Is Christianity continuing to grow worldwide?
score:7
The numbers appear to be inconclusive, at least according to this site.
It appears the number of Christians is growing, but in terms of percentage of population, some studies show a slight growth, while others show a slight decline. Of course the various studies are over different time periods, so it's impossible, with the given data, to draw any conclusive results.
Wikipedia estimates the 2007 growth rate of Christianity at 1.38%, which appears to be within the range of the various studies cited above.
Upvote:1
This is directly copied from a Pew Forum Survey under the title "Religious Affiliation":
Compared with their elders today, young people are much less likely to affiliate with any religious tradition or to identify themselves as part of a Christian denomination. Fully one-in-four adults under age 30 (25%) are unaffiliated, describing their religion as "atheist," "agnostic" or "nothing in particular." This compares with less than one-fifth of people in their 30s (19%), 15% of those in their 40s, 14% of those in their 50s and 10% or less among those 60 and older. About two-thirds of young people (68%) say they are members of a Christian denomination and 43% describe themselves as Protestants, compared with 81% of adults ages 30 and older who associate with Christian faiths and 53% who are Protestants.
Based on this information, as well as the other graphs and questions in that survey, I would venture to say that Christianity is not growing, but rather declining. Of course, for every survey that says it's declining, there is probably one that says it's growing...
Upvote:3
The answer to this question really depends on how you measure the growth. One way to do so would be to measure the languages to which Christianity is becoming available. Bible translation is probably a lagging indicator, as missionaries often precede the work of translation.
According to Wycliffe Translation Statistics, the number of people win the world who speak languages where no translation work has been either begun or completed is 340 million (slightly more than the population of the United States). This is 5% of the World's population.
So, Christianity is, indeed, continuing to spread across more and more language groups. This is a fulfillment of the prophecies in the book of Revelation that spoke of people from every nation, tribe, and tongue.
I can't find where I saw estimates of when the last language would get a Bible translation, but it's quite feasible to reach that goal in the next hundred years, maybe even 50.
More post
- 📝 Is there any significance to naming Lazarus in this parable?
- 📝 What is the status of the New Testament in the LDS teachings?
- 📝 The nature and extent of the atonement of Jesus during the crucifixion
- 📝 How do protestant youth group ministers reach apathetic parents of religious education students?
- 📝 In Catholicism, how is the practice of infant communion reconciled with the rule that first reconciliation must precede first communion?
- 📝 Does the word 'testament' in the titles OT and NT imply the death of the testator in both covenants?
- 📝 How can Christians be assured they are truly saved and that Jesus won't say "Depart from me I never knew you." on judgement day?
- 📝 Are there Christians that try to change the date of Second Coming through their actions?
- 📝 What is the Authoritative Catholic explanation of why the Magi get a pass, yet Catholics are to reject astrology?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis that God does not punish disobedient Christians beyond the immediate natural consequences?
- 📝 (Jehovah's Witnesses) What reason(s) is there to actually love God?
- 📝 Is it appropriate to say that some denominations are more "extreme" than others?
- 📝 Why aren't Moses, Elijah, and other Old Testament heroes of faith given the title of "Saint"?
- 📝 Do any Christians purport to make testable predictions that any unbeliever can verify in their lifetime?
- 📝 Why is it that so many Churches have a problem with Halloween but not with the other pagan holidays?
- 📝 Why didn't God the Father answer Joseph Smith's questions directly?
- 📝 How do Bible Literalists deal with trees older than the flood?
- 📝 Why is God referred to as male rather than female?
- 📝 According to premillennialism, are the nations in the New Earth still procreating?
- 📝 Why did Jesus not stone the adulteress?
- 📝 According to Reformed Theologians, when did the kingdom of God arrive?
- 📝 "Christ is risen. He is risen indeed" - What is the actual meaning?
- 📝 Why do we say "My Jesus" and then "Our Father"?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the belief that people must have children?
- 📝 How can you serve God when you can't see him?
- 📝 Did the coins at the time of Jesus have distinct images and inscriptions?
- 📝 Why must God reach the fullness of Glory (reformed theology)?
- 📝 By what authority does the Catholic church have priests?
- 📝 Catholic Exegesis: The Cleansing of the Temple
- 📝 How does Sola Scriptura understanding of the Bible affect the anagogical sense of the Bible?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Is Christianity continuing to grow worldwide?
- 📝 Did the lockdown of 2020 help Christianity grow in numbers, reform or renewal?
- 📝 Why is Christianity considered a monotheistic religion?
- 📝 Can somebody summarize the different "branches" of Christianity to me, and explain why they exist in the first place?
- 📝 What reasons does Christianity give for "Why There Must Be A God?"
- 📝 Believing that Christianity is "probably" true vs. being fully convinced that Christianity is definitely true?
- 📝 Why is Christianity so popular in (South) Korea?
- 📝 Is Christianity with reason wrong?
- 📝 At what point did Judaism and Christianity diverge?
- 📝 Does Christianity allow eating pork and horse meat, which even though it is prohibited by the Jewish Law?
- 📝 Why did Christianity survive at all?
- 📝 Why didn't Syriac Christianity keep Aramaic as their liturgical language?
- 📝 Can Christianity be objectively defined?
- 📝 What are the major differences between evangelical Christianity and Mormonism?
- 📝 Can seeking arguments against Christianity strengthen Christianity?
- 📝 Was Christianity intended to have denominations?
- 📝 Are there any sects of Christianity that still practice animal sacrifice?
- 📝 Did this phrase "love the sinner but hate the sin" in this form originate in Christianity and who is credited to have first used it?
- 📝 Why does Christianity claim to be the only true religion?
- 📝 Has Christianity ever come down in opposition of arranged marriages?
- 📝 Ruling on eating pork in Christianity as per Bible?
- 📝 Is Eastern Orthodox Christianity against doing yoga or meditation?
- 📝 Is Luke's label for Christianity - "the Way" - used in later Christian writings?
- 📝 How does Christianity deal with biblical criticism related to the Old Testament?
- 📝 What is the basis for the belief that Christianity and Islam worship different gods?
- 📝 What is the state of Christianity among the Huaorani people today?
- 📝 Is Christianity more friendly to its own Scripture translation than other religions? If so, why?
- 📝 What is the basis for the Swedenborgian view that the most common concept of God in Christianity (the Trinity) is a belief in three gods?
- 📝 Trinitarian Christianity and Numbers 23:19 - Was Jesus a man?
- 📝 How do Trinitarians understand what it means for Jesus to grow 'in favor' with God?