Q&A: How we projected the future of world religions
Demographer Conrad Hackett explains how he and his team put together our major new report and why it differs from past efforts to predict religious change.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Read our research on:
Religion
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Christianity poised to continue its shift from Europe to Africa
The share of the world’s Christians in Europe will continue to decline while the percentage in sub-Saharan Africa will increase dramatically.
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After 200 years, Native Hawaiians make a comeback
Their population dropped devastatingly fast after their first contact with Western foreigners in 1778, but their numbers are returning to “pre-contact” levels.
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Number of Muslims Worldwide Expected to Nearly Equal Number of Christians by 2050; Religiously Unaffiliated Will Make Up Declining Share of World’s Population
Media Contact: Katherine Ritchey, Communications Manager 202-419-4372, kritchey@pewresearch.org Washington, April 2, 2015 — The religious profile of the world is rapidly changing, driven primarily by differences in fertility rates and the size of youth populations among the world’s major religions, as well as by people switching faiths. Over the next four decades, Christians will continue to […]
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7 key changes in the global religious landscape
What will the world’s religious landscape look like a few decades from now?
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The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050
As of 2010, nearly a third of the world’s population identified as Christian. But if demographic trends persist, Islam will close the gap by the middle of the 21st century.
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Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050
Explore the estimated religious composition of 198 countries and territories for 2010 to 2050.
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Americans split over whether businesses must serve same-sex couples
A new Indiana religious freedom law has sparked national debate. Some say it strengthens protection of religious liberty, while others say it could provide legal cover for businesses to discriminate. The U.S. public is divided over these types of issues.
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How the U.S. compares with the rest of the world on religious restrictions
The U.S. ranks in the middle range of the nearly 200 countries we analyzed to assess restrictions on religion and social hostilities toward religious groups.
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Stock market leads recovery, but inflation cuts into gains
Americans recognize stocks as the feature of the economy that’s recovered the most strongly from the Great Recession. But inflation means the market’s gains aren’t quite as robust as they might first appear.
