Who are the non-believers? Hodder & Stoughton © 2016 Joan Garrod

Who are the non-believers? While there is much discussion about secularisation in the West, it is important to remember that most of the people in the world do have a faith. Estimates vary, but it is generally agreed that at least 80% of the global population have some kind of religious or spiritual belief. In numerical terms, the two most popular belief systems are Christianity and Islam. Hodder & Stoughton © 2016

Are they really non-believers? In fact, non-believers is probably a misleading term. Many of those who do not belong to any religious organisation, or who do not identify with any particular belief system, still have religious or spiritual beliefs. Rather than ‘non-believers’, it is probably more accurate to refer to them as the religiously unaffiliated, or the religious ‘nones’. Hodder & Stoughton © 2016

Who are the religious ‘nones’? The term ‘religious nones’ is used to identify those who answer ‘none’ when asked to state their faith or religious affiliation. Not surprisingly, religious ‘nones’ do not form a single homogenous group. They include: Atheists — those who believe that there is no God or supreme spiritual being. Agnostics — those who are not religiously affiliated but keep an open mind on the existence of a higher spiritual power or being. Those who say that they just don’t think about religion and there is no place for it in their life. Hodder & Stoughton © 2016

It’s even more complicated When researchers delve more deeply into the beliefs of the religious ‘nones’, the picture becomes even more complex. Recent research (2016) by the Pew Research Center found that just over 3% of Americans say that they are atheists, with a further 4% saying that they are agnostic. However, the research found that 8% of self-identifying atheists say that they do believe in God or a universal spirit, while 2% say that they are ‘absolutely certain’ of the existence of God or a universal spirit. Equally, there are many who fit the definition of ‘atheist’ (i.e. who do not believe in the existence of God) yet do not call themselves atheists. Nine per cent of Americans say that they do not believe in God or a universal spirit, yet only 3% say that they are atheists. On the other hand, some people who say that they are religiously affiliated (e.g. saying that they are Protestant, Catholic or Jewish) also say that they do not believe in God. Hodder & Stoughton © 2016

What do we know about the religious ‘nones’? Despite these difficulties, there are certain things that religious ‘nones’ have in common, especially in Western societies. They are more likely to be: White Male European More highly educated than the average in their population Financially secure Younger Have greater general knowledge about different religious beliefs Hodder & Stoughton © 2016

Where do they live? Hodder & Stoughton © 2016

The future of world religions The Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project has looked at the distribution of religious faiths in 2010 and has projected how this will change by Hodder & Stoughton © Christians31.4% Muslims23.2%29.7% Unaffiliated16.4%13.2%

The future of world religions Discussion points: What reason(s) can you think of to explain the growth in the proportion of Muslims? Given the growth of religious ‘nones’ in the West, what reason(s) might there be for the decline in the global proportion of people who are unaffiliated? Hodder & Stoughton © 2016

Global religion in the future Some suggested reasons: Globally, the Muslim population tends to be younger and to have higher fertility rates than those of other faiths. The proportion of the religiously unaffiliated is likely to decline as many of them are found in ageing populations and countries with low fertility rates, particularly in Japan and China. Did you think of other plausible reasons? Hodder & Stoughton © 2016