World Religions › Contemporary
Rise of the 'nones' (no religion)
1990s – today; about a quarter of humanity (2020)· Belief or practice· New movements & secular thought
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
The rapid growth, especially since the 1990s, of people who say they have no religion, now roughly a quarter of humanity.
See it on the World Religions map →What it is
Pew Research estimates 1.9 billion religiously unaffiliated people in 2020, about 24% of the world; most live in China. In the US, 'nones' rose from under 1 in 10 adults in the early 1990s to about 3 in 10 in 2023–24. In South Korea, about half or more say they have no religion. Most nones are not atheists: in the US nearly two-thirds call themselves 'nothing in particular', and many still believe in God or spirits.
Why it matters
Counted together, the unaffiliated would be the world's third-largest 'religion' after Christianity and Islam, reshaping politics, family life and church finances in the West and East Asia.
Sources and history
Pew's 2025 global religious landscape report, the US General Social Survey (since 1972), Pew's Religious Landscape Studies, and national censuses such as South Korea's.
Questions and debates
Survey wording changes results, and Pew found the US decline in Christian identity may have leveled off since about 2019; whether that lasts is unclear.
Connections (2)
▸Secularization led to Rise of the 'nones' (no religion)Mostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Secularization first showed in falling church attendance in Western Europe. By the 1990s it reached identity: people stopped naming any religion at all. In the US, nones grew from under 1 in 10 adults to about 3 in 10 by 2023–24, driven largely by younger generations raised with less religion.
When and where
Western Europe from the 1960s; the US from the early 1990s; South Korea and Japan; tracked by Pew and the General Social Survey.
How do we know?
Long-running surveys: the General Social Survey (since 1972), Pew's Religious Landscape Studies (2007, 2014, 2023–24), the European Values Study and censuses.
Questions and debates
Some sociologists reject secularization theory, and Pew found the US shift leveling off around 2019–2024; whether it resumes is unknown.
▸Christianity's shift to the Global South contrasts with the Western Rise of the 'nones' (no religion)Mostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Christianity's map is being redrawn from both ends. In Europe, North America and Australia, people leave Christianity mostly for no religion, while Africa's young, fast-growing population adds Christians. Pew found Christians' share of humanity fell from about 31% to 29% between 2010 and 2020 even as Africa's Christian numbers soared.
When and where
2010–2020, Pew Research Center's 2025 global report; sub-Saharan Africa overtook Europe as home to the most Christians by 2020.
How do we know?
Pew's analysis of more than 2,700 censuses and surveys covering 201 countries and territories.
Questions and debates
Whether the Global South will secularize as it urbanizes and grows richer, as parts of East Asia have, is an open question.