Scanning through news items on the Google News app on my mobile — which is what I do almost every morning — I came across a story published on India.com, which I found somewhat misleading. The headline said, "Muslim population drops significantly in THIS country as over 25% Muslims leave Islam due to…, the country is…"
I opened the link and found that not only was the percentage mentioned in the story — 25% — for the country in question, the United States, wrong (it's actually 23%), but it also significantly underplays the percentage of those leaving Hinduism in the U.S. (18%). I can't say what the reason could be, except that perhaps the portal doesn't want to be called out as anti-Hindu.
However, I decided to look into the source of the story, which happened to be one of the most prestigious research organizations, the U.S.-based Pew Research Center: Its 62-page report, based on a survey of 80,000 people in 36 countries, said, "In many countries around the world, a fifth or more of all adults have left the religious group in which they were raised," pointing out, "Christianity and Buddhism have experienced especially large losses from this 'religious switching.'"
The Pew report uses the term religious switching instead of “conversion” because, it says, "The changes can take place in many directions — including from having been raised in a religion to being unaffiliated." It underlines, "Most of the movement has been into the category we call religiously unaffiliated, which consists of people who answer a question about their religion by saying they are atheists, agnostics, or 'nothing in particular.'"
I was immediately reminded of a blog I did in 2022 on visiting what is now called the biggest Swaminarayan temple in the world. Situated in New Jersey, I met one of its caretakers there, to whom I was introduced as a former Times of India political editor. He got immediately interested in me.
At that time, the temple was nearing completion. This gentleman told me about a "high-profile American visitor," who asked him, given the lack of interest in religion in the U.S., what was the purpose of building such a huge temple? Wouldn't it be a deserted place, say, after four decades? The caretaker contradicted this high-profile visitor and replied, "This temple will last for thousands of years…"
The high-profile visitor had reason to ask such a question. For, a quick search suggests that there has been a significant decline in the number of churches in the U.S. In 2023, approximately 4,000 churches permanently closed, "reflecting broader societal shifts and financial struggles". And some estimates suggest that up to 100,000 churches may close in the coming years due to dwindling attendance and changing religious demographics, with many congregations struggling to maintain their physical spaces, leading to discussions about repurposing church buildings for community use.
Now, let's turn to the Pew report, which India.com quotes. The report says, "In some countries, changing religions is very rare. In India, Israel, Nigeria, and Thailand, 95% or more of adults say they still belong to the religious group in which they were raised."
It adds, "But across East Asia, Western Europe, North America, and South America, switching is fairly common. For example, 50% of adults in South Korea, 36% in the Netherlands, 28% in the United States, and 21% in Brazil no longer identify with their childhood religion."
And which religions are people switching to? As for Christians, 29% of adults in Sweden, for instance, say they were raised Christian but now describe themselves as religiously unaffiliated — atheists, agnostics, or “nothing in particular.” Similarly, Buddhism also is "losing adherents through disaffiliation."
Further, says the report, "23% of adults surveyed in Japan and 13% in South Korea say they were raised as Buddhists but don’t identify with any religion today." Additionally, it says, "About one-in-ten or more adults in Singapore (13%), South Africa (12%), and South Korea (11%) have switched between two religions." It adds, "23% of Italian and Colombian adults, along with 14% of Greeks, identify as unaffiliated."
The report continues, "In Sweden, 52% of adults currently identify as religiously unaffiliated, while 22% say they were raised without a religion." It adds, "Even in South Korea, 31% of Koreans say they were raised in a religion and have since disaffiliated." It adds, "40% of Japanese adults who were raised Buddhist are now unaffiliated (i.e., identify religiously as atheist, agnostic, or 'nothing in particular')."
In the U.S., however, there is a clear variation: About 23% of Muslims said they "no longer identify as Muslim." Of this, 10% went over to some other religion (mainly Christianity), while 13% stated they were "religiously unaffiliated."
As for Hinduism, the survey states, "Very small shares of the overall population in any of the countries analyzed have left or joined Hinduism." However, in the U.S., which (like Islam) has just 1% Hindu population, 18% of people raised as Hindus no longer identify as Hindu, followed by Sri Lanka (11%). In Sri Lanka, most who have left Hinduism now identify as Christians.
Says the survey, "In the U.S., 11% of people who were raised Hindu are now religiously unaffiliated (i.e., they identify religiously as atheist, agnostic, or 'nothing in particular') and 6% are Christians." Does it show the Hindutva hold among Indian diaspora hasn't been successful? I don't know!
As for India, the country with the world’s largest Hindu population, says the report, as against 84% Hindus who were raised Hindu, 83% identified as Hindu. "Only 1% of all Indian adults have left Hinduism, and a similarly small share have become Hindus after having been raised in another religion or with no affiliation." The report does not say which religion the 1% of Hindus may have shifted to.
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