Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Most people in sub-Saharan Africa now identify with either Christianity or Islam. In most of the 19 countries surveyed by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, 90% or more of the respondents say they belong to one of these faiths. This is in sharp contrast with the religious composition of the […]
As of 1900, both Muslims and Christians were relatively small minorities in the region. Since then, however, the number of Muslims living between the Sahara Desert and the Cape of Good Hope has increased more than 20-fold, rising from an estimated 11 million in 1900 to approximately 234 million in 2010.
Large majorities in every country surveyed express belief in the core tenets of Christianity or Islam. For example, roughly three-in-four or more people express absolutely certain belief in the existence of God. In eight countries, at least nine-in-ten people express this view. By way of comparison, 71% of adults in the United States, arguably the […]
New Pew-Templeton Survey of 19 African Nations Finds Signs of Tolerance and Tensions Between the Faiths Download a PDF in English Français Português Washington, D.C.—The vast majority of people in many sub-Saharan African nations are deeply committed to one or the other of the world’s two largest religions, Christianity and Islam, and yet many continue […]
Washington, D.C.—In a 10:00 a.m. EDT conference call for journalists on Thursday, April 15, 2010, the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life will discuss its new survey that explores the role of religion in the lives and societies of sub-Saharan Africans. CONTACT Mary SchultzCommunications Manager202.419.4556mschultz@pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/religion “Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in […]
European campaigns to ban burqas, the Swiss vote to bar new construction of minarets and attempted terrorist acts in the United States have renewed questions and concerns about the compatibility of Islam with Western society. Swiss-born scholar and philosopher of Islam Tariq Ramadan has written and spoken on the subject, generating widespread debate and reaction. […]