For decades, the global religious landscape has been defined by movement—people leaving the faiths of their childhood for new spiritual homes. While Christianity has seen significant churn in the West, a major new study from the Pew Research Center reveals that Islam remains remarkably stable across most of the world, with one notable exception: the United States.
“Religious Switching Into and Out of Islam,” analyzes survey data from 36 countries, focusing on 13 nations with sufficient Muslim populations to track patterns. The findings paint a picture of a religion with exceptionally high retention rates globally, yet one that is also quietly becoming a destination for converts in diverse places like Kenya and, most prominently, America.
Global Stability: The “Virtually All” Phenomenon
In a world where religious disaffiliation is on the rise, the report’s first major finding is one of solidity. Across the 13 countries analyzed, the vast majority of people raised as Muslims continue to identify as such in adulthood.
In nations such as Indonesia (the world’s largest Muslim-majority country), Bangladesh, India, Israel, Tunisia, and Turkey, retention rates round to nearly 100%. The report notes that “virtually all adults who answer survey questions by saying they were raised Muslim still identify that way today.”
This stability translates into negligible net change for the religion’s population share. For instance, in Indonesia, 93% of adults were raised Muslim, and 93% currently identify as Muslim—a net change of less than 1% due to switching.
The U.S. Exception: High Retention, Higher Accession
While Islam shows remarkable stickiness globally, the United States stands apart. The U.S. has the lowest Muslim retention rate of the countries surveyed—yet it also has the highest rate of people entering the faith.
According to the data, roughly three-quarters (75%) of Americans who were raised Muslim still identify as such. This means that one-quarter of those raised Muslim in the U.S. have left. However, this outflow is balanced by a significant inflow: 20% of current U.S. Muslims—one in five—were not raised in the faith. They are converts.
This “accession” rate is the highest among all 13 nations studied. Most of these new entrants into American Islam come from Christianity (13%), while a smaller portion come from a religiously unaffiliated background.
In Kenya, a similar dynamic exists on a smaller scale, with 11% of current Kenyan Muslims having joined the faith, primarily from Christianity.
Global Stability vs. U.S. Exception
Data shows the percentage of adults who were raised Muslim and remain Muslim today.
| Country | Muslim Retention Rate | % of Current Muslims Who Converted In (Accession) |
|---|---|---|
| Indonesia | ~100% | <1% |
| Turkey | ~100% | <1% |
| Bangladesh | ~100% | <1% |
| United States | 75% | 20% |
| Kenya | 92% | 11% |
Where Are People Leaving Islam Going?
For those who do leave Islam, the Pew data clarifies two primary destinations. Across the 13 countries, the majority of former Muslims either:
- Become religiously unaffiliated (identifying as atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular”), or
- Identify as Christian.
In the U.S., 13% of those raised Muslim now identify as unaffiliated, while 6% now identify as Christian. A similar pattern appears in sub-Saharan Africa, where in Kenya, 8% of those raised Muslim now identify as Christian, and in Ghana, 6% do.
Where Former Muslims Go
Among adults raised Muslim who no longer identify as Muslim, these are their new affiliations.
| Country | Now Religiously Unaffiliated | Now Christian |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 13% | 6% |
| Kenya | 4% | 8% |
| Ghana | 3% | 6% |
A Nuanced View of Religious Change
The Pew Research Center’s analysis highlights that religious switching is a complex, two-way street. While headlines often focus on who is leaving a religion, the data on Islam shows a faith that, outside the West, is retaining its adherents at historic rates.
“The survey does not show much variation in Muslim retention rates,” the report states. “In most places, upward of 90% of people raised as Muslims have remained Muslims as adults.”
For global policymakers, sociologists, and religious communities, this data offers a critical insight: in an era of flux, Islam remains a bastion of stability in most of the world, even as it quietly gains new adherents in Western nations like the United States.
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