World Studies Hybrid 3/13 News Article

Pew Research Center released a study 12/18/2012 on the global religious landscape.
It is a great resource to begin to understand some of the religious patterns in the
world.

(see above figures) According to some estimates, there are roughly 4,200 religions
in the world. Knowing this, it seems unbelievable that 76.8% of the world population
practices one of the five most common religions and consider themselves Christian,
Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or Jewish. It is also known that 16.3% of the population has
no religious affiliation, meaning roughly 5.9% of the Earths population make up the
other (estimated) 4,195 world religions. These minority religions may have millions
of followers or only a lone village. Still, there are still a significant number of people
practicing one of the top five religions living as a minority in a country. Other/folk
religions almost primarily live as a minority, meaning they have no true homeland
or are either too small or dispersed too much. Some are content being small while
others aim to convert others. As time passes we will most likely see the rise and fall
of both majority and minority languages, along with the extinction of some and the
beginning of others.
Now we will look a bit deeper at the five most practiced religions in the world today
and their geographic dispersion.

(see above figure) Christianity is widespread and ancient. They make up 2.2 billion
or about one-in-three (32%) people worldwide. The vast majority of Christians (99%)
live outside the Middle East-North Africa region where Christianity began. The
greatest share of the global Christian population is in Europe (26%), followed by
Latin America and the Caribbean (24%) and sub-Saharan Africa (24%). Christians
also live in Asia and the Pacific (13%) and North America (12%). Less than 1% of the
worlds Christians are found in the Middle East and North Africa; still, a staggering
12,710,000.

(see above figure) Muslims number 1.6 billion, representing 23% of all people
worldwide. Sunni and Shia are the two major branches of Islam, with the majority
(87-90%) being Sunnis and about 10-13% Shia. Muslims are concentrated in the
Asia-Pacific region, where six-in-ten (62%) of all Muslims reside. Many Muslims also
live in the Middle East and North Africa (20%) and sub-Saharan Africa (16%). What
many people do not realize is that the Middle East-North Africa region is indeed 93%
Muslim, but represents only about 20% of the worlds Muslim population.

(see above figure) Hinduism traces its roots to the Asia-Pacific region, where more
than 99% still reside. Hinduism is the most geographically concentrated of the five
most practiced religions. Less than 1% of Hindus live outside Asia and the Pacific.
An overwhelming majority of Hindus (94%) live in one country, India. The largest
populations of Hindus outside India are in Nepal (2% of all Hindus) and Bangladesh
(1%). Hindus form a majority in just three countries: Nepal (81%), India (80%) and
Mauritius (56%). But 97% of all Hindus live in those countries, making Hindus the
most likely of the top five to live as a majority.

(see above figure) Like Hindus, Buddhists are also largely focused on one region.
Nearly 99% still live in the Asia- Pacific region. Only two other regions North
America (3.9 million) and Europe (1.3 million) have more than 1 million Buddhists.
Although the majority of Buddhists live in Asia and the Pacific, only about one-in-

eight people (12%) in that region are Buddhists. About 1% of North Americans are
Buddhists. In each of the other four regions, Buddhists make up less than 1% of the
population.

(see above figure) There are about 14 million Jews around the world, representing
0.2% of the global population. Israel is the only country with a Jewish majority
(76%). Jews are concentrated primarily in North America (44%) and the Middle EastNorth Africa region (41%), however, only make up roughly 2% of the total
population in both regions. In the past, Jews have been found all over the globe, but
today are much more geographically concentrated. More than 80% of all Jews live in
just two countries; the United States and Israel.
Religion is constantly growing, shrinking, and moving. By understanding patterns in
the movement of religion it is easier to understand many conflicts in modern-day,
history, and the future.
Source
"The Global Religious Landscape." Pew Research Centers Religion Public Life Project
RSS. N.p., 17 Dec. 2012. Web.