Every day millions of people
around the world turn to religion
for comfort, strength and
enlightenment as a moral
compass. Some people do it
more than other people and
some countries do it more than
other countries. What countries
in the world can be considered
the most religious?
These are the top 10 most
religious countries in the world,
according to a Gallup study
conducted in 2012. These were
chosen based on their religious
practices and how they viewed
themselves.
10. Brazil
This South American country is a
land of contrasts, a land of both
immense wealth yet great
poverty, a land of sin and
salvation. When it comes to
playtime Brazil lets loose with its
Carnival, a celebration bordering
on the obscene, but when it
comes to pray time Brazilians
also give it their all. Catholicism in
Brazil was brought over by its
Portuguese colonizers and the
religion is now the one with
most followers with 64%.
Protestants are next at 22%. The
rest of the figures are shared by
atheists and those belonging to
other faiths. Of the worshipping
Brazilians, 85% consider
themselves actively religious.
9. Peru
Religion is alive and well in the
mountains and valleys of Peru.
The natives have had their
Pachamama (Mother Earth
religion) since before the
modern era, the Spanish
conquerors brought Catholicism
over with them, the missionaries
brought Protestantism and still
other groups came with
Mormonism, Buddhism, Hinduism
and other different faiths, and all
of them seem to be sharing the
same country without any sign
of conflict. There just might be
enough space for all faiths, 86%
of Peruvians consider themselves
as religious, compared to only
8% who don’t. There are almost
no atheists or agnostics there.
8. Kenya
Christianity, in its various forms,
dominates in Kenya. Forty-seven
percent of those are Protestants
while 23.5% are Roman
Catholics. Other denominations
include the Africa Evangelical
Presbyterian Church, the
Independent Presbyterian Church
in Kenya and the Reformed
Church of East Africa. There are
also Muslim and other faiths,
most of them residing in the
Coast Province. Kenyans who
actively practice their faith were
placed at 88% while only 9%
said they were not actively
religious.
7. Iraq
The only Islamic country in the
list, Iraq is dominantly Muslim
with the country’s population
estimated at 95% Islamic. Most of
others belonging to various
faiths have long since fled after
the American Invasion in 2003 to
avoid fighting and persecution.
Eighty-eight percent of Iraqis are
active in their faith while only 9%
are not. Why is Iraq so religious?
Experts say this is more of a
social phenomenon as it is
cultural. According to them
uncertainty, unrest and instability
bring people closer to their god,
and this is what has been
happening in Iraq since its
liberation.
6. Romania
There are several religions in this
European country but the
majority of the population or
86% practice the Orthodox
Christian faith, Protestants are
only 5.2% of the population
while Roman Catholics are at
4.7%. The rest of the figures are
shared among other different
religions. Of the worshipping
Romanians 89% consider
themselves as actively religious.
Romania’s strong religious ties
can be traced to its past. Its
folklore is filled with spirits and
monsters, most notably vampires
and werewolves, fueled by the
country’s huge, precipitous
forests. Such beliefs proved
fertile ground for superstition
and religious practices to take
root.
5. Macedonia
Nestled between Bulgaria and
Albania in southern Europe, the
country of Macedonia has a rich
history. It was conquered many
times in the past by many
factions that also brought their
own religions. Among these
were the Ottoman Turks who
brought Islam, the Byzantines
who brought Christianity and the
Bulgarian tsars who brought the
Orthodox faith. Today Orthodox
is the most predominant religion.
Catholicism, Islam and Judaism
also have strong roots and a
presence there. Macedonian
practicing worshipers are
estimated at 92%.
4. Fiji
For those who have heard of Fiji
but don’t know where it is, it is
located in the Melanesian region
of the South Pacific, that’s far to
the east of Australia. It is one of
the most remote countries in the
world. So how did religion get
there? It was brought there by
Methodist missionaries in the
middle of the 19th century.
Methodist is now also the leading
religion there followed by
Catholicism, Assemblies of God,
Seventh-Day Adventist, Anglican
and others. Religiosity among
Fijians is estimated at 93%.
3. Armenia
This was one of the countries
that immediately returned back
to its religious past after the
dissolution of the Soviet Union in
1991. The country also has a
proud Christian history; Armenia
was the first nation to adopt
Christianity as a state religion in
301 A.D. Legend has it that what
is now known the modern-day
Armenian Church was founded in
the first century by no less than
Thaddeus and Bartholomew, two
of the disciples of Jesus Christ
himself. Today an estimated 92%
of Armenians are active
worshippers, almost all of them
Christian. The local Muslim and
Jewish populations have been
dwindled by emigration,
although their mosques and
synagogues and architecture still
remain.
2. Nigeria
The different regions of Nigeria
are dominated by different
religions, but rough estimates
place 50.8% of Nigerians as
Christians, Muslims are at 47.8%
while other religions and beliefs
share the remaining figure.
Missionaries have come to
Nigeria as early as the 16th
century but it was not until after
World War 1 that churches were
founded. While active
participation in religious
practices is recorded at a high of
93%. This may come at a price,
those practicing traditional
religious beliefs are allegedly
being oppressed.
1. Ghana
Ghana seems to be split between
a Muslim northern region and
Christian southern region.
Ghanaian Christians are
estimated to make up 71% of the
population while Muslims make
up 17%. Relations between the
religions are described as
peaceful and cooperative. Apart
from the two most dominant
religions; Hinduism, Taoism,
Buddhism, Shintoism, and
Judaism are also represented
and on the rise. Ghanaians have
been described as the most
religious nationality in the world
with an estimated 96% of them
claiming to be actively religious
while only 2% were non-
practicing. The rest were split as
to theirt beliefs.

Source: www.therichest.com/expensive-lifestyle/location/the-top-10-countries-with-most-religious-people/

ok...

Tanx 4 d info

Claap for urself

O my God,..wer z isreal!!!!

Andyblaze: DONT TELL ME NONSENSE

Compare Nigeria's population and size to Ghana's. Take into consideration the fact that every nigerian street has an average of 1 church and two pastors. Then You'll know we deserve number one!

it's not abt population size. It's basically abt the percentage of the population truely dedicated to religion.

Kendzyma: O my God,..wer z isreal!!!!

israel having a holy land and religious monuments doesn't necessarily mean that the people are more religious than nigerians

Ok, would love to see the top secular countries instead, sure they'll be global leaders in development,human rights and standards of living....eg Norway,Denmark,South Korea etc
Most Religious and Least Religious Countries...
An article in Slate last week unveiled the results of a
recent poll, and it's looking good! In the United
States, self identified atheists have shown a five-fold
increase since 2005 alone. This is a trend that is
seen across the globe, with a total 13%
of respondents worldwide labelling themselves as
"convinced atheists". It should come as no surprise
that the highest concentration of atheists were from
Asia, namely China, Japan, and south Korea. These
societies have been secular (at least by Western
standards) for quite some time. Another influencing
factor is the nature of Eastern religions, which often
lack a supernatural deity; so, while they may be
"atheists" in the purest sense of the word, they are
not necessarily proper skeptics. I think this shows as
we read almost daily of reports of rapidly rising
demand for animal parts, such as rhinoceros horns,
believed to act as magical cures for a myriad of
ailments. So while, overall, I would suggest that
increased atheism is a good thing, we still have a
long way to go.
On of the flip side of the poll, we also get a look at
the most religious societies. Not surprisingly, a
significant majority of the top 10 "most religious"
countries are underdeveloped and riddled with
social strife. Not that I'm saying religious belief
causes this (although there is good reason to believe
this is/can be the case) but another factor here is
that difficult situations attract religious believers as
well as religious promoters. Think about it for a
second: Christian churches across the United States
don't sent thousands of missionaries to Scandinavia
which has a very secular government and society
(and also, coincidentally, one of the highest
standards of living in the entire world). Instead, they
send them into war-torn Africa, or poor, rural
Southeast Asia. They target those whose living
conditions are as miserable as possible, knowing
that they can sell their message of hope and
salvation. It is a simple economic equation: Where
there is demand, their will be salesmen knocking at
the door to sell the product.
A few other noteworthy results of the study, quoted
directly:
"RELIGIOSITY IS HIGHER AMONG THE POOR:
People in bottom income
groups are 17% more religious than those in top
income groups"
No real surprise here. Going back to the quality of
life argument: those whose quality of life is lower
therefore seek more hope and inspiration, and
religion is a common source of both.
"RELIGIOSITY IS LOWER AMONG COLLEGE
EDUCATED: College
educated are 16% less religious than those without
secondary
education."
Also unsurprising. The more one learns about the
world, the less mysterious it becomes. The less likely
one is to accept oversimplified "god did it" type
answers. This could also relate to the previous point,
in that those with higher income are more likely to
have access to higher education, so I think the two
go hand in hand.
"TRENDS SINCE 2005: Religiosity drops by 9%,
while atheism rises by
3%."
As I said before, this is great news. While some
people have pointed out that the number of actual
atheists may not have increased as much as
represented, but merely more people are willing to
be out with their atheism, I still think this is a great
indicator of things to come. Before we can have
widespread change in society, atheism needs to
become seen as common and accepted, not
something to hide or be ashamed of.
The study provided one graphic which I though was
quite interesting to see, showing a true visual
correlation between religiosity and income.
www.secularthinker.com/2012/08/most-religious-and-least-religious.html?m=1

That's Nigeria for you, most religious but not most developed.

@emik4lif, exactly the point i was trying to make. None of the top 10 most religious countries is anywhere near the top 20 economically strong countries. Religion has most visibly been evident in the promotion of capitalism and clapping down on the growth of most economically downgraded countries. No wonder the steady rise in atheism as the statistics in ur write up above suggests. I bet Countries like US, Germany and many Scandinavian countries will top the list of top 10 secular countries if we were to research into that.

Uyi Iredia: That's Nigeria for you, most religious but not most developed.

thats it

plantation: @emik4lif, exactly the point i was trying to make. None of the top 10 most religious countries is anywhere near the top 20 economically strong countries. Religion has most visibly been evident in the promotion of capitalism and clapping down on the growth of most economically downgraded countries. No wonder the steady rise in atheism as the statistics in ur write up above suggests. I bet Countries like US, Germany and many Scandinavian countries will top the list of top 10 secular countries if we were to research into that.

Dear friend, I wish to inform you that Germany and the Scandinavian countries are NOT secular countries.

In fact, the US, which is secular, has the economy and society in the WORST state among those you listed.

Also just to inform you that the following countries are also secular: Laos, Vietnam, Nepal, Benin, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Chad etc.

The above countries are all worse of than all the countries in that 'religious top 10.'

Thank you.

The most religious countries were:

Ghana - 96%
Nigeria - 93%
Armenia - 92%
Fiji - 92%
Macedonia - 90%
Romania - 89%
Iraq - 88%
Kenya - 88%
Peru - 86%
Brazil - 85%
---the Best---

越南足坛年底重磅转