There are several different religions A religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendent quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power, God or gods, or ultimate truth. It may be expressed through claiming to be the “fastest growing religion”. Such claims vary due to different definitions of “fastest growing”, and whether the claim is worldwide or regional. There are also many unreliable claims and rumours, especially for conversion Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religious identity, or a change from one religious identity to another. Conversion implies a new reference point for one's self identity. It is a matter of belief and social structure—of both faith and affiliation. This typically entails the sincere avowal of a new belief system, but may also present rates, that often spread as urban legends An urban legend, urban myth, or urban tale is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories thought to be factual by those circulating them. The term is often used to mean something akin to an "apocryphal story." Like all folklore, urban legends are not necessarily false, but they are often distorted, exaggerated, or sensationalized. Hard data is difficult to come by.

Contents

Different definitions of “fastest growing”

Religions can grow in numbers due to conversion Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religious identity, or a change from one religious identity to another. Conversion implies a new reference point for one's self identity. It is a matter of belief and social structure—of both faith and affiliation. This typically entails the sincere avowal of a new belief system, but may also present or due to higher birth rates in a religious group (assuming that children take on the religion of their parents). Religions in particular countries can grow due to immigration. So the fastest growing religion could refer to:

Measures counting absolute numbers tend to favour the larger religions; measures counting percentage growth the smaller ones. For example, if a religion had only 10 followers, a single addition would be a 10% increase, and would therefore dwarf the percentage growth rates of the larger religions.

The difficulty of gathering data

Statistics on religious adherence are difficult to gather and often contradictory; statistics for the change of religious adherence are even more so, requiring multiple surveys separated by many years using the same data gathering rules. This has only been achieved in rare cases, and then only for a particular country, such as the American Religious Identification Survey[1] in the USA, or census data from Australia[2] (which has included a voluntary religious question since 1911). Worldwide data is more difficult to gather than data on a particular country.

Statistics for rates of conversion Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religious identity, or a change from one religious identity to another. Conversion implies a new reference point for one's self identity. It is a matter of belief and social structure—of both faith and affiliation. This typically entails the sincere avowal of a new belief system, but may also present are the most difficult to gather and the least reliable: they are often distorted by social taboos such as the ban on apostasy in Islam Apostasy in Islam is commonly defined as the rejection in word or deed of their former religion (apostasy) by a person who was previously a follower of Islam, or the reporting of commitments where the individual does not persist. This means that a lot of the data on growth of religions is derived from birth and immigration rates.

There are a large number of people who self-identify themselves as associated to a specific religion, but who are not religiously active. If, for example, asked to choose between Christianity and other religions they would say they were Christians; if asked to choose between Christianity, other religions and "Not religious", they would say "Not religious". This may make categorization difficult.

In countries with mandatory religions In a country with a state religion, freedom of religion is generally considered to mean that the government permits religious practices of other sects besides the state religion, and does not persecute believers in other faiths, official statistics will only reflect the official position of the government.

Claims to be the fastest growing religion

Note that it would be an argumentum ad populum This type of argument is known by several names, including appeal to the masses, appeal to belief, appeal to the majority, appeal to the people, argument by consensus, authority of the many, and bandwagon fallacy, and in Latin by the names argumentum ad populum , argumentum ad numerum ("appeal to the number"), and consensus gentium (& to claim that being the “fastest growing religion” has any logical consequences about the truth of that religion.

Whilst it is possible to find claims that almost any religion is the fastest growing, it is much harder to find ones backed up by scientific data. A selection of the more credible claims are given below, but even these are often contradictory, and most of them only cover a limited period time or a single region of the world.

Buddhism

The Australian Bureau of Statistics The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistical agency. It came into being, as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics, on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 (xi) of the Constitution of Australia. The founding fathers recognised that through statistical analysis held Buddhism Buddhists recognize him as an awakened teacher who shared his insights to help sentient beings end their suffering by understanding the true nature of phenomena, thereby escaping the cycle of suffering and rebirth , that is, achieving Nirvana. Among the methods various schools of Buddhism apply towards this goal are: ethical conduct and altruistic to be the fastest growing spiritual tradition/religion in Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the mainland, which is both the world's smallest continent and the world's largest island, the island of Tasmania, and numerous other islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.N4 It is the only area of land simultaneously considered a continent, in terms of percentage gain with a growth of 79.1% for the period 1996 to 2001 (200,000→358,000).[3]

Christianity

Deism

The 2001 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) survey, which involved 50,000 participants, reported that the number of participants in the survey identifying themselves as deists Deism is a religious and philosophical belief that a supreme god created the universe, and that this and other religious truth can be determined using reason and observation of the natural world alone, without the need for faith. Deists generally reject the notion of divine interventions in human affairs - such as by miracles and revelations grew at the rate of 717 percent between 1990 and 2001. If this were generalized to the US population as a whole, it would make deism the fastest-growing religious classification in the US for that period, with the reported total of 49,000 self-identified adherents representing about 0.02% of the US population at the time. [10] [11]

Falun Gong

No reliable data is available for the number of adherents of Falun Gong Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline founded in China by Li Hongzhi (李洪志) in 1992. It has five sets of meditation exercises and teaches the principles truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance, (真，善，忍), as set out in the main books Falun Gong and Zhuan Falun (轉法輪). The teachings deal with issues such as "cultivation of but as this religion was only established in 1992 most of the growth must have been by conversion Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religious identity, or a change from one religious identity to another. Conversion implies a new reference point for one's self identity. It is a matter of belief and social structure—of both faith and affiliation. This typically entails the sincere avowal of a new belief system, but may also present. Estimates for the number of adherents for 1999 range from 2 million[12] to 100 million.[13]

Hinduism

The Australian claim for Buddhism above has now been superseded by the 2006 census data, which gives the highest percentage gain to Hinduism Hinduism is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as Sanātana Dharma, a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal law", by its adherents. Generic "types" of Hinduism that attempt to accommodate a variety of complex views span from folk and Vedic Hinduism to bhakti tradition, as in, with a 193% increase over the 15 years from 1991 to 2006. This is, however, from a small base.[14]

Islam

Data for Islam Islam (Arabic: الإسلام‎ al-’islām, pronounced [ʔislæːm] [note 1]) is a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the teachings contained in a religious book, the Qur'an, considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of Allah (the sole divine entity in Islam) as revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, a 7th century Arab reveal that the growing number of Muslims is due primarily to immigration (in the West) and higher birth rates (worldwide).[15]

“ Islam is already the fastest-growing religion in Europe. Driven by immigration and high birthrates, the number of Muslims on the continent has tripled in the last 30 years. Most demographers forecast a similar or even higher rate of growth in the coming decades. ”

There is considerable difficulty in ascertaining the number of Muslims and as a result most measurements are inflated. The issue of apostasy in Islam Apostasy in Islam is commonly defined as the rejection in word or deed of their former religion (apostasy) by a person who was previously a follower of Islam is a major factor in this discrepancy. Countries such as Islamic Republic of Pakistan Pakistan (Urdu: پاکستان Pākistān pronunciation ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia. It has a 1,046 kilometre (650 mile) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, the Republic of India in the east and the People's, The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of Iran Iran (Persian: ايران [ʔiˈɾɒn] ), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persia until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf, northwestern shore of the Gulf of Oman, and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. Both "Persia" and "Iran&, Saudi Arabia The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA , is an Arab country and the largest country of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Jordan on the northwest, Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south. The Persian Gulf lies to the northeast and the Red Sea and Algeria Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country on the Mediterranean sea, the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area. It is bordered by Tunisia in the northeast, Libya in the east, Niger in the disallow legal recognition of non-Islamic religions, Islamic apostates and or impose the death penalty as a punishment for apostasy.

Wicca

Non-Religious

World Christian Database

The World Christian Database (WCD) and its predecessor the World Christian Encyclopedia contains large amounts of data on numbers and growths of religions. The following is a tabulation of their results: (Note: The annual growth in the world population over the same period is 1.41%.)

1970-1985[23] 1990-2000[24][25] 2000-2005[26]
3.65% - Bahá'í Faith 2.65% - Zoroastrianism 1.84% - Islam
2.74% - Islam 2.28% - Bahá'í Faith 1.70% - Bahá'í Faith
2.34% - Hinduism 2.13% - Islam 1.62% - Sikhism
1.67% - Buddhism 1.87% - Sikhism 1.57% - Hinduism
1.64% - Christianity 1.69% - Hinduism 1.32% - Christianity
1.09% - Judaism 1.36% - Christianity
1.09% - Buddhism

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a foreign-policy think tank based in Washington, D.C. The organization describes itself as being dedicated to advancing cooperation between nations and promoting active international engagement by the United States. Founded in 1910 by Andrew Carnegie, its work is not formally associated with any using the 2000-2005 edition of the World Christian Database, concluded that high birth rates were the reason for the growth in all six; however, the growth of Christianity was also attributed to conversions.[26] Although the World Christian Database does not cite sources, a review examining the reliability and bias of the WCD found it "highly correlated with other sources of data" but "consistently gave a higher estimate for percent Christian." In conclusion, they found that "on the whole we find that the WCD is reliable.[27]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c American Religious Identification Survey, Key Findings The Graduate Center of the City University of New York
  2. ^ "2006 Census Tables : Australia". http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?action=404&documentproductno=0&documenttype=Details&order=1&tabname=Details&areacode=0&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&javascript=true&textversion=false&navmapdisplayed=true&breadcrumb=POTLD&&collection=Census&period=2006&productlabel=Religious%20Affiliation%20by%20Age%20-%20Time%20Series%20Statistics%20(1996,%202001,%202006%20Census%20Years)&producttype=Census%20Tables&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&topic=Religion&.
  3. ^ Year Book Australia, 2003 Australian Bureau of Statistics
  4. ^ "GROWTH RATE OF CHRISTIANITY & ISLAM Which will be the dominant religion in the future?". http://www.religioustolerance.org/growth_isl_chr.htm.
  5. ^ "Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 2005 - Vietnam". U.S. Department of State. 2005 2005 was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar-06-30 June 30 is the 181st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 184 days remaining until the end of the year. http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rsd/rsddocview.html?tbl=RSDCOI&id=437c9cdd2&count=0. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  6. ^ "The List: The World’s Fastest-Growing Religions". Foreign Policy Foreign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel. Under the stewardship of editor in chief Moises Naim, Foreign Policy evolved from an academic quarterly in the 1990s to a bimonthly glossy, winning the 2009, 2007, and 2003 National Magazine Award for General Excellence. It is (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a foreign-policy think tank based in Washington, D.C. The organization describes itself as being dedicated to advancing cooperation between nations and promoting active international engagement by the United States. Founded in 1910 by Andrew Carnegie, its work is not formally associated with any). May 2007. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3835.
  7. ^ Pentecostals Celebrate World's Fastest-Growing Religion
  8. ^ Engendering Charismatic Economies: Pentecostalism, Global Political Economy, and the Crisis of Social Reproduction, Isabelle V. Barker
  9. ^ "What is the fastest growing religion in the world? A Secularist Evaluation.". FastestGrowingReligion.tk. 2008. http://www.FastestGrowingReligion.tk. Retrieved on 2008-09-12.
  10. ^ "ARIS key findings, 2001". http://www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris/key_findings.htm.
  11. ^ "Largest Religious Groups in the United States of America". Adherents.com. http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html.
  12. ^ Falun Gong Is a Cult Embassy of the People's Republic of China
  13. ^ Answers to Commonly Asked Questions about Falun Gong Falun Dafa Clearwisdom.net
  14. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006 census Religious Affiliation by Age - Time Series Statistics
  15. ^ BBC news site
  16. ^ Averaging of individual country figures from CIA factbook see also Demographics of Islam The exact percentage of the world's Muslim population that adheres to the various Shi'a sects, as opposed to the majority Sunni group, is indeterminate. No Sunni-Shi'a breakdown is available for many countries. The CIA World Factbook gives a Sunni-Shi'a breakdown only for countries where Shi'a are a significant minority. When no breakdown is given,
  17. ^ CIA Factbook
  18. ^ "The List: The World’s Fastest-Growing Religions". Foreign Policy Foreign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel. Under the stewardship of editor in chief Moises Naim, Foreign Policy evolved from an academic quarterly in the 1990s to a bimonthly glossy, winning the 2009, 2007, and 2003 National Magazine Award for General Excellence. It is (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a foreign-policy think tank based in Washington, D.C. The organization describes itself as being dedicated to advancing cooperation between nations and promoting active international engagement by the United States. Founded in 1910 by Andrew Carnegie, its work is not formally associated with any). May 2007. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3835.
  19. ^ [1]The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life
  20. ^ Staff (May 2007). "The List: The World’s Fastest-Growing Religions". Foreign Policy Foreign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel. Under the stewardship of editor in chief Moises Naim, Foreign Policy evolved from an academic quarterly in the 1990s to a bimonthly glossy, winning the 2009, 2007, and 2003 National Magazine Award for General Excellence. It is (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a foreign-policy think tank based in Washington, D.C. The organization describes itself as being dedicated to advancing cooperation between nations and promoting active international engagement by the United States. Founded in 1910 by Andrew Carnegie, its work is not formally associated with any). http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3835.
  21. ^ a b American Religious Identification Survey, Full PDF Document The Graduate Center of the City University of New York
  22. ^ census data
  23. ^ International Community, Bahá'í (1992), "How many Bahá'ís are there?", The Bahá'ís: 14, http://www.bahai.com/thebahais/pg14.htm .
  24. ^ Barrett, David A. (2001). World Christian Encyclopedia. p. 4. http://www.bible.ca/global-religion-statistics-world-christian-encyclopedia.htm.
  25. ^ Barrett, David; Johnson, Todd (2001). "Global adherents of the World's 19 distinct major religions". William Carey Library. http://www.gordonconwell.edu/ockenga/globalchristianity/gd/wct-1-2.pdf. Retrieved on 2006-10-12.
  26. ^ a b Staff (May 2007). "The List: The World’s Fastest-Growing Religions". Foreign Policy Foreign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel. Under the stewardship of editor in chief Moises Naim, Foreign Policy evolved from an academic quarterly in the 1990s to a bimonthly glossy, winning the 2009, 2007, and 2003 National Magazine Award for General Excellence. It is (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a foreign-policy think tank based in Washington, D.C. The organization describes itself as being dedicated to advancing cooperation between nations and promoting active international engagement by the United States. Founded in 1910 by Andrew Carnegie, its work is not formally associated with any). http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3835.
  27. ^ Hsu, Becky; Reynolds, Amy; Hackett, Conrad; Gibbon, James (2008-07-09), "Estimating the Religious Composition of All Nations" (pdf), Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, http://www.princeton.edu/~bhsu/Hsu2008.pdf

External links

Categories: Religious demographics

 

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