Yesterday, the Pew Forum released a fascinating demographic study of Christianity around the world. Christians make up the largest religious group in the world today, about two billion people, roughly one-third of the world’s population. By comparison, Muslims, the next largest group, make up less than a quarter. Geographically, Christians are quite dispersed. Although 100 years ago the vast majority lived in Europe, today only 26% of Christians are there. Roughly 37% live in the Americas, 13% in Asia and the Pacific, and 24% in sub-Saharan Africa. These numbers reflect the much-noted shift of Christianity to the “Global South” over the last century. With regard to church traditions, the study finds that roughly half of the world’s Christians are Catholic, about 40% Protestant, about 12% Orthodox, and about one percent members of new traditions like the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons. The report contains helpful interactive maps that illustrate the global distribution of Christians.
Pew Forum Reports Rise in Restrictions on Religion
The well-regarded Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has updated its report on restrictions on religion around the world. Pew counts not only laws and official policies that limit the exercise of religion, but also “social hostilities,” defined as private acts like mob violence and other sorts of intimidation. Pew reports that restrictions on religion increased substantially for one-third of the world’s population in the three years between 2006 and 2009. The Middle East/North Africa had the largest proportion of countries with a rise in government restrictions; Europe had the largest proportion of countries with a rise in social hostilities. The full report is here. — MLM