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A March 2025 study issued by the Pew Research Center shares that throughout the world, more than one-fifth of all adults have left the religion that they were born into. There are two religions in particular that have seen the biggest losses. While many are switching religions, others are simply giving up religion altogether. The survey, which includes about 80,000 people throughout 36 countries, provide a lens to look at the issue.

Where are people switching religions most? Which religions are most effected? Click through the gallery to find out.

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What is religious switching? This refers to a process in which people change the religious group they are affiliated with, often since childhood.

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The switch of religions is typically from the one they grew up with to a new religious identity they find in adulthood.

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The term switch is used instead of conversion because some religious upbringings are cultural. What's more, it includes situations where someone switches from their childhood religion to no religious affiliation at all.

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Switching between religious denominations is not taken into consideration in the context of the study. This means, if a person switches from one form of Christianity to another, this is not considered a switch in the study.

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This distinction is quite important. If denomination was included in the study, the numbers would likely be much higher than what is reported by the Pew Research Center.

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There are a number of countries in which religious switching is extremely rare. About 95% of adults in nations such as India, Tunisia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh, among others, reportedly retain their childhood religion into adulthood.

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But other nations across Western Europe, South and North America, and East Asia are seeing much higher numbers of religion switching, to the point where it is considered common.

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In South Korea, it is reported that approximately half of the nation’s adults do not identify with the religion that they were brought up in. South Korea reports the largest percentage of adults in this context.

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Spain follows suit. The Iberian nation reports that 40% of Spanish adults no longer identify with the religion they were raised within.

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Canada is also experiencing significant shifts. The North American nation reports that 38% do not subscribe to their childhood religion.

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Sweden echos Canada with a figure of 37%, representing the percentage of adults that no longer follow the religion they were brought up within.

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In the Netherlands, Dutch adults are following a similar trend, in which 36% of adults also do not identify with their childhood religion. The United Kingdom has the same percentage.

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Australia, France, Germany, and Japan all report that 34% of their adult population no longer adheres to their religious upbringing.

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In Singapore, the vastly multicultural island reports a similar trend, with 30% of its adult population reporting to no longer identify with their childhood religion.

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In the United States, the numbers are also on the up. According to the study, 28% of Americans do not identify with the religion that they were brought up in. Chile also has the same percentage.

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Brazil, too, is facing this shift. The report notes that 21% of Brazilian adults no longer identify with the religion they inherited from their parents.

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The list goes on with an uptick in switching reported, in general, throughout every continent in the world.

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So what are people converting to? What religious traditions are on the rise? This is likely the most fascinating question that the study highlights in its findings.

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The vast majority of religious switching has actually been attributed to “religiously unaffiliated.” What does this mean? This consists of atheists, agnostics, or those who described their religious affiliations as "nothing in particular.”

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How else can this be understood? The study refers to this switch as “disaffiliation,” meaning people are leaving their religions and choosing to no longer identify with any particular religion.

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The vast majority of the people who are part of this “disaffiliation” category were raised as Christians. We can use the example of Sweden to demonstrate how 29% of adults who were raised as Christians now describe themselves as disaffiliated.

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It’s not just Christianity. Buddhism is the second religion that is losing the most followers. In Japan, 23% of adults were raised as Buddhists, but do not identify with any religion.

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Similarly, in South Korea, 13% of adults also report being raised as Buddhists, but no longer identify with any religion at all. This doesn’t necessarily mean they are atheists, but it’s more of a lack of identification with any religion at all.

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Oddly, in South Korea, 9% of adults who were raised with no religious affiliation ended up switching to Christianity in adulthood.

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Disaffiliation from Buddhism is particularly high in nations such as South Korea, Singapore, and Japan. About one in 10 adults in Singapore, South Korea, and South Africa, have switched between religions, meaning they were previously affiliated with one religion and are now affiliated with another.

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While these statistics do intend to give an idea of global trends, the study only tracks behavior in 36 nations. Therefore, the data doesn’t change the fundamental truths that we know about the world’s most prominent religions.

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Christianity remains the world’s largest and most widespread religion in the world. Although no precise data exists, research indicates that it remains one of the world’s most predominant religions.

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Islam is the world’s second-largest religion and the fastest growing religion in the world, with nearly two billion followers across the globe.

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Although the category of "religiously unaffiliated" is gaining quite a bit of traction and has experienced “the largest net gains,” there are still billions of people around the world practicing and adhering to organized religion.

Sources: (Pew Research Center)