According to the latest global poll released by WIN-Gallup

International, a world-wide network of leading opinion pollsters,

Ireland rates as one of the least religious countries.

59% of the world said that they think of themselves as religious

person, 23% think of themselves as not religious whereas 13% think

of themselves as convinced atheists. However, when we

compare this to the Irish population, only 47% consider themselves

religious, placing Ireland low on the index of being religious

coming in at position 43 out of 57 countries.



The WIN-Gallup International ‘Religion and Atheism Index’ which

measures global self-perceptions on beliefs is based on interviews

with more than 50,000 men and women selected from 57

countries across the globe in five continents. The survey also

provides trend data for shifts in attitudes since 2005.

A world-wide poll conducted by WIN-Gallup International, a

network of the world’s top most independent pollsters, asked

exactly the same question in 57 countries across the globe:

RELIGIOSITY IS HIGHER AMONG THE POOR: People in bottom income

groups are 17% more religious than those in top income groups.

It is interesting that Religiosity declines as worldly prosperity of

individuals rises. While the results for nations as a whole are mixed,

individual respondents within a country show a revealing pattern.

If citizens of each of the 57 countries are grouped into five groups,

from the relatively poor to relatively rich in their own countries, the

richer you get, the less religious you define yourself.



Globally, those claiming to be religious, drops by 9%, while atheism

rises by 3%. This compares to a drop of 22% among the Irish

population claiming to be religious.

There is a notable decline across the globe in self-description of

being religious. WIN-Gallup International had carried out exactly

the same poll seven years ago in 2005. The global average of the

39 countries polled in both waves shows Religiosity Index dropped

by 9% during these seven years. Most of the shift is not drifting from

their faith, but claiming to be ‘not religious’ while remaining within

the faith. There is however a rise of 3% in atheism as well (see

table 3, 4 ahead)



The poll was conducted by the oldest and the largest network of

opinion pollsters affiliated with WIN-Gallup International in 57

countries covering more than 73% of the world’s population.