Poll: Czech Republic second-most atheist country

The Czech Republic is the second most atheist country in the world, according to a new survey tracking international trends in faith. The WIN-Gallup International network of opinion pollsters found that the most ‘convinced atheists’ were in Japan, at 31%, followed by the Czech Republic at 30% and France at 29%. Compared with 2005, the poll recorded a nine-point drop in religiosity worldwide, or amongst the 57 countries surveyed. The greatest change was noted in Vietnam, where the communist government has, in recent years, variably tolerated and harassed different religious groups, and in traditionally Catholic Ireland, where only 47% said they were ‘religious’ - a 22-point drop from the 69% recorded seven years ago. The Czech Republic has long been rated the most non-religious country in Europe, followed by Estonia. Domestic polls from last year put the percentage of people with religious tendencies at roughly 35%.