Britons less likely to be believers

A SURVEY has found that Britain ranks among the lowest in the world for religious belief.

The poll, undertaken by WIN/Gallup International, surveyed 64,000 people from 65 countries about their religious beliefs and found that 53 per cent of British people surveyed described themselves as ‘not religious’ while 13 per cent described themselves as ‘convinced atheist.’

Britain ranked just above Sweden, which had only 19 per cent of nationals claiming to be religious, the Netherlands, at 26 per cent and the Czech Republic at 27 per cent. China claimed seven per cent, Japan 13 per cent and Hong Kong 26 per cent.

Jean-Marc Leger, President of WIN/Gallup International Association, said: “Religion continues to dominate our everyday lives and we see that the total number of people who consider themselves to be religious is actually relatively high.”

Thailand came out as the most religious country, with 94 per cent of nationals saying they were religious, Armenia followed, joint equal with Bangladesh, both at 93 per cent.

The survey also found that 66 per cent of people under 34 were more religious and those without a formal education accounted for 80 per cent of the most religious among the six out of 10 people worldwide, who claimed to be religious.

“With the trend of an increasingly religious youth globally, we can assume that the number of people who consider themselves religious will only continue to increase,” Léger added.