Religious Demographics

Globally, Muslims live in the biggest households, followed by Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Jews and the religiously unaffiliated.

Household size and composition often vary by religious affiliation, data from 130 countries and territories reveals. Muslims and Hindus have larger households than Christians and religious “nones,” influenced in part by regional norms.

The religious landscape of the United States continues to change at a rapid clip, with both Protestantism and Catholicism experiencing losses of population share.

Over the decade from 2007 to 2017, government restrictions on religion - laws, policies and actions by state officials that restrict religious beliefs and practices - increased markedly around the world.

Pew Research Center has analyzed restrictions on religion around the world for 10 years, finding that global restrictions have risen. What is happening in some of the countries with the biggest changes?

A declining share of Canadians identify as Christians. Most Canadians say religion’s influence in public life is waning in their country.

Southern Baptists are the largest evangelical Protestant group in the United States. Yet the total number of Southern Baptists is falling.

Giving a share of one’s income to the church has been a part of European tradition for centuries. Today, several countries continue to collect a “church tax” on behalf of officially recognized religious organizations, in some cases levying the tax on all registered members.

The global Muslim population is more concentrated in Islam’s main population centers than the global Christian population is for Christianity.

Germany has seen a dramatic shift away from Protestantism – one that has greatly outpaced a decline in the share of Germans who are Catholic.