World Religious Adherents

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4/30/13 Adherents.com: Predominant Religions

www.adherents.com/adh_predom.html 3

Colombia

Cook Islands

Costa Rica

Croatia

Cuba

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Jamaica

Kenya

Kiribati

Latvia

Lesotho

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Reunion

Romania

Russia

Rwanda

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

Vatican

Venezuela

Wallis and Futuna

Islands

Zaire (Democratic

Republic of Congo)

Zambia

HinduismThe world's third largest religion, Hinduism, makes up the majority of the population of3 nations:

Balinese-style Hindus also make up 95% of the large population of Bali, in Indonesia.

Nepal

IndiaMauritius

Bali, Indonesia

It is interesting to note that although the majority of the world's Hindus live in India, the nation as a whole is only about

80% Hindu, and is an officially secular state, i.e., there is no state religion. The continuation of a secular state is one of

the Indian government's highest priorities.

In Nepal a higher proportion of the population are Hindus than in India, and Nepal is the world's only official Hindu

state. Freedom of worship is protected, but official state religion is Hinduism. (As in many countries, inter-religious

proselyting is prohibited.)

In Mauritius, a bare majority of 54% of the population are Hindu.

BuddhismThe worlds' fourth largest organized religion, Buddhism, is the religion of the majority of the population in 10 countries

Thailand

Cambodia

Myanmar

Tibet

Bhutan

Mongolia

Sri Lanka

Laos

Vietnam

Japan


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Buddhism is also very important historically and culturally in other several other Asian countries, but is no longer cited as

the preferred religion by at least 50% of the population. In China and North Korea, Buddhism was forcibly

suppressed by Communist regimes. Buddhism remains important in these countries, but is no longer claimed as the

religious preference by the majority of the population. Taiwan is heavily Buddhist, but the religion is mixed with Taoism

and Confucianism, and exists side by side with other religions to such a degree that Buddhism is probably not a majority

religion, strictly speaking. In South Korea Christianity has recently made enough gains that Buddhism is no longer the

religion of the majority of the population.

Currently, many people in traditionally Buddhist countries such as Korea and China are embracing Christianity in greater

numbers, while Buddhism is in turn gaining increasing numbers of converts among Westerners in places such as Europe,

Australia, and the United States. There are even organizations and books for "JuBus" (Jews who practice Buddhism).

SikhismSikhism does not make up the majority of the population of any nations. It makes up the majority of the population of

only one Indian Province: Punjab.

It might be said that of the world's largest religions, only Sikhism does not have a state. Sikhism is often called the

world's fifth largest orgnanized religion, and with nearly 20 million adherents, is larger than Judaism (about 15 million,

many of whom are secular).

For many Sikhs, not having a state of their own is an issue of great importance, and the Punjabi independence

movement is hotly debated in the region and in the Sikh community worldwide. Other Sikhs genuinely feel emphasis on

achieving their own independent political state is overly divisive and draws undue attention away from the profound

theological and spiritual messages of their religion.

Punjab, India

JudaismJews makes up the majority (83%) in one country: Israel.

A large number of Israel's Jews are secular -- nonobservant and either philosophically nonreligious or even agnostic or

atheist. Religious Jews are in the minority in Israel.

Interestingly enough, a larger number of Jews live in the United States than in Israel, and a higher proportion of

American Jews are religious (i.e., practice Judaism or profess some form of belief in Judaism).

Israel

Taoism and ConfucianismNo country can really said to be predominantly Taoist orConfucian in the sense that a majority of people claim one

of these systems as their religion. But Taoism and Confucianism (mixed with Buddhism) are major cultural and

philosophical influences in many East Asian nations. Religious Taoism in still very significant in Taiwan.


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Many writers have noted that the influence ofConfucianism is felt more significantly in present-day Japan than

Buddhism, Shinto, or any other religion, even though no Japanese people cite it as their "religion." The majority of

Chinese are influenced by combinations of Confucian and Taoist thought, and traditional religious practices and beliefs

(ancestor- and nature-oriented), but most do not name themselves exclusively as adherents of these traditions. Other

important influences and religions in China which are of non-Chinese origin are Buddhism, Communism, Islam, and

Christianity.

Baha'iThere are no nations, provinces or states where Baha'is make up a majority of the population. This is not surprising, as

the religion is very young.

There are some villages in Africa which are predominantly Baha'i. (It is not unusual for smaller, close-knit villages in

Africa, and sometimes other parts of the world, to adopt a new religion en masse.)

ShintoBecause of historical birth registration laws and customs, Shinto organizations claim over 80% of the population of

Japan as adherents. (Keep in mind that Buddhist organizations claim 90% of the population as adherents.) The majority

of Japanese take part in Shinto celebrations, festivals, etc., and many have Shinto shrines in their homes. Although less

than 4% of Japanese claim Shinto as their religious preference in opinion surveys (most claim Buddhism, and most also

say they aren't religious), the religion of Shinto can certainly be said to "have a state." But the religion's influence is more

cultural, historical, and traditional--more comparable to the influence of the Anglican Church in England than Islam in

Saudi Arabia.

Japan

JainismThere are no countries or provinces in which Jains make up the majority of the population. Jains have no significant,

established communities outside of India.

ZoroastriansThe relatively few remaining Zoroastrians in the world do not make up the majority of the population in any countries,

states, or provinces. They do form the majority in a few small Iranian towns, and they are an important segment ofthe cultural elite in a few major Indian cities.

Zoroastrianism was once the state religion of ancient Persia (present-day Iran), and at one time was one of the

largest organized religions in the world.

Where Some Other Religions are in the Majority or Heavily

Concentrated


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The religions discussed below (Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, Baha'i, Shinto, Jainism,

Zoroastrianism, Taoism, and Confucianism) are the "Classical World Religion" -- those religions most often listed in

comparative religion books. But there are other distinct religions in the world, some of which are much larger than some

of the "classical" world religions.

primal-indigenous"Primal-indigenous" is not a single religion, but simply the term that refers to followers of traditional, pre-literate cultures.

Other terms used to refer to the religion of these peoples include "traditional", "native", "indigenous", or "tribal." Other

words such as "paganism" or "animism" have been applied to these groups in the past, but have gone out of favor and

may be less accurate. Many or most primal-indigenous religions may indeed contains elements of animism or paganism.

But the statistical use of these terms is usually misleading because the way these groups have usually been identified by

Westerners is by a people group's lack of written language or technological development, not by an actual

understanding of their theology.

Virtually all societies, whether in Papua New Guinea or Texas, exhibit behavior and beliefs which are associated with

their ethnic or regional identities rather than the official teachings of an organized religion. (Texans, for instance, generally

have an aversion to state income taxes, love high school football, and believe cowboy boots are formal footwear.) Like

other people everywhere, most Africans and tribal peoples who affirm membership in a major world religion (such as

Christianity or Islam) also maintain traditional practices, rituals, and beliefs.

Primal-indigenous religion is part of every predominantly tribal society. But in the following countries, at least by

some reports, it seems that the majority of the population officially claim to be adherents of traditional native

religions, rather than at least nominally declaring themselves members of a major world religion:

Benin

Botswana

Guinea-Bissau

Liberia

Togo

Many other countries, such as Papua New Guinea, would have to be added if one looked at practice rather than

nominal, census-based adherence to a major world religion. But to be fair in making such a list, one would also have to

ask to what degree the Norwegians are more Norwegian than Lutheran, to what degree Spaniards are more Spanish

than Catholic, to what degree the majority of Americans practice "Americanism" rather than Christianity or Judaism.

It is also interesting to note that 85% of the newly-formed (1999) Canadian province of Nunavut are Inuit. But this

statistic indicates tribal/ethnic affiliation. I do not have data regarding the religious preference of the population of Inuit,

but earlier statistics from the Northwest Territories (the province from which Nunavut was formed) indicate that mostresidents are Christian.

Yoruba religionAnother of the world's largest religions (but not a "classical" major religion) is the traditional religion of the Yoruba

peoples of western Africa. Two of its major modern branches in the Americas are known as Santeria and Vodoun.

Vodoun may not be the officialstate religion ofHaiti, but it is often called the unofficial national religion. The majority

of the population are thought to participate in Vodoun. Most Haitians are also members of Christian faiths, and mostly

claim Christianity as their religion in census counts.


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It is estimated that 70% of the population ofCuba practices African-based New World religions, especially the

Santeria form. The majority of Cubans are also baptized and self-identified Catholics. The Communist government in

Cuba has also issued official figures indicating that the majority of Cubans are nonreligious. So, Cuba could be placed

on three "majority religion" lists (Yoruba, Catholic and Nonreligious). (Interestingly enough, Cuba also has one of

world's largest national communities of Jehovah's Witnesses (both in terms of raw numbers as well as percentage of the

population).

HaitiCuba

parts of western Africa

TenrikyoTenrikyo is a distinct, living religion which emerged from a Shinto background, but which declared itself distinct from

Shinto many decades ago and has truly gone its own direction. It has about 3 million adherents. It has not spread very

much outside of Japan, although their are foreign and non-Japanese adherents.

In Japan its members probably make up less than 2% of the general population, but they form the overwhelming

majority of the city of Tenri-shi. With approximately 50,000 citizens, Tenri is the heartland, headquarters, and site of

pilgrimage of Tenrikyo faithful.

Tenri-shi, Japan

Veerashaivas (Lingayatas)The Lingayat religion grew out of a Hindu environment and today most people (including the Indian government) classify

it as a Hindu sect, although Lingayats prefer to call it a distinct religion. Published estimates of their numbers range from

about 5.5 million to 20 million worldwide, most of whom live in the Indian state of Karnataka. Approximately 10 - 20%

of the total population of Karnataka is Lingayat, but in the Lingayat heartland regions of Karnataka, as many as

67% follow the religion, a clear majority.

parts of Karnataka, India

JucheLittle known outside of North Korea, Juche is the national philosophy and religion created and run by the North Korean

government. By law, all North Koreans are adherents of Juche. Nearly all citizens regularly participate in Juche

meetings, celebrations, education, etc.

North Korea


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RastafarianismProportionately significant only in the Caribbean, Rastafarians do not make up the majority of any population. But in

their home country ofJamaica, the majority of the people are thought to be Rasta "supporters," although less than 5%

of the population are actually self-identified adherents.

Nations Where One Branch of a Major Religion is Predominant

As mentioned previously, in most nations where a single religion is predominant, it is also true that a single branch (and

often a single religious body) of that religion is predominant. The countries in the following lists will have already

appeared on lists above.

Not all countries listed above as being predominantly Christian, Muslim, etc., will appear in lists below. In a country

which is predominantly Christian, there may not be one branch which is predominant. For instance, in a country which is

65% Christian, that 65% may be divided fairly evenly between Protestants and Catholics. This would mean that

although Christianity is the predominant religion, there is not a predominant branch or religious body.

Shiite islamThe majority (90%) of Muslims belong to the Sunni branch of Islam. Historically there has been considerable distance

between Sunni and Shiite Islam, roughly comparable to the Catholic/Protestant split. But in recent years leading Sunni

councils (such as at the Islamic university at Cairo) have increasingly accepted Shiites as thoroughly a part of orthodox

Islam, and described Shiites as a "fifth" school, on par with traditional Sunni schools such as Shafii or Hanafi Islam.

Nevertheless, although Shiites may be thought of theologically as part of the orthodox Islamic "communion," there

remain clear cultural, legal and even doctrinal differences between Shiite and Sunni Muslims.

In the following nations the majority of the population are Shiite Muslims:

Iran

Azerbaijan

Bahrain

Oman

Iraq

Notably, Shiite Islam is the predominant form in Lebanon, but Shiites do not make up the majority of the nation's

population, as Muslims are only a slim and recent majority in the country. Large proportions of the nation's population

are Christian and Druze. If one does not count Druze as Muslims, the Muslim majority in the country is slim and difficult

to confirm.

In virtually all other countries in which one branch of Islam is predominant, the predominant branch is Sunni. There are

other branches of Islam which are considered heretical by Sunnis (such as Ahmadiyyans and Druze), but these do not

form the majority of the population in any nation.


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Catholic ChristianityIn the following places (listed alphabetically), at least 85% of the population is Catholic (at least nominally):

Andorra

Argentina

Aruba

Austria

Belgium

Bolivia

Cape Verde

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

Cuba

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

France

French Guiana

Gibraltar

Guadeloupe

Guam

Guatemala

Haiti

Honduras

Indonesia: Flores

Ireland

Italy

Liechtenstein

Luxembourg

Malta

Martinique

Mexico

Monaco

Nicaragua

Northern Mariana Islands

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Philippines

Poland

Portugal

Puerto Rico

Quebec, Canada

Reunion

Saint Lucia

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

San Marino

Seychelles

Slovenia

Spain

Vatican City

Venezuela

Wallis and Futuna Islands

Places in which between 50% and 85% of the population is Catholic, at least nominally:

Angola

Belize

Brazil

Burundi

Congo

Connecticut

Croatia

Czechoslovakia

Dominica

East Timor

Hungary

Kiribati

Lithuania

Massachusetts

Netherlands Antilles

New Brunswick, Canada

New Caledonia

Rhode Island

Rwanda

Slovakia

Uganda

Uruguay

Protestant ChristianityCountries in which at least 85% of the population is Protestant, at least nominally (these lists are not necessarily

comprehensive):

Antigua and Barbuda

Denmark

Finland

Greenland

Iceland

Norway

Sweden

Tuvalu

Countries in which between 50 and 85% of the population is Protestant, at least nominally:

Bahamas

Barbados

Nauru

New Zealand

Solomon Islands

South Africa


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Bermuda

French Polynesia

Jamaica

Namibia

Newfoundland

Oceania

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Samoa

Swaziland

Tahiti

Tonga

United Kingdom

USA

Vanuatu

Orthodox (Eastern) ChristianityCountries in which at least 50% of the population is Orthodox:

Armenia

Belarus

Bulgaria

Cyprus

Georgia

Greece

Macedonia

MoldovaRomania

Russia

Serbia and Montenegro

Ukraine

Predominant Protestant Denominational Families

In some predominantly Protestant countries the majority of the population belongs to a single denominational family.

Frequently this is because there is a State Church to which most people automatically belong from birth. In such

countries, affiliation with the Christian church may be only nominal, with very low (essentially "post-Christian") levels are

participation and belief.

In other countries, especially in Polynesia, there is not an officially state church, but the majority of some populations

belong to a single denominational family or nationally-unified religious body, and the populace exhibits unusually high

levels of religious participation.

Lutheran

In the following nations the majority of the population belong to a state Lutheran church. In these places, the nominally

Lutheran population is at least 80%. Levels of religious participation and belief are known to be quite low, however.

Church attendance among members of the state Lutheran churches is typically less than 5% and the church has little or

no impact on the personal behavior of members.

Some sources indicate that the majority ofLithuanians and Latvians are Lutheran, which they may be, but if they are

they make up barely more than 50% of the population.

Denmark

Estonia


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Finland

Greenland

Iceland

Norway

Sweden

Methodist

Methodists form the third largest denominational family in the United States. There are no "Methodist States." There is

one nation in which the majority (90%) of the indigenous population is Methodist: Fiji. (But other sources indicate the

nation's population as a whole is 50% Hindu, 53% unknown, 8% Muslim. There are also large numbers of Sikhs,

Catholics and Latter-day Saints. There are a large number ofnon-indigenous Fijians, most of whom are notMethodist.

One source states that the overall population of Fiji is 37% Methodist.)

Most Tongans belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Catholic Church, or one of three national

Protestant religious bodies: the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, the Church of Tonga, or the Free Church of Tonga.

Some sources indicate that the three national Tongan religious bodies are Methodist in origin, and that together thesebodies can claim over 50% of Tongan residents as members. I am uncertain to what degree, if at all, these national

Tongan bodies are affiliated with worldwide Methodist organizations.

Fiji (indigenous population)

Tonga

Methodists also make up a particularly large proportion (but not a majority) of the populations of Anguilla, Delaware,

and the British Virgin Islands.

Anglican

Anglicans make up the majority in two countries: the United Kingdom (where they make up about 50% of the total

population of the U.K., or about 60% of England alone) and Antigua and Barbuda (75% of the population).

United Kingdom

Antigua and Barbuda

Anglicans are a large part of the population, but not a majority, in many other places, including Barbados, Burmuda, the

Bahamas, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Uganda. The U.S. State with the highest proportion of Anglicans is RhodeIsland, with about 3% of the population affiliated with the Episcopal Church, and another 2% of the population

describing themselves as Episcopalian, but unaffiliated with a congregation.

Congregational

Some 97% of the population of island nation of Tuvalu reportedly belong to the Church of Tuvalu, a historically

Congregationalist religious body. 70% of the residents of Tokelau (a New Zealand territory) belong to the

Congregational Christian Church. 75% of the population of Niue belong to the Ekalesia Nieue (a national

Congregationalist body), while most of the rest are Latter-day Saints.


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Owing to the British and American Congregationalist missionary efforts in Polynesia during the 1700s and 1800s, there

are still large numbers of members in the historically Congregational bodies, but not over 50%. These modern

Congregationalist churches are essentially non-denominational Protestant in nature.

Tuvalu

Niue

Tokelau

Baptist

Baptists do not form the majority in any countries. But the populations of three U.S. states (Mississippi, Alabama, and

George) are just over 50% Baptist (divided among many Baptist denominations).

Mississippi

Alabama

Georgia (USA)Nagaland, India

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not form the majority in any countries. But the

population of Utah (70%), as well as portions of other states, are predominantly members of the Church of Jesus Christ

Utah and the surrounding Rocky Mountain region in the Western U.S. are known to sociologists as the "Mormon

Cultural Region."

Utah

Southern Idaho

parts of Wyoming

parts of Arizona

parts of Nevada

parts of Colorado

Laie, Hawaii

Colonia Juarez, Mexico

Colonia Ciudad, Mexico

Cardston, Alberta, CanadaLiahona, Tonga

In addition, there are predominantly Latter-day Saint towns and villages in other countries where there are large

numbers of Latter-day Saints, such as Tonga, Samoa, Tahiti, Chile, Peru, etc.

Seventh-day AdventistsAlthough Seventh-day Adventists (a Protestant denomination, but culturally and doctrinally distinctive) can be found


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throughout the world, they make up less than 0.5% of the population of the United States (their country of origin). There

are no U.S. states or politically independent countries where SDAs make up the majority, but there is one land where,

until recently, they make up 100% of the population:

For a time, ALL (100%) of the residents ofPitcairn Island (a British protectorate) were Seventh-day Adventists.

(In 1998 the population of the island was 46 people.)

Pitcairn Island

[Update: Baha'i publications recently announced (2000) that two Baha'is pioneers from New Zealand had beenallowed to move to Pitcairn.]

Seventh-day Adventists are widespread, but represent less than 1% of the population in most U.S. counties. However,

for whatever it's worth, the 1990 Glenmary county-by-county study of U.S. church membership indicated that the

SDAs of Dawson County, Georgia accounted for 17.5% of the county population, and 5,667 SDAs made up 11.7% o

the population of Walla Walla County, Washington.

SDAs make up a larger proportion of the population (up to a few percent -- nothing near a majority) in many small and

"third world" countries.

Nations Without a Majority Religion

In a minority of the world's countries, no single religion (not even Christianity if taken as a whole) can claim more than

50% of the population.

In the following nations, no single major religion can claim a clear-cut majority of the population as adherents:

Burkina Faso

Cameroon

Chad

China

Congo, Republic of the

Cote d'Ivoire

Eritrea

Ethiopia

Fiji

Guyana

Hong Kong

Kazakstan

Korea, South

Lebanon

Macau

Madagascar

Mozambique

Nigeria

Papua New Guinea

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Suriname

Taiwan

Tanzania

Zimbabwe

In some of these countries, such as Papua New Guinea, Ethiopia, and Taiwan, I am aware of data indicating a singlemajority religion, but I also have other reports which indicate otherwise.

In most predominantly Christian nations, a single religious body can claim the membership of the majority of Christians -

- usually the Catholic Church or a locally strong Orthodox church. In most predominantly Protestant nations, no single

religious body claims the membership of the majority of country's Christians. Germany, Australia, Canada and the

United States are four examples of such countries.

In the United States, Christianity is the largest religion, but less than 30% of the population belong to the largest religious


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body, the Catholic Church.

According to the county-by-county Glenmary study of 1990, there are only two states in the U.S. in which the

majority of the population belong to a single religious body. These are Utah (where members of the Church of

Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints make up 70% of the population), and Rhode Island (which is 63% Catholic). Other

sources indicate a slim Catholic majority in Connecticut and Massachusetts as well.

Places Where Truly 100% of People Belong to the Same Religion

Pitcairn Island isn't really an independent state. But there is an independent state in which 100% of the population

belong to the same religion and the same church: I'm fairly certain that 100% of the 480 permanent residents of the

Holy See, Vatican City are Catholics. Although small, the Vatican is politically autonomous.

This might make the Vatican and Pitcairn Island the only two lands on Earth where 100% of the people practice

exactly the same religion, and even belong to the same religious body, because even in the most completely mono-

religious countries (such as Saudi Arabia or Tunisia), there are foreign nationals who do not belong to the majority

religion, and possibly some native converts to other religions, sometimes in secret.

Sarita was kind enough to write to inform us about Mt. Athos: Mt. Athos is a peninsula in eastern Greece (near

Thesaloniki) that is extremely revered by Orthodox believers. It is inhabited exclusively by monastics. There are twenty

large monasteries plus countless small sketes, brotherhoods and hermitages. It is a major pilgramage sight for Orthodox

males. I would include Mt. Athos in the list of places where the entire population is of one religion (Orthodox.)

Obviously, since it is soley inhabited by monastics, they are all Orthodox. While it is militarily protected by Greece, it is

an independent entity in that it requires a seperate visa to enter Mt. Athos that has its own visa offices (this visa can not

be obtained from the Greek goverment) and they administer their own affairs.

This web page copyright 2005 by Adherents .com.

Created April 30, 1999. Last updated 12 April 2005.

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