Atheism, humanism, and all the rest of the nontheistic isms show up in different ways around the world. What follows is a list of some of the most interesting places to watch for developments in religious disbelief.
Earth: Current home to 1.1 billion nontheistic people.
Ireland: Where those who call themselves “religious” dropped from 69 percent to 47 percent in seven years — the largest drop on Earth.
United States: Where the religiously unaffiliated made up the single largest belief bloc (23 percent) of those electing Barack Obama to his second presidential term.
Norway: Where 80 percent of the population belongs to the Lutheran Church of Norway but 72 percent don’t believe in God.
Québec: Once 83 percent Catholic and the most religious province in Canada, now 83 percent Catholic and the least religious province in Canada. Yes.
United Kingdom: Where there’s a state religion and religious education and prayer services in schools — and belief in God is currently down to 38 percent.