worldwide poll of religious beliefs has been released, and results suggests that while most of the planet's inhabitants believe in a deity, participation in institutional religious movements is far from universal.

   The survey was conducted in 60 countries by the London-based Taylor Nelson Sofres marketing research firm and the Gallup International Association. According to a poll summation, the surveyed nations represent 1.25 billion citizens. While this suggests a limitation for producing accurate results, the countries targeted represent members of the major "civilizations" outlined by political theorists like Samuel Huntington, and include Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist blocks.

   ¶    Eighty-seven percent of respondents said that they consider themselves to be part of some religion; 13% denied any religious affiliation. Within the 87% cohort, though, there were significant variations based on a number of factors including education and geography.

   West Africa, for instance, seems to have the highest percentage of religious believers -- 99%. Here, Muslims represent the largest segment of believers, although the area has been aggressively proselytized by Roman Catholics and Protestant Evangelicals. Ninety-seven percent of those in West Africa say that God is "very important" in their lives. Similar percentages were reported from those responding in Ghana, Nigeria, the Philippines, Columbia and Pakistan.

   Belief is also strong throughout Latin America (88%) and North America (82%).

   Atheists, agnostics and other who do not consider themselves religious seem most prevalent in East Asia and Europe. Sixty-four percent of those questioned in the Czech Republic said that "God does not matter" in their lives, followed by 55% in Sweden, 52% in Norway, and 49% in Denmark.

   Despite its long status as a British colony and missionary outpost -- a jumping off point for evangelical efforts throughout the region over the past century -- Hong Kong had a strikingly high number of people who said they did not believe in any religion, 64%. That was slightly more than the Czech Republic (55%). Another anomaly is South Korea, which thanks to the cold war was also a locus of fervent missionary activity. Forty-six percent of respondents there said that they did not believe in the teachings of any religion.

   ¶    As expected claims about religious belief do not correlate with attendance at a church, mosque or other house of worship. Globally, the survey found that about 87% of those asked said that they followed "some religion," but only 32% insisted that they attended services once a week. Thirty-five percent claimed to attend "every now and then" (defined as once a month, once a year or only on religious holidays), and 33% "never."

   ¶    The Sofres-Gallup survey confirmed other research, and found that higher levels of formal education are associated with lower levels of religious belief. Worldwide, 52% of college grads were "religious" compared with 54% who had only a high school education, and 70% of those completing only school at the primary level. In addition, women were generally "more committed than men."

   ¶    Geography and culture played a key role in shaping how different groups envisioned a God Forty-five percent consider the deity "as a person," while 30% used a vague term like "force" or "spirit." Fourteen percent had no image, and in this category of questioning, 8% responded that they did not believe in the existence of a deity. Three percent gave no response.

   Again, people with less education displayed the penchant to "personalize" the God of their particular belief, while those with more schooling tended to embrace a more abstract and amorphous vision of a deity, or reject the belief altogether. Men were more likely to be atheists.

   ¶    Sectarian chauvinism remains strong in areas where there is little education and strong religious belief. Forty-six percent of those surveyed expressed the opinion that "there is more than one true religion," whereas 31% defined their own religion as the "true" faith. Ten percent of respondents said that no religion was true, and 13% gave no response.

   Within the 31% cohort believing their own to be the one, "true" religion, the bulk of these respondents were found among the elderly, women, and those with only a primary school level of education. Geographically, they tended to be concentrated heavily in Latin America and West Africa. Despite high rates of religious belief, North Americans actually tended to be the most ecumenical, and Europeans emerged as having the highest rates of doubting or rejecting religious faith altogether.

   The survey asks: "Is there room the New Millennium for a 'clash of civilizations' scenario like that described by some scholars, with religion fueling the conflicts?" and responds, "Only God can tell."

   The reference ("clash of civilizations") is to the theory articulated by Samuel P. Huntington in his 1996 opus "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order" (N.Y., Simon & Shuster). Huntington painted the scenario of a post-cold war world where the former bipolar alignment of power (East versus West) was gradually replaced by a multi-polar conflict involving regional units or "civilizations." These groupings of people and nation states were along lines which emphasized not only proximity but language, nationality, ethnicity and religious belief. This would include Christian (Western and Orthodox), Muslim, Sinic-Animist-Buddhist, and Hindu. In the twenty-first century, religion would play more, not less, of a role on the world stage.

   It remains to be seen whether this scenario will come true, although "civilization groupies" in both the academy and the political-intelligence sectors see confirmation in the events taking place in Bosnia, Afghanistan, the underbelly of Russia, and China. The Sofres-GIA survey confirms regional differences, but a key factor seems to be education. In a nutshell, better educated people have lower rates of religious belief, tend to doubt religious claims, and -- if they do believe-- are less chauvinistic in promoting theirs as the "one true faith" over their educationally deprived counterparts. Rates of disbelief are likely higher among males because of education; with more women going to school, the ranks of female doubters is likely to increase with time.

   Along with the Millennium Survey, Gallup International released another study dealing with religion in the United States. Among the finding and claims here:

   ¶    About 31% of Americans say that they attend religious services once a week. Eight percent responded "Never" or "practically never," with 9% showing up to a house of worship "Only on special holy days." Eleven percent claimed that they attended "once a month..."

   These figures may be high, though. Follow-up surveys on claims of church attendance suggest that people sometimes inflate their rate of participation, or lie because they are embarrassed to admit that they avoid church, temple or mosque.

   ¶    Despite being described as "a nation of churchgoers," 71% of Americans express a surprising ecumenical tolerance. When asked: "Would you say that there exists one and only one true religion, that there is truth in many religions or that there is no essential truth in any religion?" 71% responded with "Many true religions," and only 21% claimed their faith to be "the only one true religion."

   ¶    How significant was the God of their faith? Americans were asked to rate this importance on a scale of one ("not at all important" to 10 ("very important"). Sixty-three percent said that God was "very important," with the next 15% cohort falling in the 8 or 9 range. At the other end of the spectrum, 4% listed "not at all important," with the next 9% grouping ranging from 2-6. Interestingly, far more claimed that God was "very important" than said that they went to church once a week or more.

   ¶    Going to church, mosque or temple is an act of public display. Response rates were extraordinarily high regarding an activity far more private (and thus non-verifiable), that of engaging in personal prayer, meditation or "something like that." Eighty-seven percent claimed that they took "some moments" for this activity, while 13% said that they did not.

   ¶    What about rates of belief in God in America? Sixty-four percent said that they believed in a "personal God," with another 26% expressing acceptance of God as a "spirit of life force." Only 2% in the American survey responded: "I don't really think there is any sort of spirit, God or life force," while another 1% gave no answer, and 5% said "I really don't know what to think."

   ¶    Thirty-eight percent of Canadians said that they "never or practically never attend religious services." This contrasts with the 8% response in this category for Americans. Canadians show substantially lower rates of church attendance for every time category (once a month, one a week, only on holy days) than their cousins to the South.

   ¶    Fifteen percent of Canadians embrace their faith as the "only true religion," lower than the 21% figure for Americans. Sixty-six percent hold that there are "Many true religions," while 13% say there is no one, true faith.

   ¶    More Canadians said that God was unimportant to them (9% over the American 4%), and only 35% considered a deity to be "very important," compared to 63% of Americans.

   ¶    Two-thirds of Canadians claimed to engage in private prayer or meditation, with 31% saying that they never prayed or contemplated their navels. Forty-four percent of Canadians believe in a God, while another 37% suggest that this God is a "spirit or life force." Six percent responded to the category: "I don't really think there is any sort of spirit, God or life force," while 10% said "I don't know what to think," and 3% did not answer.

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