© Getty Images

Religious switching -

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

© Getty Images

Religious identity -

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

© Getty Images

Switch vs. conversion -

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.

© Getty Images

Denominations don't count -

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.

© Getty Images

Distinction -

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.

© Getty Images

Nations where switching is rare -

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.

© Getty Images

Other nations -

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.

© Getty Images

South Korea -

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.

© Getty Images

Spain -

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

© Getty Images

Canada -

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

© Getty Images

Sweden -

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

© Getty Images

Netherlands and UK -

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.

© Getty Images

Australia, France, Germany, and Japan -

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

© Getty Images

Singapore -

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.

© Getty Images

United States and Chile -

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.

© Getty Images

Brazil -

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.

© Getty Images

Uptick reported -

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

© Getty Images

What are the trends? -

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.

© Getty Images

Religiously unaffiliated -

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.”

© Getty Images

Disaffiliation -

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. 

© Getty Images

Many are leaving Christianity -

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.

© Getty Images

Buddhism also experiencing a lot of losses -

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.

© Getty Images

Lack of identification in South Korea -

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.

© Getty Images

Some switching to Christianity -

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

© Getty Images

Significant percentages in some nations -

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.

© Getty Images

Global trends -

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.

© Getty Images

The role of Christianity -

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.

© Getty Images

The role of Islam -

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

© Getty Images

Billions of religious people -

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)

See also: Everything you need to know about Shinto, Japan's oldest religion

© Getty Images