How many christians today

Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. Mary Fairchild. Christianity Expert. Mary Fairchild is a full-time Christian minister, writer, and editor of two Christian anthologies, including "Stories of Cavalry.

Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter. Updated April 16, Members of non-Christian religions also have grown modestly as a share of the adult population. These are among the key findings of a new analysis of trends in the religious composition and churchgoing habits of the American public, based on recent Pew Research Center random-digit-dial RDD political polling on the telephone. The Center has not yet conducted a third such study, and when the Landscape Study is repeated, it is likely to use new methods that may prevent it from being directly comparable to the previous studies; growing challenges to conducting national surveys by telephone have led the Center to rely increasingly on self-administered surveys conducted online.

But while no new Religious Landscape Study is available or in the immediate offing, the Center has collected five additional years of data since the Landscape Study from RDD political polls see detailed tables.

The samples from these political polls are not as large as the Landscape Studies even when all of the political polls conducted in a year are combined , but together, 88 surveys from to included interviews with , Americans.

These surveys do not include nearly as many questions about religion as the Landscape Studies do. More than once a week, once a week, once or twice a month, a few times a year, seldom, or never? The data shows that just like rates of religious affiliation, rates of religious attendance are declining. The changes underway in the American religious landscape are broad-based. And although the religiously unaffiliated are on the rise among younger people and most groups of older adults, their growth is most pronounced among young adults.

Furthermore, the data shows a wide gap between older Americans Baby Boomers and members of the Silent Generation and Millennials in their levels of religious affiliation and attendance. Only about one-in-three Millennials say they attend religious services at least once or twice a month.

The main motivation varies by country, and better understanding the differences can help Christians in other nations pray and advocate more effectively for their beleaguered brothers and sisters in Christ. Open Doors categorizes the primary sources of Christian persecution into eight groups:. Most of the 29 are officially Muslim nations or have Muslim majorities; however, 7 actually have Christian majorities: Nigeria No. Clan oppression 6 countries : This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in Afghanistan No.

Dictatorial paranoia 5 countries : This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in five countries, mostly in Central Asia with Muslim majorities: Uzbekistan No. Religious nationalism 3 countries : This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in three Asian nations. Christians are primarily targeted by Hindu nationalists in India No.

Communist and post-communist oppression 3 countries : This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in three countries, all in Asia: North Korea No. Christian denominational protectionism 2 countries : This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in Eritrea No.

Organized crime and corruption 2 countries : This is the main source of persecution that Christians face in Colombia No. Secular intolerance 0 countries : Open Doors tracks this source of persecution faced by Christians, but it is not the main source in any of the 50 countries studied.

Open Doors identified four new or continuing trends in why and how Christians were persecuted for their faith last year. The clear discrimination and oppression suffered by Christians in must not be forgotten, even after the COVID crisis fades into our collective memory. Public health lockdowns also increased the vulnerability of many believers.

This especially affected minority women and children. For millions of Christians, work, education, and other outside interests provide a brief time of calm from regular persecution. So when the lockdowns occurred, it meant this respite was no longer available. Additionally, places in Latin America that are vulnerable to drug gangs have become even more dangerous for Christians, since the pandemic has decreased the presence of official authorities who try to maintain order.

Second, increasing video and digital surveillance of religious groups and improvements in and proliferation of surveillance technology was another key trend. Many of these cameras are reported to be installed next to standard CCTV cameras, but they link to the Public Security Bureau, meaning artificial intelligence can instantly connect with other government databases.

She warned against the export of these technologies. The belief that Christians are not truly Indian means widespread discrimination and persecution is often conducted with impunity. India also continues to block the flow of foreign funds to many Christian-run hospitals, schools and church organizations, all under the guise of protecting the Indian national identity.

The Hagia Sophia was originally a cathedral and then a mosque, until modern Turkey decided it should be a museum. But in July , the Turkish president persuaded a court to make it a mosque again, strengthening Turkish nationalism. Fourth, attacks by mostly Muslim extremists increased despite lockdowns to contain the coronavirus. These extremist groups exploit governmental failures, and armed jihadists spread propaganda, push recruitment and conduct regular attacks. This year, Islamic extremists continue to target churches 14 killed in one attack, 24 in another.

For example, the latest Pew Research Center analysis of governmental and societal hostilities toward religion found that Christians were harassed in countries in , more than any other religious group. Muslims were harassed in countries, followed by Jews in 88 countries. When examining only hostility by governments, Muslims were harassed in countries and Christians in countries, according to Pew.

When examining only hostility within society, Christians were harassed in countries and Muslims in countries. Other religions measured and projected include Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, adn two umbrella categories. The first is "folk religions", which collects traditional African religions, Chinese folk religions, and both Native American and Australian aboriginal religions. The second is "other religions", a catch-all that tracks smaller faiths such as Shintoism, Taoism, Sikhism, and Jainism.

Finally, a significant number of people—nearly 1. The world's largest religion is Christianity, which is practiced by almost 2. Christianity is divided into Eastern and Western theology, and within those divisions, many branches , including Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodoxy.

Those branches further divide into the thousands of various denominations known today, including Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Seventh-Day Adventists, Mormons, Amish, and more. Islam is the world's second-largest religion. People that practice Islam are known as Muslims. There are 50 Muslim-majority countries worldwide.

Hinduism is the third-largest religion globally. Hinduism is considered dharma, or way of life. It originated on the Indian subcontinent and is widely practiced throughout Southeast Asia.