USA, March 21, 2006: HPI found this report from a Christian news service remarkable not for the increase in percent of Christians among teens in Japan, but for the abysmal low numbers of religious people at all. Just 30% of adults and 20% of teens consider themselves “religious.” The same trend is found in Europe, but to a lesser extent in the US. A report, here, states, “While 59 percent of Americans say that religion is very important in their lives, only 11 percent of the French, 21 percent of Germans, and 33 percent of Britons do, according to the Pew Research Center.”
The latest Gallup poll revealed a much higher percentage of Christians in Japan compared to previous surveys, including a surprising high number of teens who claimed the Christian faith, the Christian Post reports. In a country where only one percent is Christian among those who claim a faith, findings from one of the most extensive surveys of the country ever taken showed a Christian population of six percent. The popular, traditional religions – Buddhism and Shintoism – suffered declines. Of the 30 percent of adults who claimed to have a religion, 75 percent considered themselves Buddhists, 19 percent Shintoists and 12 percent Christians, according to Gallup. Of the 20 percent of youths who professed to have a religion, 60 percent called themselves Buddhists, 36 percent Christians and Shintoists. “These projections mean that seven percent of the total teenage population say they are Christians,” said George Gallup Jr., who called the numbers “stunning.”