Israel may be the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity, but it is also one of the world’s least religious nations, according to a new poll.
In the WIN/Gallup poll, 65 percent of Israelis described themselves as either not religious or convinced atheists. Meanwhile, 75 percent of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza viewed themselves as religious and 18 percent as not religious.
The poll of 63,898 residents in 65 countries found that, overall, 63 percent of people around the world are religious. China was the world’s least religious country (61 percent), while Thailand had the greatest number of religious citizens (94 percent).
Despite Israel’s low rates of religiosity, the Middle East was one of the world’s most religious regions, with more than eight out of 10 people calling themselves religious. Western Europe was the least religious region; 51 percent of respondents said they were not religious.
The Gallup findings on Israel conflict dramatically with findings from a 2009 study by the Israeli Democracy Institute, according to the Jerusalem Post. That study reported religiosity decreasing in the decade after Jews from the former Soviet Union began immigrating to Israel en masse but subsequently increasing, with 80 percent of respondents saying they believed in God. — jta