World Religion & Denomination Numbers

[ScottL]

Some of us have probably already seen these charts over at Parchment & Pen (though they don't measure up to the Reynoso standard). But I thought I would post all 6 charts here for discussion.

Any thoughts come to you from viewing these?

[ScottL]

My first question would be, Michael said he did some research. Where was the research done?

[Rey Reynoso]

CIA World Fact Book

[ScottL]

Also, for anyone else interested in charts, Michael Bell did some research a few months back and put together these three blog posts:

Blog Post 1 - The Times Are A Changin'
Blog Post 2 - How Do We Stop The Hemorrhaging?
Blog Post 3 - It's A Lot Easier To Be Non-Religious

He also did a good (but brain-teasing) post on the average size of a church (I think from an American standpoint). The post is here.

[Crazyupstart]

1) I love playing with numbers.

2) Why is there no actual # on the 5th chart for presby/reformed? I guess we have to infer that 11% is roughly 60 to 69 mil. ?

3) I would land myself on that grayish line between the green and purple sections on the last chart.

4) Interesting numbers. I'd love to see a chart specifically for the USA. Is that info out there Rey? I was just reading up the other night on the effects that the first and second 'Great Awakening(s)' had on the denominational numbers in the US (# before the 'Awakening(s)' and # after).

[Rey Reynoso]

US Census can't really poll on religion so you have to check things like:

Adherents
Glenmary
Hartford Institute
The ARDA

Crazyupstart said:

1) I love playing with numbers.

2) Why is there no actual # on the 5th chart for presby/reformed? I guess we have to infer that 11% is roughly 60 to 69 mil. ?

3) I would land myself on that grayish line between the green and purple sections on the last chart.

4) Interesting numbers. I'd love to see a chart specifically for the USA. Is that info out there Rey? I was just reading up the other night on the effects that the first and second 'Great Awakening(s)' had on the denominational numbers in the US (# before the 'Awakening(s)' and # after).

[Marv]

Christianity 34%
Islam 25%

Looks like we need to have a run-off.

[Kim]

oooh, aaaaah...preTTTTTTy....

There are still Anabaptists? I'm mean I know there are those who have left the Catholic church and then are re-baptized but I didn't know there was still a movement of Anabaptists

[Chad Gibbons]

Now we need an end times belief chart.


Last month's issue of Psychology Today said that a recent poll showed that 4% of Americans call themselves atheists while 14% call themselves agnostics. Just some more numbers for ya'.

[joanne guarnieri]

It was interesting to note how large the atheist/agnostic band is. The Bible study I'm involved in has been around for fifty years, and has seen a lot of change in the demographics of the people who attend. I can say, even from my personal vantage point, we are getting more and more people who come into the study not only never gone to a religious service, or been raised in a religious family, but who know so little of the Bible that they did not realize it has two testaments (old and new) or that it contains more than one book inside its covers.

This fascinates me.

Also, it is very interesting to me how much of the world is Muslim. I just read a very interesting article about resolving the cognitative dissonance of Islam

[ScottL]

Crazy -

2) Why is there no actual # on the 5th chart for presby/reformed? I guess we have to infer that 11% is roughly 60 to 69 mil. ?

Michael fixed that part over on Parchment & Pen, so I listed the new 5th chart here.

[ScottL]

joanne -

Also, it is very interesting to me how much of the world is Muslim.

Yes, I was surprised to see there 1.5 billion Muslims and 1 billion Hindus. A lot of Hindus in India & maybe Nepal, and India does have a 1 billion population, but not all are Hindu. A lot of Muslims in the middle-east and north Africa, and now places like France. But I would not have guessed that many.

[ScottL]

Here are some interesting figures that I found on John Piper's website a few years back:

China: estimates are some 22,000 or 28,000 are born again each day (that is approx. 8-10 million born again each year)

Africa: 4% professing Christians in 1900; 40% professing Christians in 1990; some 16,000 to 20,000 people born again each day.

India: approx. 15,000 people born again each day

I believe similar numbers are true of South America, and possible Central America.