Christian and Atheism Worldwide Demographics: Current Realities and Future Trends.
June 15, 2023 at 11:18 pm
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.
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.
