Across the 36 countries surveyed, people’s views on the importance of religion to national identity vary widely.
Large shares in middle-income countries say being a member of the historically predominant religion in their country is very important to truly sharing the national identity – for example, to being truly Filipino or truly Nigerian. In high-income countries, though, many instead say religion is not at all important to national identity.
We asked people in 36 countries whether it’s important to be a member of a particular religion in order to “truly” share the national identity.
In each country, we selected the country’s historically predominant religion(s). For example, in the United States, where Christianity has long been the majority religion, we asked about the importance of being a Christian to being truly American. And in Thailand, where the vast majority of the population is Buddhist, we asked about the importance of being a Buddhist to being truly Thai.
In Japan, Nigeria and South Korea, we asked all respondents separately about two religions. In Japan, we asked about both Buddhism and Shinto. A significant portion of the population there identifies as Buddhist, yet Shinto has long been tied to national identity, and a quarter of Japanese adults say they feel a personal connection to the Shinto way of life.
In Nigeria, large shares of the population identify as either Christian or Muslim, so we asked about both religions separately. In South Korea, because sizable shares identify as either Christian or Buddhist, we asked about both religions.
Here is a list of the religions asked in each country:
| Religion | Country |
|---|---|
| Christianity | United States, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, UK, Australia, Philippines, South Korea, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru |
| Islam | Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Turkey, Tunisia |
| Buddhism | Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand |
| Hinduism | India |
| Judaism | Israel |
| Shinto | Japan |
The importance of religion to a sense of national belonging varies within countries as well.
- People who identify with the historically predominant religion in their country are more likely than those who don’t to say that being a member of that religion is very important to national identity.
- People who pray daily are more likely than those who pray less frequently to say that belonging to the predominant religion is very important to sharing the national identity.
- Older adults are more likely than younger people to view religion as a central part of national identity.
- People on the ideological right tend to be more likely than those on the left to say being a follower of their country’s historically predominant religion is very important to being truly part of the nation.
How important is religion to national belonging?
The importance of religion to national identity varies widely across the 36 countries surveyed. As many as 86% in Tunisia say being a Muslim is very important to Tunisian identity, while as few as 3% of Swedes say the same about being a Christian in Sweden.
Views vary somewhat when comparing high- and middle-income countries.
Sizable majorities in many middle-income countries – including around three-quarters or more in Indonesia, the Philippines and Tunisia – consider being part of their country’s historically predominant religion very important for truly sharing the national identity. And in every middle-income country surveyed, roughly a quarter or more say this.
In high-income countries, much smaller shares emphasize religion as an aspect of national identity. Israel stands out as the only high-income country where at least a third say following the predominant religion – Judaism, in this case – is a very important element of national identity.
In other high-income countries, fewer than a quarter strongly agree. And in many high-income countries, roughly half or more say that being a member of the historically predominant religion is not at all important to being a true member of the nation.
Of the countries where we asked about the importance of Christianity to national identity, the Philippines stands out: Nearly three-quarters say being a Christian is very important for being truly Filipino. Around two-thirds of Kenyans say the same for being truly Kenyan.
In contrast, sizable majorities in Spain (71%) and Sweden (69%) say that being a Christian is not at all important for national belonging.
Views are also mixed across countries where we asked about the importance Buddhism. In Thailand (61%) and Sri Lanka (56%), majorities say being a Buddhist is very important for being truly Thai and Sri Lankan.
But in South Korea, only 4% take a similar position, and roughly half say that being a Buddhist is not at all important to being truly South Korean. (In South Korea, we also asked about Christianity; 14% of adults say that being a Christian is very important to being truly South Korean.)
And in countries where we asked about the importance of Islam, roughly half or more say being a Muslim is a very important piece of national identity. Among Indonesian adults, eight-in-ten say being a Muslim is very important to being truly Indonesian.
In India, where we asked about the importance Hinduism, 64% say being a Hindu is very important to being truly Indian.
Countries with multiple historically predominant religions
In Japan, Nigeria and South Korea, we asked about more than one historically predominant religion: Buddhism and Shinto in Japan, Christianity and Islam in Nigeria, and Christianity and Buddhism in South Korea. In all three countries, there are relatively small differences in the shares who say being a member of either religion is very important to national identity.
In Japan and South Korea, the shares emphasizing the importance of religion are relatively small, regardless of the religion in question. For example, in Japan, 6% say that being a Buddhist is very important to being truly Japanese, while 5% say the same of being a Shinto. In Nigeria, though, substantial shares say that being a Christian (49%) is very important to being truly Nigerian and 48% say being a Muslim is very important to being truly Nigerian.
How does religion compare in importance with other aspects of national identity?
Compared with other aspects of national identity we asked about – language, birthplace, and customs and traditions – religion tends to rank at, or near, the bottom in terms of importance, especially in the high-income countries surveyed. (Data about birthplace, language and customs comes from 2023 for some countries. Refer to the topline for more information.)
Israel is the only high-income country where religion does not rank least important of the four aspects of national identity asked. Instead, among Israelis, being a Jew (34%) ranks second only to speaking Hebrew (43%) in assessments of what is very important for being truly Israeli.
Tunisia stands out as the only country surveyed where religion is ranked most important of the four components of national identity we asked about. In Indonesia – where roughly three-quarters of adults or more say each component is very important to national identity – religion is tied with customs and traditions, ranking second.
For more analysis of the importance of various dimensions of national identity, read “What makes someone ‘truly’ belong in a country? Views differ on importance of language, birthplace and other factors.”
How do views of the importance of religion to national identity vary?
In every country where the sample size permits such analysis, people who identify with the historically predominant religion are more likely than those who don’t to say that being a member of that religion is very important to sharing the national identity.
Adults who are affiliated with a religion are consistently more likely than the religiously unaffiliated (those who are atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular”) to say it’s very important to be part of their country’s historically predominant religion in order to be truly part of its citizenry. But the share of the unaffiliated who see it as very important varies widely.
In some high-income countries (like Australia, Canada, France, Japan, South Korea, Spain and Sweden), almost none of the unaffiliated population sees being the country’s religion as very important. However, in some middle-income countries (including Brazil, Colombia, Peru and South Africa), around one-in-five or more unaffiliated see it as very important, even if they themselves are unaffiliated.
Views by religiousness
In many countries, people who pray at least daily are more likely than those who pray less often to say religion is very important to national identity.
For example, roughly seven-in-ten Malaysians who pray at least daily (69%) say being a Muslim is very important for being truly Malaysian, compared with a third of Malaysians who pray less often – a difference of 36 percentage points.
And in South Korea, nearly half of adults who pray daily (46%) say being a Christian is very important for being truly South Korean, while 3% of those who pray less frequently agree. South Koreans who pray daily are also somewhat more likely than those who pray less frequently to say that being a Buddhist is very important for being truly South Korean (8% vs. 2%).
Views by age
Older adults in many countries are more likely than younger people to say that being part of the country’s historically predominant religion is a very important piece of national identity. (These differences persist even after statistically controlling for levels of religiousness.)
This gap is largest in Thailand, where roughly three-quarters of adults ages 50 and older say being a Buddhist is very important to being truly Thai, while roughly four-in-ten adults ages 18 to 34 say the same – a difference of 31 points.
Views by ideology
The perceived importance of religion to national identity also varies by ideology. People on the ideological right tend to be more likely than those on the ideological left to say being a member of the historically predominant religion is very important to truly sharing their national identity.
In Turkey, for example, three-quarters of those on the right say being a Muslim is very important for being truly Turkish, while roughly a third on the left say the same. And in the U.S., about a third of conservatives say that being a Christian is very important for being truly American, while 6% of liberals agree.
Views by populist party support
In some European countries, supporters of right-wing populist parties place greater importance on religion as an element of national belonging.
In Poland, for instance, four-in-ten supporters of the Law and Justice party (PiS) say being a Christian is very important for being truly Polish, while about one-in-ten nonsupporters say the same (40% vs. 11%). A similar pattern shows up among supporters of right-wing populist parties in France, Hungary, Italy, Spain and the UK. (For more information on how we classify populist parties, read the Appendix.)
