Religion may become extinct in nine nations, study says

"A study using census data from nine countries shows that religion there is set for extinction, say researchers.

The study found a steady rise in those claiming no religious affiliation.

[...]

The team took census data stretching back as far as a century from countries in which the census queried religious affiliation: Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland.

[...]

"The idea is pretty simple," said Richard Wiener of the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, and the University of Arizona.

"It posits that social groups that have more members are going to be more attractive to join, and it posits that social groups have a social status or utility.

[...]

Dr Wiener continued: "In a large number of modern secular democracies, there's been a trend that folk are identifying themselves as non-affiliated with religion; in the Netherlands the number was 40%, and the highest we saw was in the Czech Republic, where the number was 60%."

[...]

And in all the countries, the indications were that religion was headed toward extinction."

BBC News, 22 March 2011

Even in Ireland!

Religions more safe in ‘secular’ nations, U.S. nun says

"Faith believers are safer in a secular society than in one that professes to be religious, said a Benedictine nun.
During a series of July talks in New Zealand, Sister Joan Chittister, a Benedictine Sister of Erie, Pa., weighed in on the discussion of whether the South Pacific country is or should designate itself as a Christian nation, stating that New Zealand and all other countries should be secular.
"In a secular state, all religions are safe," Sister Chittister responded to a group at St. Matthew-in-the-City, an Anglican church here, at which she preached on July 15. "In a religious state, few religions are safe,” she said."

Catholic Online, 7/31/2007

Most Kiwis against official religion

"More than half of New Zealanders are opposed to Christianity being the country's official religion, according to a poll.
Research New Zealand director Emanuel Kalafatelis said 58 per cent of the 501 people surveyed during the poll this month disagreed with recognising Christianity as the country's official religion.
"Just over a third (35 per cent) agreed with the idea of having Christianity officially recognised," Mr Kalafatelis said.

[...]

Men were more opposed to the idea of recognising Christianity than women, with 63 per cent of men disagreeing with it compared to 54 per cent of women.
Younger people were also much more likely to disagree with officially recognising Christianity than women.
"The research also showed that 66 per cent of those polled were in favour of making it compulsory for schools to teach about the different religions of the world," Mr Kalafatelis said."

Yahoo, AAP, June 17 2007

With (first and foremost) men and younger people on the opposing side, it also means it's the less religious who are opposed, not competing religions.
(Having said that: 501 people asked is exactly half of the number of people that should have been asked.)