Christian and Atheism Worldwide Demographics: Current Realities and Future Trends.

[Nishant Xavier]

If Atheism were allegedly a Universal Truth appealing equally to all men and women of different races, cultures and nationalities everywhere, one would expect (1) a significant portion of the World's Population would profess it; (2) it would roughly be professed more or less equally by people in different parts of the world. Now, of the world's 8 BN people, the 3 largest religions are Christianity (2.6 BN), Islam (2 BN), Hinduism (1.2 BN).

Regarding #1, The World Factbook (2004 study) estimated that about 12.5% of the world's population are non-religious, and about 2.4% are atheists. That means, Religious People, worldwide, (Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, Sikhs etc), are the 87.5% super-majority on the Planet, and about 97.6% are non-Atheistic, i.e. believe in a Higher Power of some sort, even if not affiliated with an organized religion.

Regarding #2, a Dec. 2012 study by Pew Research found that: "76% reside in Asia and the Pacific, while the remainder reside in Europe (12%), North America (5%), Latin America and the Caribbean (4%), sub-Saharan Africa (2%) and the Middle East and North Africa (less than 1%)" among the atheists and non-religious (source: Wikipedia). A significant number of those Asian Atheists live in Commie Countries like China and North Korea.

If those Nations had full Religious Freedom, as most Christian and Christian-majority countries do, for Christians and Non-Christians alike, and stopped their Persecution of Christians (Open Doors estimated that 360 MN Christians are being persecuted around the world, disproportionately as it is 75% of all Religious Persecution, and Communist and Islamist Countries being the worst offenders. North Korea is #1, all the other 9 countries in the top 10 are Islamic, India under Modi, and the Neo-Nazi Hindutva ideology of Savarkar (that influences the RSS) is 11, China at 16), it is very likely that many of them would leave Atheism. Even despite the Persecution, it was estimated in a 2014 Telegraph Article: "The number of Christians in Communist China is growing so steadily that it by 2030 it could have more churchgoers than America." That's incredible!

Want to abide by the 30/30 rule so not giving any links. But a brief Google Search will show all these things, beside other possible sources. The study estimated there could be 300 MN Christians in China by 2030, not making this up. It shows the staying power and resilience of Christianity. But most of all, it shows Christianity's Universal Appeal, its ability to appeal to people of every race, ethnicity, culture and language.

Africa is another example: not long ago, in 1900, Africa had around 10 MN Christians, around 10% of their Population. In 2023, that number is at 700 MN, nearly 60%. "Today, there are half a billion African Christians, accounting for half the continental population, and that number should exceed a billion by the 2040s." (Source: Philip Jenkins, Catholicism's Incredible Growth Story, Sep 8, 2016, Catholic Herald)

Where are the "Martyrs" of Atheism in the world today? Where, its Missionaries, filled with Apostolic Zeal! Where, its Global and Universal Appeal?! Lol, sorry, but we don't see any of these things worldwide. I will concede that Atheism currently has significant influence in Western Countries, that's true, but that's a small fraction of the worldwide population. Moreover, even there, Christian and Conservative Counter-Cultural movements have arisen, so what things will look like 10 or 20 years from now in those particular countries is an open question.

So, the question: if Atheism were actually true, it would have Universal Appeal, and not be confined to certain limited cultures, but doesn't. Specifically, why are there so few Atheists in the Global South, in much of Africa (2%), in Latin America (4%), Middle East and North Africa (less than 1%) etc?

Thoughts? Look forward to an intriguing discussion.

God Bless.

[Foxaèr]

Argumentum ad populum.

Just because a majority believes something to be true doesn't make it true. Atheism does not need to appeal to everyone, or a majority of the population, to be considered true.

[Belacqua]

Argumentum ad populum.

Just because a majority believes something to be true doesn't make it true. Atheism does not need to appeal to everyone, or a majority of the population, to be considered true.

Numbers aren't proof but they are often evidence.

[Nishant Xavier]

When one chooses a leader democratically, why is the person who gets a Majority of votes the Winner? Because, one of the qualities a leader and his ideology must demonstrate is the ability to appeal to a significant majority of the population. No one is saying, Christianity is True just because a majority of the population profess it. There are other distinct arguments for the Truth of Christian Theism, like Messianic Prophecies that Jesus Christ fulfilled, and the Historical Evidence for His Resurrection, beside documented healing Miracles that have taken place in His Name, which is what has happened in Africa, for e.g.. Nonetheless, Atheism's inability to appeal to a significant population, especially a significantly diverse population, is telling.

If someone is at 33% in the polls, and another 3%, and even that limited small percentage within non-diverse demographics, everyone would logically assume the former had better appeal, and spoke to the deepest desires of the human heart, especially if that 33% was drawn from people of every caste, race, ethnicity, race, culture and language. It is not the sole deciding factor by any means, but it is still a noteworthy criterion. That 360 MN Christians prefer to be persecuted for Christ's Name rather than renounce Him, under Atheism, Islamism and Hindutva extremism, is also noteworthy.

God Bless.

[no one]

Reason is lost on those without reason. god must exist. My massive ego will not allow me to accept that I am just another spec.

[Foxaèr]

Edit:
(Proof and evidence are synonyms.) - I was wrong about this part, not enough coffee.

This part remains true:

Yes, numbers can be proof and evidence that a certain sum of people believe a certain thing. Yet, it is not proof or evidence that the thing they believe is true.

[Belacqua]

Proof and evidence are synonyms. Yes, numbers can be proof and evidence that a certain sum of people believe a certain thing. Yet, it is not proof or evidence that the thing they believe is true.

No, they are different. 

Evidence is any bit of input which increases confidence in a proposition. It may turn out in the end that the proposition is false, despite evidence in its favor. 

Proof shows that something is undeniably so. It's often said that proof is only possible in cases of pure logic or mathematics, though in real life we accept that certain things have been proven. 

Here's a simple example:

Suppose you go to a new town and ask 100 people "what's the best restaurant in this town?" And 99 of them give the same answer. This is pretty good evidence that the restaurant they name is the best one. In fact you may have randomly stumbled on the only 100 people in town who have bad taste, or who are investors in that restaurant, or who have some other reason to give you a bad answer. In fact there may be any number of better restaurants. But 99 out of a 100 is decent evidence.

[Foxaèr]

I edited my previous post.

[Astreja]

Where are the "Martyrs" of Atheism in the world today? Where, its Missionaries, filled with Apostolic Zeal! Where, its Global and Universal Appeal?! 

Atheism doesn't need martyrs or missionaries.  It is merely a statement of unbelief.  Even if literally everyone else on earth believed in gods, until *I* am convinced, I will be an atheist.  It really is that simple - I find the evidence for gods too weak to take seriously.

[Belacqua]

not enough coffee.

I'm often astonished at how much European civilization accomplished before they discovered coffee.