The 21st century will be The Christian Century. Christianity is booming throughout the world and most of us in North America aren’t even aware of this trend. Throughout the Western world, Christianity is on the wane. In Europe, the Christian faith has given way to a secular faith and most churches are empty on a Sunday morning. Only in America is Christianity continuing to grow and this is due to immigration and faster birthrates than seen in Europe.
The center of the Christian world is presently moving south to Africa and South America. In Nigeria, there are more practicing Anglicans than in England and Uganda is catching up as well. The Philippines have more baptisms per year than France, Spain, Italy and Poland combined. Not only that, but there could be a theological schism developing between the new Christians in developing countries and their counterparts in the West. Another trend rarely noted; Christianity is faring very well in the competition for the soul of the world’s poor against Islam.
In 1900, Africa had only 10 million Christians, who represented about 9% of its population and today, nearly half of all Africans profess their faith in Jesus Christ. Latin America is practically all Christian and even in Asia, there are over 300 million practicing Christians. The growth of the Church in the developing nations is phenomenal and Professor Phillip Jenkins wrote, “In its variety and vitality, in its global reach, in its association with the world's fastest-growing societies . . . it is Christianity that will leave the deepest mark on the twenty-first century.” The largest populations of Christians now live in Africa and Latin America.
This boom will redefine the regions, politics and Christianity theology. The more secular West is pushing for greater reform in its churches whereas Southern Hemisphere Christians are requesting a return to either a more traditional Catholic Church or are flocking to the evangelical version of Christianity. While Europe and America control the leadership of the major denominations today, theologians in the developing world will soon be challenged for leadership roles. Many believers in the Southern Hemisphere look to spiritual revelation and exorcism of demonic forces and are creating a new version of early Christianity.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Steve S
For the Christian, all persons stand equal to the eyes of God
LOL! Then why don't they practice what they believe?
2 - Duane
The center of the Christian world is presently moving south to Africa and South America.
Like they didn't have enough problems already.
Only in America is Christianity continuing to grow ....
Glub, glub ... glub ....
3 - alienboy
Tom,
Interesting article, thanks for posting it.
I'm not totally persuaded by your premise though, I think you're missing something. As societies mature, there is a natural lessening of faith-based world views, as other, more valid explanations come to the fore (and, no, I don't mean [un]intelligent design, lol).
It's kind of like a wave effect, belief goes up and down before disappearing as its energy is spent.
Quite some years back, astrology was more popular than it is now; as the "justification" for it's rationale became exposed as somewhat ludicrous, belief naturally faded. Now, it's just a bit of fun.
One day, hopefully, current religions will be seen similarly. Then we'll know that humanity has finally started to grow up.
4 - Guppusmaximus
Too bad though, huh, Alienboy?? The bible is biggest selling book in the history of,well...Books. Can you prove that Astrology had been around as long or actually had the factual documents to support it that Christianity has? Religion doesn't fade away and by looking at history, Religious people create their own denominations of which most are rooted in Catholicism.How come you didn't mention the Alien believers that we have here in the US? Especially when they have no factual evidence whatsoever! I always find it depressing that people blame God for man's actions and that they are willing to turn their back on someone who loves them just to be free to do the hateful,nasty things that they feel inspired to do.
5 - Steve S
I always find it depressing that people blame God for man's actions
Really? I've never heard of anybody who blamed God for things, except fundies themselves. I've always heard the athiests, agnostics and the like blame religion, specifically organized religion for man's actions.
WHat's sad to me is that the religious people cannot make a distinction between the two. Condemn organized religion and you condemn God in their eyes. It's enough to make Jesus himself weep.
6 - KYS
I'm sorry, I misunderstand. Please define FACTUAL EVIDENCE. I promise you I can find a thousand people who can recount in detail an alien abduction....
7 - Anthony Grande
>For the Christian, all persons stand equal to the eyes of God
LOL! Then why don't they practice what they believe?<
Tell me how we don't practice it.
---------
O.k fine, I understand when you idiots bash organized religion you are not trying to bash God. But answer this:
Who here takes Jesus Christ as their Savior???
8 - KYS
Do you, Anthony?
9 - KYS
What?
No answer, Anthony?
If you accept Jesus as your personal savior, you should proclaim it proudly!
If you do not answer, I will assume you do not.
10 - Steve S
Anthony, my stance should be well known here, I've gone over it ad nauseum.
I am a Christian. I have accepted Jesus as my Savior. I believe in God and I believe that organized religion, most specifically Christianity because that is the primary one in this country we all have to live under, is a complete corruption of the Word.
11 - nugget
you said it steve.
I do believe, however, that christians NEED church, a church, something that resembles a church, even if they do incorporate some silly newspeak occasionally. There are still good ones left if you have the purpose to find one.
12 - nugget
but don't go to one with people like anthony grande. They are more interested in politics than love or God. They have an agenda just like the other hatemongering politico rhetoric spewing mudslingers that they hate.
13 - Anthony Grande
JESUS IS MY SAVIOR!!!
There, I pronounced it proudly. Does anyone got a problem with that???
14 - Bixby
I don't believe Christ is my personal savior, though He is my Lord and Savior and saves whoever believes in Him. Is there a difference?
The article does underestimate the influx of Islam into the western world- it's quite powerful, especially considering Turkey's possibile accession in the EU.
Devout Muslims pray 5 times a day, Christians- the competition is on! :) thanks for the article...
15 - Anthony Grande
KYS, eventhough I asked the question, I answered first. Now it is your turn:
Is Jesus your Lord and Savior???
16 - Luke
I'd still be happier if christians didn't demolish existing cultures, let the savages worship the sun if they want to, what could possibly be wrong with that?
17 - Baronius
Tom, very good article. I think your stats on Nigeria are wrong, though; Islam is certainly more powerful there, and I'm pretty sure it's more widely followed. I've been surprised that the former Soviet Bloc hasn't shown much of an increase in Christianity, although that varies by country.
18 - Alienboy
Anthony, if you truly believe what you wrote in comment 13, you have gone even further down in my estimation; bigoted, over-opinionated, disrespectful, hateful, arrogant and religious too. What a mess your head is.
19 - Alienboy
Gippusmaximus, I would have responded to your comment 4, but I didn't understand it. Try again...
20 - volt
Well Anthony, for starters the bible condones slavery. now i'm no scholar, but i did stay at a holiday inn express last night, and im pretty sure that the definition of slavery is when one person owns another person much like a piece of property. thus, those two people are hardly equal. further, the bible makes it pretty darn clear that women are inferior to men. also, i think the bible states a preference for christians and even promotes violence towards non-believers. basically anyone who does not believe is inferior. oh, and i almost left out homosexuals who do not seem to be held in high regard in the holy book or by christians.
so basically you are right that all persons stand equal before god except for non-christians, slaves, gays and women.
much like the idea of christians viewing all people as equal is the idea that christianity promotes democracy. please. democracy requires open societies with free flowing information and an educated populous - all of which run counter to church philosophy.
21 - Nancy
Religion will always be prevalent, because the supply of ignorant, uneducated, superstitious, gullible and/or just plain stupid people is neverending; as some mature enough to discard the superstitions of religion, others are born who still have to make the journey - and as Grande demonstrates amply, an awful lot never do.
And I will proudly declare that Jesus Christ is NOT my savior; he's a fiction based on a tenuously historical figure.
22 - Alienboy
I think you're too pessimistic, Nancy. There are many more people today who have become rational rather than superstitious than, say, a century ago and I am sure that the number of people who really believe this nonsense is diminishing. It's just natural that, as the believers sense the world view weakening, they become more strident. It will pass...
23 - The Searcher
Ditto Nancy on #21
24 - Rodney Welch
A column by the New York Times' Nicholas Kristof -- who is by and large a fair and objective observer of religion -- underscores some of Tom's points. (You can read it for free here.)
Some salient quotes:
* Chairman Mao largely destroyed traditional Chinese religions, yet Communism has died as a replacement faith and left a vacuum. "Among those disappointed true-believer Marxists, it may well be that Marxism has served as a kind of John the Baptist to the rapid emergence of Christianity among Chinese intellectuals," Professor [David Lyle] Jeffrey [of Baylor University] said. Indeed, it seems possible to me that in a few decades, China could be a largely Christian nation.
*People in this New Christendom are so zealous about their faith that I worry about the risk of new religious wars. In Africa, Christianity and Islam are competing furiously for converts, and in Nigeria, Ivory Coast and especially Sudan, the competition has sometimes led to violent clashes.
*The denominations gaining ground tend to be evangelical and especially Pentecostal; it's the churches with the strictest demands, like giving up drinking, that are flourishing.
*Christianity is thriving where it faces obstacles, like repression in China or suspicion of evangelicals in parts of Latin America and Africa. In those countries where religion enjoys privileges - Britain, Italy, Ireland, Spain or Iran - that establishment support seems to have stifled faith.
25 - The Searcher
Re #24: Worth pointing out: Humans are demonstrably more attached to, and look more favorably upon, groups with high "costs" of membership. Similarly, more severely-punished "forbidden" behaviors always tend to be the most "persistent" and hard to break than less severely-punished ones.