opinion. The 22-country median for this was 58%.

The surveyed respondents were also asked whether religion encouraged superstitious thinking. At least 50% across 22 countries agreed. Greece again topped here with 84% in agreement and was followed by the UK, with 83% of “nones” holding the opinion.

According to the survey, religiously unaffiliated adults in Europe were more likely to have negative views about religion’s impact on society as compared to countries in other regions.

In a few countries from other regions, “nones” had a positive view about religion. A median of 38% among 22 countries said religion is helpful.

Another common belief among “nones” was that religious traits are not important for national leaders and religious texts should not influence national laws. A median of just 13% across 22 countries said it is important for a national leader to have religious beliefs that are the same as their own.

The report, however, noted that “slightly higher shares of nones say it is important to have a leader who stands up for people with their religious beliefs (28% median)”. South Africa had the most “nones” reflecting this opinion, at 68%.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)