By Male Marvin & News Agencies
As a percentage of the world’s population, the number of those who don’t belief in the existence of God is on the decline – projected to drop below 1.8% by 2050, according to research findings.
Researchers from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass, released the 2019 edition of their “Status of Global Christianity” report, noting that there are fewer atheists in the world today than there were in 1970.
The study found that in 1970 there were 165 million atheists worldwide, about 4.5% of the global population. In 2010, the number of atheists had fallen to 138 million or 2.0% of the population.
If trends continue, according to the study, this number is expected to drop to below 130 million by 2050, or about 1.8% of the world population.
Researchers analyzed data on church membership and activities from thousands of Christian denominations and other religions worldwide, presenting that data from 1970 and 2010 for a 40-year comparison and, using that information and related demographic data to forecast the world religious makeup in 2050.
“Projections to 2050 indicate a sustained decrease of the global share of the non-religious,” read the study. This is due primarily to the resurgence of other faith groups.
Globally, the report revealed, Christianity is growing at a 1.27% rate. Currently, there are 2.5 billion Christians in the world. The world’s population, 7.7 billion, is growing at a 1.20% rate.
Islam (1.95%), Sikhs (1.66%) and Hindus (1.30%) are the only religious groups growing faster than Christianity, though followers of Jesus outnumber every other faith and are predicted to continue to do so at least through 2050, the report says.
Among Christian groups, Pentecostals (2.26%) and evangelicals (2.19%) are growing faster than others.
They are both also growing faster than they did just two years ago. In 2017, Pentecostals’ growth rate was 2.22% and evangelicals was 2.12%.
According to the report, more than half of the world’s population in 1900 (54.3%) were unevangelized. That percentage continues to shrink, dropping to 28.4% in 2019.
That still means, however, that almost 2.2 billion people living today are still considered unevangelized.
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Additional Reporting by Aaron Earls, online editor for Facts & Trends.
