The countries that think religion is important to them, mapped

A "burkini ban" issued in Cannes has been overturned by a court in Nice on the basis that it violates basic freedoms.

The decision follows a separate ruling last week by France’s highest administrative court, which suspended the ban, as three senior judges on the Conseil d’Etat said the ban:

has dealt a serious and clearly illegal blow to fundamental liberties such as the freedom of movement, freedom of conscience and personal liberty.

The mayor of Cannes, David Lisnard, introduced the ban earlier this month to prohibit...

...beachwear ostentatiously showing a religious affiliation while France and places of religious significance are the target of terror attacks.

Despite the current debate over secularism and religious clothing in the country, in Pew Research Centre's Spring 2015 Global Attitudes survey, only 14 per cent of French respondents said that religion was very important in their lives, the third lowest score of 40 countries.

Religion was found to be most important in countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and South America.

In the UK, 21 per cent of respondents said religion was very important to them.

There also appeared to be a relationship between the wealth of a country and the overall importance of religion among the population.

More: A map of France according to who wants to ban the Burkini (so far)

More: These maps will change the way you think about religion