A major global study has found that the majority of people around the world still believe in God or a higher power, even in regions where religious belief is declining.
The research, known as The Patmos Initiative, was carried out by Gallup over three years and surveyed 90,000 individuals across 85 countries. It was commissioned by the British and Foreign Bible Society and United Bible Societies to explore how people view faith, God, and the Bible.
The study divided the world into seven regions or "mission clusters" based on religious and cultural context. For instance, Cluster 1 included areas like Pakistan and the Sahel, where Muslims are the majority and Christians are a small, under-resourced minority. In contrast, Cluster 2 covered parts of Central and Eastern Europe where Christianity is declining and secularism is rising.
Even in secular parts of the world, belief in God remains strong. In countries like the UK, categorized under Cluster 5 as part of the secular West, 62% of people said they believe in God.
In five of the seven global clusters, the majority of respondents said religion plays an important role in their everyday lives. The report also confirmed that belief in God or a higher power is widespread across all regions studied.
However, the study also uncovered major gaps in Bible knowledge. In some areas of Asia—especially Southeast Asia and India—up to 75% of people are unfamiliar with the Bible, and more than half are unaware it exists at all. In some of these regions, over 56% of those surveyed said they had never heard of the Bible.
A further challenge noted in the report is that many Christians—around one in four globally—do not own a Bible in a language they can understand.
Despite this, there is global interest in Scripture, particularly among children. About 70% of people surveyed said it is a good idea for children to learn Bible stories. Even among non-Christians, 11% said they want to know more about the Bible—equal to roughly 250 million people.
Bible use is strongest in areas where Christians are a minority, especially in Muslim-majority nations. By contrast, Bible engagement is lowest in the secular West. Shockingly, nearly one-third of Christians worldwide said the Bible does not feel personally relevant to them. Only 42% of Christians surveyed read the Bible weekly.
Richard Powney, who led the project, said the data challenges the idea that faith is fading around the world. “In five of the seven global contexts we studied, the majority of people still consider religion an important part of their daily lives,” he said.
Dirk Gevers, Secretary General of United Bible Societies, called the findings both “encouraging” and “a call to action.” He added, “Our hope is that The Patmos Initiative will inspire greater efforts to make the Bible more available and help people engage with it more deeply.”
