Religion may once have been the opium of the people, but in large swaths of the world the masses have kicked the habit. Particularly in countries once dominated by churches characterised by patriarchy, ritual and hierarchy, the pews have emptied and people have found other sources of solace, spirituality and morality.

In the US, those who say they are atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” is up from 17% in 2009 to 26% last year. In Britain, according to the most recent data, more than half he population proclaimed no faith in 2018, rising from 43% to 52% in a decade.

But there are many different ways of being an unbeliever – including labels such as atheist, agnostic, humanist, free thinker, sceptic, secular and spiritual but not religious. According to Understanding Unbelief, an academic research project based at the University of Canterbury, “unbelief in God doesn’t necessarily entail unbelief in other supernatural phenomena… Another common supposition – that of the purposeless unbeliever, lacking anything to ascribe ultimate meaning to the universe – also does not bear scrutiny.”

Who are the unbelievers, and what principles guide their lives? The British photographer Aubrey Wade met more than 30 people from five countries over the course of a year to find out. “Belief is a word we use all the time, often without really being able to explain precisely what it means,” he says. “And in practice most people hold at least some conflicting beliefs about the world.”

Wade says he was struck by “how many ways there are of making sense of life’s big questions, with and without a concept of God or gods. For some people unbelief and religiosity don’t go together at all, while for others they are comfortable bedfellows.” In Japan, for instance, “the distinction isn’t even relevant for most people”.

“The pandemic we’re living through has given us all reasons to reflect on what gives our lives meaning,” he adds. “I’ve learned that atheist individuals and cultures of unbelief are as diverse as religious ones. What unites them is the drive to seek meaning and purpose in life.”

Introduction by Harriet Sherwood / Interviews by Aubrey Wade

Take part in Aubrey's follow up project on nonbelief in the United States here.