Faith Among Black Americans
Today, most Black adults say they rely on prayer to help make major decisions, and view opposing racism as essential to their religious faith.
Household size and composition often vary by religious affiliation, data from 130 countries and territories reveals. Muslims and Hindus have larger households than Christians and religious “nones,” influenced in part by regional norms.
Over the decade from 2007 to 2017, government restrictions on religion – laws, policies and actions by state officials that restrict religious beliefs and practices – increased markedly around the world.
Restrictions on religion increased in 2016 for the second straight year. Nationalist parties and organizations played an increasing role in harassment of religious minorities, especially in Europe.
The European continent today is split in public attitudes toward religion, minorities and social issues such as gay marriage and legal abortion.
The majority of Europe’s Christians are non-practicing, but they differ from religiously unaffiliated people in their views on God, attitudes toward Muslims and immigrants, and opinions about religion’s role in society.
Young adults tend to be less religious than their elders by several measures; the opposite is rarely true. This pattern holds true across many countries that have different religious, economic and social profiles.
Concentrated in Europe, Orthodox Christians have declined as share of the global Christian population, from 20% in 1910 to 12% today. But the Ethiopian community is highly observant and growing.
Between 2010 and 2016, the number of Muslims living in Germany rose from 3.3 million (4.1% of the population) to nearly 5 million (6.1%), while the rest of the population shrank modestly from 77.1 million to 76.5 million.
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