{"id":1871,"date":"2012-12-19T09:23:00","date_gmt":"2012-12-19T09:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/study-finds-84-percent-of-world-has-religious-affiliation\/"},"modified":"2012-12-19T09:23:00","modified_gmt":"2012-12-19T09:23:00","slug":"study-finds-84-percent-of-world-has-religious-affiliation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2012\/12\/study-finds-84-percent-of-world-has-religious-affiliation\/","title":{"rendered":"Study finds 84 percent of world has religious affiliation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Washington D.C., Dec 19, 2012 \/ 02:23 am (CNA<\/a>).- More than 80 percent of people around the world \u2013 about 5.8 billion individuals \u2013 identify with a religious group, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cChristians number 2.2 billion, or about one-in-three\u201d of the 6.9 billion people in the world in 2010, the study found, adding that about \u201chalf of all Christians are Catholic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tReleased Dec. 18, the study examined censuses, surveys and population registers to determine the size, geographical distribution and age of the world\u2019s major religions.<\/p>\n

\tAs of 2012, the world contained about 1.6 billion Muslims, 1 billion Hindus, almost 500 million Buddhists and 14 million Jews, the analysis said.<\/p>\n

\tFurthermore, over 400 million people, or six percent of the global population, adhere to folk or religious traditions. Less than one percent \u2013 about 58 million people \u2013 belong to other religions, including Jainism, Sikhism, Taoism, Zoroastrianism, Wicca and the Baha\u2019i faith.<\/p>\n

\tIn addition, the study revealed that approximately one-in-six people throughout the world have no religious affiliation. Numbering about 1.1 billion, this group is the third largest globally, behind Christians and Muslims.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cHowever, many of the religiously unaffiliated have some religious beliefs,\u201d the study said, including a belief in God or participation in religious observances.<\/p>\n

\tIn six countries \u2013 the Czech Republic, North Korea, Estonia, Japan, Hong Kong and China \u2013 the religiously unaffiliated make up the majority of the population. China is home to 62 percent of the world\u2019s religiously unaffiliated people.<\/p>\n

\tOverall, the unaffiliated are about equal in number to the Catholic population of the world.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cOverwhelmingly, Hindus and Christians tend to live in countries where they are in the majority,\u201d the study noted, adding that Muslims and the religiously unaffiliated also live in countries in which they are the predominant group, but by a smaller margin.
\n\t\u00a0
\n\tOut of 232 countries and territories in the study, 157 have Christian majorities, the analysis explained.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cChristianity has spread far from its historical origins and is geographically widespread,\u201d it found, observing that 99 percent of Christians live outside the region where the religion started.<\/p>\n

\tAbout 37 percent of Christians are members of Protestant, Anglican, independent or nondenominational churches, while 12 percent are Orthodox.<\/p>\n

\tOther traditions that view themselves as Christian \u2013 such as Mormons<\/a>, Christian Scientists and Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses \u2013 make up about one percent of the Christian population.<\/p>\n

\tAs a whole, Christians have a median age of 30, slightly higher than the overall global population median of 28.<\/p>\n

\tIn addition, the analysis revealed that Christianity has roughly equal numbers in Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cOf the major religious groups covered in this study, Christians are the most evenly dispersed,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington D.C., Dec 19, 2012 \/ 02:23 am (CNA).- More than 80 percent of people around the world – about 5.8 billion individuals – identify with a religious group, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center.<\/p>\n

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