Demographics of atheism

[7] Relative to its own populations, Zuckerman ranks the top five countries with the highest possible ranges of atheists and agnostics: Sweden (46–85%), Vietnam (81%), Denmark (43–80%), Norway (31–72%), and Japan (64–65%).

[13][14][15] Western atheism has its roots in pre-Socratic Greek philosophy, but did not emerge as a distinct perspective on religious claims until the late Enlightenment.

Words like God and atheism seldom translate well across cultures or languages, and if they are there, they have variant meanings which make cross-cultural comparisons tenuous.

"[28] Furthermore, he observes that "some atheists call themselves 'spiritual', and as we have shown above, atheism in its broadest sense does not preclude other religious concepts like nature spirits, dead ancestors, and supernatural forces.

[30] These numbers conflicted with the latest Canadian census data that presupposed that a religious affiliation predisposed a belief in a deity and was based on a poorly worded question.

"[35] A study on global religiosity, secularity, and well-being, sociologists Gregory Paul and Phil Zuckerman note that it is unlikely that most atheists and agnostics do not believe in the gods based on a careful analysis of philosophical and scientific arguments alone, since science testing scores in societies where atheism or theism is widespread, can be just as poor and such societies can have widespread supernatural beliefs besides gods.

[37] In terms of apostasy, Farias notes that a greater proportion of people who leave religion do so for motivational rather than rational reasons and the majority of deconversions occur in adolescence and young adulthood when one is emotionally volatile.

[37] Furthermore, Farias notes that atheists are indistinguishable from New Age individuals or Gnostics since there are commonalities such as being individualistic, non-conformist, liberal, and valuing hedonism and sensation.

Luke Galen, a personality researcher, writes "Many previously reported characteristics associated with religiosity are a function not of belief itself, but of strong convictions and group identification.

"[39][40] Catherine Caldwell-Harris notes that "non-believers" are interested in social justice concerns and posits that this is due to their lack of belief in an afterlife, leading to a focus on what can be fixed here and now.

[44] According to William Bainbridge's international study, atheism is common among people whose interpersonal social obligations are weak and is also connected to lower fertility rates in advanced industrial nations.

[50] Though atheists are in the minority in most countries, they are relatively common in Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, East Asia and present communist states.

When the study was replicated 80 years later using American Men and Women of Science in 1996 results were similar, with 39.3% believing God exists, 45.3% disbelieved, and 14.5% had doubts/did not know.

[51] A 1998 survey based on a self-selected sample of biological and physical scientists of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States found that 7% believed in the existence of God, 72.2% did not, and 20.8% were agnostic or had doubts.

"[66] A Infinite Insight survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 5 November 2012, to 6 December 2012, found that 6% of South Sudan were "convinced atheists.

"[68][69] A MPG LLC (Marketing Professional Group) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on November 2014, found that 2% of Armenia were "convinced atheists.

"[68][69] A SIAR Research and Consulting Group survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 16 October 2014, to 12 November 2014, found that 0.1% of Azerbaijan were "convinced atheists.

"[68][69] A NRC (Nippon Research Center) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 31 October 2014 to 12 November 2014, found that 32% of Japan were "convinced atheists.

[72] A REACH (Research and Consulting House) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 17 October 2014 to 5 November 2014, found that 2% of Lebanon were "convinced atheists.

"[68][69][73] A PARC (Pan Arab Research Center) survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted in November 2011, found that 5% of Saudi Arabia were "convinced atheists.

[77] In 2017, the WIN-Gallup International Association (WIN/GIA) poll found China and Sweden as the top two countries with highest percentage of those who claim themselves atheist or irreligious.

[83] An Austrian Gallup Institute survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted on November 2014, found that 13% of Austria were "convinced atheists.

"[68][69] A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 2% of Bosnia and Herzegovina were atheists, while 4% stated that they "Do not believe in God".

[75] A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 25% of the Czech Republic were atheists, while 66% stated that they "Do not believe in God".

"[68][69] A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 9% of Estonian population were atheists, while 45% stated that they "Do not believe in God".

"[68][69] A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 3% of Latvia were atheists, while 15% stated that they "Do not believe in God".

[80] A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 2% of Lithuania were atheists, while 11% stated that they "Do not believe in God".

[80] A Pew Research Center poll, conducted from June 2015 to July 2016, found that 4% of Russia were atheists, while 15% stated that they "Do not believe in God".

[72] A BRAIN Research survey, commissioned by WIN-Gallup International, conducted from 27 October 2014, to 7 November 2014 found that 4% of Mexico were "convinced atheists.

"[68][69] In a survey by WIN International, carried out with the support of Datum Internacional, 92% of Peruvians expressed their belief in God, while 72% said they considered themselves religious, 20% non-religious and only 3% declared themselves to be atheist.