The following are the results of a search with Excite for the names of various religions - eg, Islam [on August 8 1996]; and of adjectives describing their adherents - eg, Moslem/Muslim [on July 27]. The number of Web pages is not the total mentions, but the number of pages on which the word is used at least once.

Religions are ranked here on the basis of the number of pages with at least one mention of the name of the religion. Inevitably the results show a cultural bias towards Western religions and religions of interest in the West. Some of the words will also occur in a purely cultural or historical context without denoting affiliation. Wiccan and Bahai have the advantage that the noun and adjective are the same.

The table shows the enormous amount of ground that pantheism must make up to establish itself as a recognized religion. Our score is not pathetic - we are within reach of Jainism and Zoroastrianism, for example, though they would be much higher if web access in South Asia were higher.

But considering that most environmentalists and pagans, many humanists and atheists, and many Christians, Buddhists and Hindus are pantheists at least emotionally, it is time that the imbalance was corrected.