1. Countries that previously belonged to the Soviet Union, such as Russia, Belarus, Bulgaria, and Latvia, see an increase in the importance of religion. That makes sense because the Soviet Union heavily restricted religious practices.
2. Most western countries, such as the United States, Canada, and Switzerland, see a decrease in the importance of religion, but the importance vary greatly.
3. The prosperity of a country tends to increase as we move up the list with China as a clear exception.
finnjakefionnacake on
the US is really way up there, isn’t it…
AskMrScience on
Wow, Canada really plummeted. I’m surprised they’re so different from the US, too.
-little-dorrit- on
It’s interesting that for this type of question a 4-point scale is quite appropriate, as it seems to be a fairly binary decision, i.e. the case for one bring equivocal on the matter of religion seems quite rare.
I like that the actual wording of the question is used as well. Sometimes the question is rephrased in order to make a chart title and it subtly but significantly departs from the original meaning.
cerceei on
China please don’t end up like India.
Confident_Access6498 on
Why northern Ireland has its own statistics?
NoDoze- on
What!?! How is the US that high!?! No one has faith in the US.
No_Departure_1878 on
The religious countries have the horniest women
irie009 on
Sad the US is still so high on this list. That being said I am proud that this country grants the freedom for individuals to worship if they wish. I would be more interested to see the breakdown of the different religions.
abyssDweller1700 on
There is a fundamental difference between monotheistic religions like christianity and islam against polytheistic dharmic religions like hinduism and buddhism.
Most of these type of stats look through the lens of monotheistic top down cultures and ignore the complexities of polytheistic societies that have been built up over 1000s of years.
FewExit7745 on
No Philippines? I’d say we’d be between Turkey and Nigeria
Reddit-runner on
The increased for Germany is really concerning.
Not because of the absolute number, bit because of what it indicates.
Sumthin-Sumthin44692 on
Russia, Belarus, and Bulgaria are telling. Iron Curtain falls and Christo-nationalism rises.
GiffelBaby on
I’m surprised how high of a % some of the northern European countries have. I’m Danish, and it does NOT feel like the number should be that high, at least not for ethnically Danish people. My guess is that it is mostly Muslim immigrants who would say religion is important to them, not so much ethnically Danish people.
16 Comments
Data source: [How important religion is to people in life, 2022](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/how-important-religion-is-in-your-life)
Tools used: Matplotlib
Here are three patterns
1. Countries that previously belonged to the Soviet Union, such as Russia, Belarus, Bulgaria, and Latvia, see an increase in the importance of religion. That makes sense because the Soviet Union heavily restricted religious practices.
2. Most western countries, such as the United States, Canada, and Switzerland, see a decrease in the importance of religion, but the importance vary greatly.
3. The prosperity of a country tends to increase as we move up the list with China as a clear exception.
the US is really way up there, isn’t it…
Wow, Canada really plummeted. I’m surprised they’re so different from the US, too.
It’s interesting that for this type of question a 4-point scale is quite appropriate, as it seems to be a fairly binary decision, i.e. the case for one bring equivocal on the matter of religion seems quite rare.
I like that the actual wording of the question is used as well. Sometimes the question is rephrased in order to make a chart title and it subtly but significantly departs from the original meaning.
China please don’t end up like India.
Why northern Ireland has its own statistics?
What!?! How is the US that high!?! No one has faith in the US.
The religious countries have the horniest women
Sad the US is still so high on this list. That being said I am proud that this country grants the freedom for individuals to worship if they wish. I would be more interested to see the breakdown of the different religions.
There is a fundamental difference between monotheistic religions like christianity and islam against polytheistic dharmic religions like hinduism and buddhism.
Most of these type of stats look through the lens of monotheistic top down cultures and ignore the complexities of polytheistic societies that have been built up over 1000s of years.
No Philippines? I’d say we’d be between Turkey and Nigeria
The increased for Germany is really concerning.
Not because of the absolute number, bit because of what it indicates.
Russia, Belarus, and Bulgaria are telling. Iron Curtain falls and Christo-nationalism rises.
I’m surprised how high of a % some of the northern European countries have. I’m Danish, and it does NOT feel like the number should be that high, at least not for ethnically Danish people. My guess is that it is mostly Muslim immigrants who would say religion is important to them, not so much ethnically Danish people.
One good thing communism did.