About half are Catholic. See Defining Christian Traditions. Clearly, Christianity has spread far from its historical origins. For example:. The Pew Forum study suggests at least four possible answers, depending on how one divides up the world:. This reflects the fact that the total population of the Global South is about 4.
Another way of looking at the distribution of Christians around the world is by region. Numerically, at least, Europe no longer dominates global Christianity the way it did years ago. Rather, the bulk of Christians are in:.
The three countries with the largest Christian populations — the United States, Brazil and Mexico — are in the Americas. But sub-Saharan Africa and the Asia-Pacific region now have a combined population of about million Christians, roughly the same as the Americas. Moreover, the fastest growth in the number of Christians over the past century has been in sub-Saharan Africa a roughly fold increase, from fewer than 9 million in to more than million in and in the Asia-Pacific region a roughly fold increase, from about 28 million in to more than million in The Pew Forum, in consultation with demographers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis IIASA in Laxenburg, Austria, acquired and analyzed about 2, data sources, including censuses and general population surveys, to arrive at Christian population figures for countries and self-administering territories — all the countries and territories for which the United Nations Population Division provides overall population estimates.
Globally, however, the effect of religious switching is overshadowed by the impact of differences in fertility and mortality. Indeed, fertility differences between religious groups are one of the key factors behind current population trends and will be important for future growth. Globally, Muslims have the highest fertility rate of any religious group — an average of 2.
This fertility advantage is one reason why Muslims are expected to catch up with Christians in absolute number and as a share of the global population in the coming decades. Christians have the second highest fertility rate, at 2. Hindu and Jewish fertility 2. All other major religious groups have fertility levels too low to sustain their populations. Learn about Muslims and Islam through four short lessons delivered to your inbox every other day.
Sign up now! Age differences are also important for future growth. Muslims have the youngest median age 24 of all religious groups, which is also expected to contribute to their rapid growth. All the other groups are older than the global median, which is part of the reason they are expected to fall behind the pace of global population growth. Find out more ». Share this article via facebook Share this article via twitter Share this article via messenger Share this with Share this article via email Share this article via flipboard Copy link.
Share this article via comment Share this article via facebook Share this article via twitter. More Stories. Today's Best Discounts. Twenty-one bishops sit in the House of Lords by right.
However the government is secular. In , more than countries and territories have no official or preferred religion. The oldest religion in the world is considered to be Hinduism, which dates back to about 7, BCE. Then along came Christianity, followed about years later by Islam. Some might argue that the newest religion is no religion , although non-believers have been around as long as humans.
But periodically new religious movements spring up, such as Kopimism , an internet religion, the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster or Pastafarianism officially recognised by the New Zealand government but not the Dutch , and Terasem, a transreligion that believes death is optional and God is technological. In , the Temple of the Jedi Order, members of which follow the tenets of the faith central to the Star Wars films, failed in its effort to be recognised as a religious organisation under UK charity law.
In the last two censuses, Jedi has been the most popular alternative religion with more than , people 0. By , numbers had dropped sharply, but there were still , people who told the government they were Jedi Knights. Of course — there are huge consequences to religious belief and practice. Firstly, countless wars and conflicts have had an overt or covert religious dimension throughout history right up to the present day.
Donald Trump won the presidential election with the overwhelming support of white evangelical Christians. Legislators in Argentina recently voted against legalising abortion under pressure from Catholic bishops and the pope. There are millions of people of faith across the world engaging in social action projects to help the poor and marginalised.
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