What percentage of the worlds population believe in a some form of god?

Question

I watched the film Contact in which Jodie Foster gets told she can't go on the mission because 95% of the worlds population believe in god (the script is fairly rubbish here and I don't understand how religion had anything to do with the other happenings in the film.)
Anyway I cannot believe that this is true so I wondered what the facts of the matter were.

Answer 1

I don't trust surveys since many people will say yes in order to fit in with the crowd. I would like to see an anonymous survey. There also has to be a very clear understanding of what is meant by the term god.

All the percentages that people keep giving are the percentage of people that say they belong to a religion. It does not give an indication of what they really believe. It may be in a sliding scale where 1 is absolutely no god and 10 is positively there is one. If this was done where would the average be?

Answer 2

Christianity: 2.1 billion

Islam: 1.3 billion

Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 1.1 billion

Hinduism: 900 million

Chinese traditional religion: 394 million

Buddhism: 376 million

primal-indigenous: 300 million

African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million

Sikhism: 23 million

Juche: 19 million

Spiritism: 15 million

Judaism: 14 million

Baha'i: 7 million

Jainism: 4.2 million

Shinto: 4 million

Cao Dai: 4 million

Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million

Tenrikyo: 2 million

Neo-Paganism: 1 million

Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand

Rastafarianism: 600 thousand

Scientology: 500 thousand

Answer 3

Depends on who conduct the survery but 95% is about right.

In Contact she couldn't understand what faith was until the hearing when she got the light blub moment that there is faith.

Also people of faith had to come to grips that there is life out there and what would that do for thier view of religion.


Than again it maybe a case why we have not found life out there we most likely the ones who ate of the furit and so G-d said to the rest leave this plante alone.

Answer 4

Actually, that number, depressing as it is, is probably accurate. The vast majority of people still subscribe to some form of irrational, primitive superstition, including the belief in some sort of "divine being."

Answer 5

In my oppinion, 100% of al the people on this planet belive in a god of some form. Even the people who say they dont belive, belive in something. & as god is not a person or thing, then we all belive. Some people may say there big mac is there god? Others will say there car car is theres. All of which they worship as a christion worships god! But thats just my thoughts!

Answer 6

About 14% don't, 86% do:

Christians 33.03% (of which Roman Catholics 17.33%, Protestants 5.8%, Orthodox 3.42%, Anglicans 1.23%), Muslims 20.12%, Hindus 13.34%, Buddhists 5.89%, Sikhs 0.39%, Jews 0.23%, other religions 12.61%, non-religious 12.03%, atheists 2.36% (2004 est.)

Answer 7

How many people believe in any god or gods? Out of the 6.5 billion people on this planet, probably over 5.5 billion.

Answer 8

i belive in dark magic and every other christian out there should havent you read that little chapter in 1st samuel? saul went out to a median and raised samuels spirit and samuel said that was an extremely bad thing to do just becuase that type of stuff exisits doesnt mean you should go near it

Answer 9

probably about 90% believe. I on the other hand am not gullible and don't believe in a 'god'

Answer 10

I bet it's pretty high up there.

Don't like the God you have? Choose another:

http://www.godchecker.com

Lots of good history on your subject there.