Most Japanese people say they don't follow a religion, but is that true?
Most Japanese people don't affiliate themselves with a relgion, but are they religious?
Most Japanese people don't identify with a religion, but are they religious?
"non-religious" と "atheist" は同じものではありません。
Japanese people cannot be described as "atheist" because they pray to the gods of nature. If they do not practice a religion, or pray to a single God, then they are non-relgious. If they pray at the shrine, then they aren't atheist. Atheist means you don't believe any god can exist.
おそらく多くの日本人は、agnostic(不可知論者:神の存在を証明することも否定することもできないと考える人)であると言えるのではないでしょうか。