Under Pope Francis, the College of Cardinals has become less European
Pope Francis’ picks for the College of Cardinals have tilted the leadership structure away from its historic European base and toward countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Pope Francis’ picks for the College of Cardinals have tilted the leadership structure away from its historic European base and toward countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Religiously unaffiliated people were harassed by governments, private groups or both in 27 countries in 2020.
In 2020, properties in 102 of the 198 countries and territories in the study were targeted in incidents tied to religion.
Incidents against Jewish people in 2020 ranged from verbal and physical assaults to vandalism of cemeteries and scapegoating for the pandemic.
Social hostilities around the world involving religion declined in 2019 to the lowest level in five years.
In most of the 18 countries analyzed, religiously unaffiliated adults were more likely to say homosexuality should be accepted by society.
Globally, Muslims live in the biggest households, followed by Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Jews and the religiously unaffiliated.
Christians were harassed by governments or social groups in a total of 128 countries in 2015 – more countries than any other religious group.
By 2060, more than four-in-ten Christians and 27% of Muslims around the world will call sub-Saharan Africa home.
While many, especially in the U.S., may associate Islam with the Middle East or North Africa, nearly two-thirds of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims live in the Asia-Pacific region.
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