A cross-national analysis of demographic variation in belief in God, gods, or spiritual forces in 22 countries

Abstract

Abstract Although prior research documents the importance of belief in God (e.g., for health and well-being), most of the research has focused on Western samples. Much less is known about how belief in one God, multiple gods, or spiritual forces (“Belief in God”) differs across cultures and demographic groups within those cultures. Using a diverse and international dataset of over 200,000 individuals from 22 countries, we examined the proportions of Belief in God across key demographics, focusing on country, age, gender, marital status, employment status, religious service attendance, education, and immigration status. Being mindful of interpretative challenges due to varying cultural contexts and the nature of the response items used, we offer insight into country-specific variations in Belief in God and lay a foundation for future investigations into sociocultural influences that might shape—or be shaped by—belief (or non-belief) in God, gods, and spiritual forces.