Nor is it clear at what rate Islam, Buddhism and other faiths may be gaining adherents in China. Pew Research Centers recent survey of 18 countries in Central and Eastern Europe covering most, but not all, of the region included 11 countries with official or preferred religions (usually Orthodox Christianity) and seven with no official or preferred faiths.34. For example, the religiously unaffiliated population is heavily concentrated in places with aging populations and low fertility, such as China, Japan, Europe and North America. Counting both adults and children, Christians constitute a sizable majority of the 2010 U.S. population (78%). Religious and cultural factors - Factors affecting food choice - CCEA By 2035, unaffiliated deaths are expected to outnumber births in Europe as well. This large natural increase results from both high Muslim fertility and the concentration of the Muslim population in younger age groups, which have lower mortality rates. The State of Religious Freedom in the U.S. - Harvard Divinity School By definition, all countries with preferred or favored religions (but not official state religions) provide some practical benefits to those religions (see above). By the 2055 to 2060 period, the birth gap between the two groups is expected to approach 6 million (232 million births among Muslims vs. 226 million births among Christians).1. There may be some time periods during which people of all ages are prone to religious switching, such as when political circumstances in a country encourage or discourage religious identity or lack of religious identity. (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main By far the largest of these groups is Sikhs, who numbered about 25 million in 2015, according to the World Religion Database. Typically, the government describes these religions as traditional or part of the countrys historic culture. All other religions combined an umbrella category that includes Bahais, Jains, Sikhs, Taoists and many smaller faiths also are projected to decrease slightly in number, from a total of approximately 59.7 million in 2015 to 59.4 million in 2060.6. In many cases, governments also provide funding or resources for religious property, including for the maintenance, upkeep or repair of religious buildings or land. How Does Religion Shape Culture? - WorldAtlas Seven sub-Saharan countries (15%) have a favored religion, while five (10%) have an official state religion: Comoros, Djibouti, Mauritania, Somalia and Zambia. State religion - Wikipedia While the relatively young Christian population of a region like sub-Saharan Africa is projected to grow in the decades ahead, the same cannot be said for Christian populations everywhere. These restrictions are analyzed using the Government Restrictions Index (GRI), a 10-point scale measuring government laws, practices and actions that restrict religious beliefs and practices, with a score of 10 indicating the highest level of restrictions.37In countries with an official state religion, the median GRI score was 4.8 in 2015, compared with 2.8 in countries with preferred or favored religions and 1.8 in countries with no official or preferred religion.38. To examine these actions, Pew Research Center conducts a separate, broader, analysis of government restrictions on religion each year. After Christianity, Buddhism is the next most commonly favored religion. Among the 40 countries that have a preferred or favored religion but not an official state religion most favor Christianity. Bringing people of different faiths together to solve the world's On the contrary, at the center of World Christianity is a story. No countries in Europe or the Americas have Islam as their official religion. In other words, states with these state-religion relationships will, by definition, always score highly on the GRI; it is an endogenous relationship. Europe - Religious Diversity and Population Mobility | Britannica Currently, more Muslims live in Asia and the Pacific than in any other region, and as a result, this region had the largest natural increase in the Muslim population between 2010 and 2015. John Calvin Reformation, also called Protestant Reformation, the religious revolution that took place in the Western church in the 16th century. Since this is highly correlated with whether the state has an official or favored religion, the index was recalculated without this indicator for the purposes of this analysis. Comparison of percentage distribution of individuals by age category between the study sample and the national census in China (2009) and Korea (2010). For further analysis of the different trajectories of religiously affiliated and unaffiliated populations, see Hackett, Conrad, Marcin Stonawski, Michaela Potanokov, Brian J. For definitions of the religious groups, see the Pew Research Centers December 2012 report . Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World, Religious Diversity Index Scores by Country table, Global Christianity: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the Worlds Christian Population, Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the Worlds Muslim Population, Among U.S. Latinos, Catholicism Continues to Decline but Is Still the Largest Faith, Key Findings From the Global Religious Futures Project, Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050, How COVID-19 Restrictions Affected Religious Groups Around the World in 2020, Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project, Religious Characteristics of Demographic Groups, Gun Violence Widely Viewed as a Major and Growing National Problem, A record-high share of 40-year-olds in the U.S. have never been married, Majorities of Americans Prioritize Renewable Energy, Back Steps to Address Climate Change, More Americans Disapprove Than Approve of Colleges Considering Race, Ethnicity in Admissions Decisions, International Views of Biden and U.S. Associations of socioeconomic and religious factors with health: a Meanwhile, older Americans are more likely than young adults (under 30) to say that Muslims will be the largest group. Thirteen countries (30% of countries with an official religion) declare Christianity, in general, or a particular Christian denomination to be their official state religion. (+1) 202-857-8562 | Fax These activities include but are not necessarily limited to providing media services, supporting worship or religious practices, or paying religious leaders wages. Indeed, in recent years, Christians have had a disproportionately large share of the worlds deaths (37%) in large part because of the relatively advanced age of Christian populations in some places. Muslims had the second-largest number of births between 2010 and 2015, with 213 million babies born to Muslim mothers. Some atheists, deists, and skeptics regard religious belief as superstition. Between 2055 and 2060, the birth gap between the two groups is expected to approach 6 million (232 million births among Muslims vs. 226 million births among Christians). Generations of Christians throughout the whole world have been consumed . Members of the official or preferred faith also are much more likely than members of other religions to think the dominant faith is an important element in national belonging. By contrast, France has a high degree of religious diversity, ranking 25th among the 232 countries. Between 2015 and 2020, Christians are projected to experience the largest losses due to switching. But two countries stand out: Greece and Poland. But an additional 40 governments around the globe unofficially favor a particular religion, and in most cases the preferred faith is a branch of Christianity. Meanwhile, religious switching and lower fertility will drive down the shares of the global Christian population living in Europe and North America. Mexico - United States Department of State They do not include cultural or ethnic Jews people who have direct Jewish ancestry and who consider themselves at least partially Jewish but who describe themselves, religiously, as atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular. WHO/S. (+1) 202-419-4372 | Media Inquiries. This study, however, takes a relatively straightforward approach to religious diversity. These projections are based on estimates of people who self-identify as Jewish when asked about their religion on national censuses and large-scale surveys. This analysis does not include the last category of state-religion relationships: states with no official or preferred religion that are hostile toward religious institutions. The Pew Research study builds on the methodology developed by Johnson and Grim, a former senior researcher at the Pew Research Center. Jamaica maintains a ban on Obeah, an Afro-Caribbean shamanistic religion, although it is not actively enforced. And in North America, the number of Christian deaths will begin to exceed the number of births by around 2050. According to the new index, the United States has a moderate level of religious diversity, ranking 68th among the 232 countries and territories included in the study. There also are four states with an official religion in each case, Islam that make adhering to that religion mandatory for their citizens: Comoros, Maldives, Mauritania and Saudi Arabia. The Middle East consists of . By 2060, 9% of the global unaffiliated population will live in the United States alone, according to the projections. For the purposes of the religious group projections in this report, these people are categorized as unaffiliated. Five countries Eritrea, Indonesia, Lithuania, Serbia and Togo fit these criteria. Of the 232 countries in the study, Singapore an island nation of more than 5 million people situated at the southern tip of Malaysia has the highest score on the Religious Diversity Index. In Malaysia, various Covid-19 clusters were associated with religious gatherings. (61) So what they're saying is that religion provided structure and meaning for large groups of people in ways that small, tight-knit village communities used to do. It relies on the number of people around the world who view themselves as belonging to various religious groups. Religion: why faith is becoming more and more popular However, in the overwhelming majority of countries, these religions are not specifically measured in censuses, large-scale surveys or population registers. Religious institutions became more defined during this period as state power waned. Among these countries, Lithuania and Serbia both have multiple preferred religions, including various Christian denominations. Likewise in the conflict in Lebanon in 2006, religious differences of perception between Islamists and the Israeli state have been an important factor. Among the 43 countries with official state religions, only three all in Europe meet these criteria: Liechtenstein, Malta and Monaco. Indeed, Christian churches receive preferential treatment in more countries 28 than any other unofficial but favored faith. Guatemala is one of these countries; the government provides tax exemptions for properties of all registered religious groups, while Catholicism is favored by the government in other ways.32, Most countries with a preferred or favored religion also provide funding or resources for religious activities unrelated to education or property, with 45% providing support predominantly for the favored religion and 48% providing support for other groups as well. In recent years, 33% of the worlds babies were born to Christians, which is slightly greater than the Christian share of the worlds population in 2015 (31%). Twenty-eight countries (70%) have Christianity as the preferred religion, mostly in Europe and the Americas. Not only are they more likely to provide financial or legal benefits to a single religion, but they also are more likely to place a high level of government restrictions on other religious groups. 2013. A slightly smaller share of countries (20%) have a preferred or favored religion. In Ireland, traditionally a staunchly Catholic country, the proportion of people identifying with Catholicism fell from 84.2% to 78.3% between the two censuses of 2011 and 2016, and down to 54% . Across the region, a median of 59% say being a member of the dominant denomination in the country is very or somewhat important in order to truly share their national identity for example, to be truly Greek or truly Polish. It also explores the implications of these categories. Only one country in sub-Saharan Africa is officially Christian: Zambia. And in Poland, only a minority (28%) say the Catholic Church should receive financial support from the government. . It is the story of the relationship between God and the world, as told through the lens of Jesus Christ. Roughly equal shares of the worlds Jews live in Israel (42%) and the United States in 2015 (40%). The regional distribution of religious groups is also expected to shift in the coming decades. January 2015 Several factors, including some that are unique to West Africa, helped the virus stay hidden and elude containment measures. No countries in Europe, North America or the Middle East-North Africa region have a very high degree of religious diversity as measured in this study. By Juhie Bhatia | June 25, 2020, at 12:00 p.m. Many Poles, however, are uncomfortable with it; a majority (65%) believe religious leaders should not have this much political influence. Worldwide, the number of Hindus is projected to rise by 27%, from 1.1 billion to 1.4 billion, lagging slightly behind the pace of overall population growth. At present, the best available data indicate that the worldwide impact of religious switching alone, absent any other factors, would be a relatively small increase in the number of Muslims, a substantial increase in the number of unaffiliated people, and a substantial decrease in the number of Christians in coming decades. Abstract The objective of this paper is to understand global connections between indicators of religiosity and health and how these differ cross-nationally. In Europe, however, Christian deaths already outnumber births a deficit that is projected to grow through 2060. But it is not necessarily the case that these countries avoid any promotion or restriction of religious practice. Religion interacts with all of these factors, and together they help shape the culture of a specific group of people. More than 100 countries and territories included in the study have no official or preferred religion as of 2015. Read our research on: LGBTQ Attitudes & Experiences| Artificial Intelligence | Affirmative Action, More than 80 countries favor a specific religion, either as an official, government-endorsed religion or by affording one religion preferential treatment over other faiths, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of data covering 199 countries and territories around the world.1. (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main Globally, however, the effects of religious switching are overshadowed by the impact of differences in fertility and mortality. When these projections were made, no current, nationally representative survey of Indians was available to provide reliable data on both respondents childhood religion and on their current religious affiliation (the basis for calculating switching rates). London: Westminster Abbey Greek Orthodox church Most Europeans adhere to one of three broad divisions of Christianity: Roman Catholicism in the west and southwest, Protestantism in the north, and Eastern Orthodoxy in the east and southeast. Globally, the relatively young population and high fertility rates of Muslims lead to a projection that between 2030 and 2035, there will be slightly more babies born to Muslims (225 million) than to Christians (224 million), even though the total Christian population will still be larger. It may also provide these groups with legal or financial benefits, such as waiving the requirement to register as a religious group, providing funding or resources for religious education, or providing government subsidies. The survey also asked Americans how they expect the share of the global population with no religion to change in the coming decades. Americans who identify with or lean toward the Republican Party are more likely than those who identify as or lean Democratic to predict that Muslims will make up the largest religious group in the world in 2050 (36% vs. 25%). 2010. These populations will continue to have more births than deaths through 2060, but they will grow at a slower rate. One example of a preferred religion is Buddhism in Laos, where the constitution does not explicitly name Buddhism as an official state religion, but says: The State respects and protects all lawful activities of Buddhists and of followers of other religions, [and] mobilizes and encourages Buddhist monks and novices as well as the priests of other religions to participate in activities that are beneficial to the country and people.5In practice, the government sponsors Buddhist facilities, promotes Buddhism as an element of the countrys identity, and uses Buddhist ceremonies and rituals in state functions. Factors that contributed to undetected spread 2013. Jews are such a small share of the global population, however, that the projected change is not visible when percentages are rounded to one decimal place. The global Muslim population also is projected to undergo an important geographic shift toward sub-Saharan Africa. By. Public religious expression, persuasion or conversion by these groups is punishable by death. This benefit was offered to all registered groups, and was not limited to Christians, the favored religion in Liberia.33. In a small minority of countries, the official religion is largely ceremonial or it receives some benefits along with its official status. The projection models in this report take into account estimated rates of religious switching (or conversion) into and out of major religious groups in the 70 countries for which such data are available. About half of countries with an official religion (51%) provide funding or resources for religious property that disproportionately benefits the official or preferred religion. While some religious switching may take place at other ages, switching is modeled as a life course phenomenon in which some young adults change their religious affiliation status. Christians make up 63% of Frances 2010 population, and two other groups account for sizable shares: the religiously unaffiliated (28%) and Muslims (8%). Uruguay Venezuela Religion portal Importance of Religion in Europe (results of a 2008/2009 Gallup poll) Religion in Europe has been a major influence on today's society, art, culture, philosophy and law. It looks at the percentage of each countrys population that belongs to eight major religious groups, as of 2010.2 The closer a country comes to having equal shares of the eight groups, the higher its score on a 10-point Religious Diversity Index. In addition, seven officially Islamic countries (26%) are in the Asia-Pacific region, including Bangladesh, Brunei and Malaysia. But roughly seven-in-ten countries in the region (69%) have no official or favored religion. Religion is more complex and is often composed of social institutions and has a moral aspect. Religious nones are the third-largest group overall, and yet due to lower levels of fertility, they rank fourth behind Hindus in terms of babies born. What can faith-based communities do about it? Largely Positive, This analysis includes the 198 countries and territories typically studied in Pew Research Centers annual reports on global restrictions on religion, plus North Korea. In contrast with this baby boom among Muslims, people who do not identify with any religion are experiencing a much different trend. Religions by country - Wikipedia Before releasing projections of the future size of religious groups in 2015, Pew Research Center asked members of the American Trends Panel a few questions about their perceptions of the global religious landscape and their expectations for its future. Christian Influence on US Foreign Policy - Providence More than eight-in-ten countries (86%) provide funding or resources specifically for religious education programs or religious schools that disproportionately benefit the official religion. Across the surveyed countries with an official or preferred religion, a median of 66% say being a member of the dominant faith (e.g., Orthodoxy in Greece, Catholicism in Poland) is very or somewhat important to truly belong to the nationality. For example, people in countries with official or preferred religions are more likely to support government promotion of religious values and beliefs, as well as government funding of the dominant church; they also tend to believe religion is important to their sense of national belonging. Most of the countries where Islam is the official religion (16 of 27, or 59%) are in the Middle East and North Africa. The share of Muslims in the Middle East and North Africa is expected to hold steady at 20%. Religion, especially faiths that were shared by large groups of people, actually provided stability in cities. The man has under one arm a copy of the Augsburg Confession; under the other is a theological work by Johann Arndt . 6 facts about religious hostilities in the Middle East and North Africa In Bahrain, for example, Islam is the official religion, and the government funds all licensed mosques.28. Of the seven other major religious groups, only the religiously unaffiliated claim a substantial share of the U.S. population (16%).7 All other religious groups combined account for about 5% of Americans. Over half of countries with preferred religions (58%) provide funds or resources for religious education programs that mostly benefit the preferred religion. Because of the scarcity of census and survey data, Pew Research Center has not projected the size of individual religions within this category. In Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region, the number of Christian births will continue to exceed the number of deaths through 2060, but the natural increases in the 2055 to 2060 time period will be much smaller than they are now as these regions experience significant declines in fertility. To see how all 232 countries scored on the Religious Diversity Index, see Appendix 1 (PDF). Although current patterns of religious switching favor the growth of the religiously unaffiliated population particularly in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand religious nones are projected to decline as a share of the worlds population in the coming decades due to a combination of low fertility and an older age profile. Religion in Europe - Wikipedia The second is the assumption that as a discrete category, religion functions to both support as well as to thwart . Causes of religious change in India | Pew Research Center No Christian, Muslim or unaffiliated populations living in countries outside of Europe experienced more deaths than births in the 2010 to 2015 period. 1 Since gaining independence, these predominantly Muslim countries have allowed nominal freedom of worship, and many of their leaders have publicly embraced Islam. The remainder of the global population was consolidated into three additional groups: the religiously unaffiliated (those who say they are atheists, agnostics or nothing in particular); adherents of folk or traditional religions (including members of African traditional religions, Chinese folk religions, Native American religions and Australian aboriginal religions); and adherents of other religions (such as the Bahai faith, Jainism, Shintoism, Sikhism, Taoism, Tenrikyo, Wicca and Zoroastrianism). The median ages of Muslims (24 years) and Hindus (27) are younger than the median age of the worlds overall population (30), while the median age of Christians (30) matches the global median. Some efforts to measure religious diversity have attempted to take into account subgroups of the major religious traditions.3 The main challenge in looking at religious diversity in this way is the serious data limitations for subgroups within religions other than Christianity. Prior to this study, the most extensive analysis of religious switching covered 40 countries. Among Christians, for example, sub-Saharan Africa experienced the biggest natural increase between 2010 and 2015 with 64 million more births than deaths followed by smaller Christian increases in Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific and North America. For the past eight years, Pew Research Center has published annual reports analyzing the extent to which governments and societies around the world impinge on religious beliefs and practices. Several years ago, the Pew Research Center produced estimates of the religious makeup of more than 200 countries and territories, which it published in the 2012 report The Global Religious Landscape. The effort was part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project, which analyzes religious change and its impact on societies around the world. Much of the worldwide growth of Islam and Christianity, for example, is expected to take place in sub-Saharan Africa. Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World, Size & Demographic Characteristics of Religious Groups, The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050, projections of the future size of religious groups, When People Shed Religious Identity in Ireland and Austria: Evidence from Censuses, Religious Affiliation Among Older Age Groups Worldwide: Estimates for 2010 and Projections Until 2050, The Future Size of Religiously Affiliated and Unaffiliated Populations, Global population projections, 2015 to 2060, Age and fertility are major factors behind growth of religious groups, The demographic challenges of the religiously unaffiliated, What Americans believe and expect about the global size of religious groups, How births and deaths are changing religious populations, Q&A: The Muslim-Christian education gap in sub-Saharan Africa, Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa are twice as likely as Christians to have no formal education, How Religious Groups Differ in Educational Attainment, Gun Violence Widely Viewed as a Major and Growing National Problem, A record-high share of 40-year-olds in the U.S. have never been married, Majorities of Americans Prioritize Renewable Energy, Back Steps to Address Climate Change, More Americans Disapprove Than Approve of Colleges Considering Race, Ethnicity in Admissions Decisions, International Views of Biden and U.S. For example, it is not clear at what rate people in China may be converting to Christianity from other groups, and retention patterns among Christians are not known. Other Muslim sects, like Shiite, Ahmadiyya and Al-Arqam Muslims, are banned as deviant sects of Islam.42These groups are not allowed to assemble, worship or speak freely about their faith. Beyond 2015, Christian and Muslim mothers are expected to give birth to increasing numbers of babies through 2060.
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