A new study says that Islam will pass Christianity as the world’s largest religion by 2070.
The report says that in 2050, Muslims will make up 10% of the European population. But they will number only 2.1% in the United States.
Interestingly, the study also says that the number of atheists and non-religious affiliated will decline globally.
This may very well be, but, like many statistical studies, it is mainly just an extrapolation of current numbers over time. Muslims have a higher birth rate than Christians do, so if we graph that out, their numbers will be higher by 2070.
Other scenarios are not factored in. For example, what if some of the 10% of the European population that has an Islamic heritage convert to Christianity, now that they can be exposed to it? That may depend on Christianity reviving in Europe, but that is not outside the possibility of the grace of God. Or what if the brutality of ISIS and the Islamic terrorism that is rampant in the Middle East creates a reaction against the religion? Or what if the Westernization of Islamic countries creates a decline in the birth rate? Or what if the Christian birth rate shoots up?
Lots of things can happen, there being many more variables and unpredictabilities in life than a single statistical trend.
From Joseph Hartropp, Islam Will Surpass Christianity As World’s Largest Religion By 2070, Pew Predicts | Christian News on Christian Today:
Islam is the fasting growing religion in the world, and will be the largest in the world by 2070, new research suggests.
A study updated this week by the Pew Research Centre titled ‘Muslims and Islam: Key findings in the US and around the world’, suggests that Islam will grow by 73 per cent by 2050, compared with only 35 per cent growth for Christianity.
The entire world population is expected to grow by 37 per cent, meaning Islam will grow at nearly twice the rate of the world. In 2010 Christians numbered 2.17 billion, and Muslims 1.6 billion. By 2070 those numbers will reach 2.92 billion and 2.76 billion respectively.
In the US, Muslims are predicted to make up 2.1 per cent of the population by 2050. They currently make up approximately 1 per cent of the population, numbering around 3.3. million. In Europe, Muslims will reach 10 per cent of the population by 2050.
Atheism and non-religious identification will decline, the report says. While such groups will grow in North America and Europe, globally they will decline from 16.4 per cent of the population to 13.2 per cent by 2050.
The reports suggest two factors behind Islam’s rapid growth. Muslims have the highest fertility rate, at 3.1 children per woman. Muslims also have the youngest average age – 34 per cent are aged under 15.
[Keep reading. . .]
HT: Tom Hering
Photo by wilhei, Pixabay, CC0, Public Domain
A new study says that Islam will pass Christianity as the world’s largest religion by 2070.
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