This information is according a Gallup poll. The website I used was http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_atheist.html I was also very surprised to see Israel on the list!
I'm guessing that Gallup didn't get information on North Korea. I'm sure that they are more atheist than South Korea. South Korea has a very large population of Christians, the largest in Asia outside of the Philippines. In regards to Israel, not surprised at all. The only way this would be surprising is if the polling methodology counted everyone who was Jewish as automatically religious, which they often do, disregarding that many Jews are not religious. In reality the country in many ways is very secular, quite "enlightened" and progressive, and though, yes, religion has been at the heart of every war fought against Israel in the last 65 years, this has really been more about the religion of Israel's neighbors than the religion of the Israelis.
got 100% on my first try, btw. and soon the USA will be on this list. They should already be ranked higher than Slovakia (10-28%). There are at least 10% of the population in the US that is atheist. Probably more like 17-25%, and if you count all of the people who self describe as "non-religious" or "other" but are afraid to use the word "atheist," that number shoots up more. Especially amongst the younger generation.
I have a hard time believing that most people in the U.S are Christians. Things have gotten to the point that someone can say that they're Christian and you would have no idea what they believe.
I thought this at first too, seeing Vietnam at the top of the list, but then no presence of countries like Thailand and Mongolia confused me.
Looking at the statistics, it seems much fewer Vietnamese are Buddhist than I expected. However, it does seem like statistics on religion in general count people who practice Vietnamese folk religion and nothing else as irreligious.
South Korea is in a similar position: South Korean sources only count followers of organized religion, ignoring anyone following folk beliefs— though there are less Buddhists and Christians than I expected in South Korea, too.
Japanese society doesn't have the same notions of religious affiliation or religious exclusivity that we do, so many people don't "follow" a religion, but most of the population still participates in Shinto and Buddhist rituals (often syncretically).
Granted I'm commenting all this 8 years later and maybe the quiz looked way different when you took it.
Would anyone explain why none of the poorest countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia, make the list? And why highly developed, egualitarian societies like Norway, Sweden and Denmark top it? Just curious... Religion = poverty, misery, suffering
It has to do with looking to a source to get motivation and hope. When you are struggling, you look for any avenue to provide you hope. Often when you struggle, you find yourselves struggling to gain motivation to do anything, and one looks for any positive motivation to continue with life in general. Most religions promise a good life and even a good afterlife in most prominent religions. This hope is useful to many and provides motivation to continue working for a better future. In most developed nations, many people realize this and in some cases may even have found alternatives to find hope and motivation other than looking into a motherly/fatherly figure who would help you through your struggles. Most become atheists/agnostics after their country becomes developed and/or they gain a good life as there is no longer a huge need for hope.
This particular quiz was created in 2012 and is maintained by a human being who is not always able to update quizzes in a timely manner due to other responsibilities. :)
Thanks for taking the quiz!
Looking at the statistics, it seems much fewer Vietnamese are Buddhist than I expected. However, it does seem like statistics on religion in general count people who practice Vietnamese folk religion and nothing else as irreligious.
South Korea is in a similar position: South Korean sources only count followers of organized religion, ignoring anyone following folk beliefs— though there are less Buddhists and Christians than I expected in South Korea, too.
Japanese society doesn't have the same notions of religious affiliation or religious exclusivity that we do, so many people don't "follow" a religion, but most of the population still participates in Shinto and Buddhist rituals (often syncretically).
Granted I'm commenting all this 8 years later and maybe the quiz looked way different when you took it.
'Czechia' will now be accepted.
Thanks for taking the quiz!
Here’s numbers from a couple years ago:
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/12/14/about-three-in-ten-u-s-adults-are-now-religiously-unaffiliated/