Stephan: Here is real data concerning the future of religion. This is a well designed, well-executed, well analysed study, the best data I have seen on this subject, and I found it fascinating. Just consider this: The number of Christians and Muslims will be nearly equal. From that flows this:
How do you think the Arab-Iranian world will feel about the U.S. in the future? Bear in mind that in the Arab Muslim culture the 12th century Christian crusades are still an open wound. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and their Necon troops changed not just some immediate events, but the course of history in long range geo-political terms.
By injecting ourselves into the Muslim reformation struggle between the Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims, an historical process in which we should have played no part, we have created a mill that grinds out terrorists and terrorism. We created ISIS, we created the Boston bombers, and the longer these wars go on, the more terror recruits there will be. There are always dangerous people willing to die to make a statement. Bone-headed ignorance and greed suddenly brought them to the fore and this is why the world is so dangerous.
And finally: What will be the cultural consensus in the U.S. when there are more Muslims than Jews, and Christians are declining?
The entire report can, and should, be downloaded and carefully read. Religion or its absence is going to be a powerful factor in determining how the world works. It will affect you, your kids, and their kids.
Why Muslims Are Rising Fastest and the Unaffiliated Are Shrinking as a Share of the World’s Population
The religious profile of the world is rapidly changing, driven primarily by differences in fertility rates and the size of youth populations among the world’s major religions, as well as by people switching faiths. Over the next four decades, Christians will remain the largest religious group, but Islam will grow faster than any other major religion. If current trends continue, by 2050 …
- The number of Muslims will nearly equal the number of Christians around the world.
- Atheists, agnostics and other people who do not affiliate with any religion – though increasing in countries such as the United States and France – will make up a declining share of the world’s total population.
- The global Buddhist population will be about the same size it was in 2010, while the Hindu and Jewish populations will be larger than they are today.
- In Europe, Muslims will make up 10% of the overall population.
- India will retain a Hindu majority but also will have the largest Muslim population of any country in the world, surpassing Indonesia.
- In the United […]
