Ever wondered how many Christians are in the world today? Or how many Christians live in America? Or what is the regional distribution of Christians in the world? The results of a comprehensive demographic study of more than 200 countries were released earlier this week. The study was done by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life. You can read the complete analysis of the report on the group’s website.
This subject interests me because, in what we commonly refer to as the Great Commission, Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20, NIV). The Pew Forum’s study can be an aid in helping us to assess where we are in terms of fulfilling the Great Commission.
According to the study, there are approximately 2.18 billion Christians of all ages around the world. This represents nearly a third of the estimated 2010 global population of 6.9 billion. Thirty-seven percent of all Christians live in the Americas; twenty-six percent live in Europe; twenty-four percent live in sub-Saharan Africa, and thirteen percent live in Asia and the Pacific.
As the world’s population grew from about 1.8 billion in 1910 to about 6.9 billion in 2010, the Christian population in the world grew from about 600 million in 1910 to more than 2 billion in 2010. The result is that during the past 100 years, the portion of the world’s population that identifies with Christianity has remained about the same. Actually, it dropped slightly from about 35 percent in 1910 to 32 percent in 2010, according to the survey results.
The Christian population estimates for 232 countries and self-administering territories were based on the acquisition and the analyses of about 2400 data sources, including censuses and general population surveys. In countries where detailed estimates on some Christian bodies were not available, researchers estimated the population based on figures provided by Christian organizations around the world.
Based on the above statistics, there are approximately 5 billion people in the world today who do not identify themselves as a Christian. Moreover, over the past 100 years, there has been a slight drop in the percentage of the world’s population that identifies with Christianity. (And yes, I do know that not everyone who claims to be a Christian is in fact a Christian.) To me, these two findings clearly suggest that the Christian church has much work to do toward her efforts to fulfill the Great Commission.
Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.
This subject interests me because, in what we commonly refer to as the Great Commission, Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20, NIV). The Pew Forum’s study can be an aid in helping us to assess where we are in terms of fulfilling the Great Commission.
According to the study, there are approximately 2.18 billion Christians of all ages around the world. This represents nearly a third of the estimated 2010 global population of 6.9 billion. Thirty-seven percent of all Christians live in the Americas; twenty-six percent live in Europe; twenty-four percent live in sub-Saharan Africa, and thirteen percent live in Asia and the Pacific.
As the world’s population grew from about 1.8 billion in 1910 to about 6.9 billion in 2010, the Christian population in the world grew from about 600 million in 1910 to more than 2 billion in 2010. The result is that during the past 100 years, the portion of the world’s population that identifies with Christianity has remained about the same. Actually, it dropped slightly from about 35 percent in 1910 to 32 percent in 2010, according to the survey results.
The Christian population estimates for 232 countries and self-administering territories were based on the acquisition and the analyses of about 2400 data sources, including censuses and general population surveys. In countries where detailed estimates on some Christian bodies were not available, researchers estimated the population based on figures provided by Christian organizations around the world.
Based on the above statistics, there are approximately 5 billion people in the world today who do not identify themselves as a Christian. Moreover, over the past 100 years, there has been a slight drop in the percentage of the world’s population that identifies with Christianity. (And yes, I do know that not everyone who claims to be a Christian is in fact a Christian.) To me, these two findings clearly suggest that the Christian church has much work to do toward her efforts to fulfill the Great Commission.
Copyright © 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.
2 comments:
Merry Christmas Frank!
Blessings,
Judy
Thanks. Hope yours was awesome.
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