Finally, the chapter examines the growth of non-Christian religions in the U.S. and takes a closer look at the composition of the religiously unaffiliated population.
Even smaller religions in the U.S. reflect considerable internal diversity. For instance, most Jews (1.7% of the overall adult population) identify with one of three major groups: Reform, Conservative or Orthodox Judaism.
The survey did not include enough interviews with Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus or members of other religions to permit reliable analysis of the connection between their religious education and knowledge of their respective religions.
In the survey, 4% of American adolescents identify with non-Christian religions, such as Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism or others.16 About a third of U.S. teens (32%) say they are religiously unaffiliated, including 6% who describe themselves as atheists, 4% who are agnostics and 23% who say their religion is “nothing in particular.”
laboration involving social scientists in about 50 countries. During the same period, the share of Russia’s population tha does not identify with any religion dropped from 61% to 18%. The share of Russian adults identifying with other religions, including Islam, Protestant Christianity nd Roman Catholicism, rose in the 1990s and then leveled off
All the major world religions – including but not limited to Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism – promote specific types of family formations and offer guidance on the roles that people play within the home. These teachings take many forms, from explicit rules to popular sayings and stories.10
The share of Indians who switch religions is modest and does not appear to be a major factor in demographic change. While India’s constitution guarantees citizens the freedom to “practice, profess and propagate” their religion, nine Indian states have laws that restrict proselytizing and conversion to Islam and Christianity.