Atheism is in decline worldwide, with the number of atheists falling from 4.5% of the world’s population in 1970 to 2.0% in 2010 and projected to drop to 1.8% by 2020, according to a new report by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass.

In its report, Christianity in its Global Context, 1970-2020: Society, Religion, and Mission, 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 2020.

The numbers show that in 1970 there were 165,500,000 atheists worldwide, about 4.5% of the global population. In 2010, the number of atheists had fallen to 136,582,200 or 2.0% of the population. If trends continue, according to the study, there will be 136,685,000 atheists in 2020, or about 1.8% of the world population.

“Projections to 2020 indicate a sustained decrease of the global share of the non-religious,” reads the study. “This is due primarily to the resurgence of Buddhism, Christianity, and other religions in China, and Christianity in Eastern Europe.”

“If this trend continues, agnostics and atheists will be a smaller portion of the world’s population in 2020 than they were in 2010,” says the study. “Although the number of atheists and agnostics continues to rise in the Western world, the current growth of a variety of religions in China in particular (where the vast majority of the non-religious live today) suggests continued future demographic growth of religion.”

“From the point of view of 1970-2010, there has been a global religious resurgence, and it seems likely to continue into the future,” reports the study.

Continue reading : https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/global-study-atheists-decline-only-18-world-population-2020

Hehehehe ....Wow.
Some pple wont like this one

GOD IS ALL POWERFUL

felixomor:
Hehehehe ....Wow.
Some pple wont like this one

These are facts . Real study with actual figures . One of them opened a thread to "prove" atheism is growing in his backyard with the talk of radio talk show he only listened to and multiple accounts atheists open on social media . What rubbish ! Arrant nonsense . Gross idiocy , Repugnant foolishness . Atheism is indeed an insult to human intellect .

KingEbukasBlog:


These are facts . Real study with actual figures . One of them opened a thread to "prove" atheism is growing in his backyard with the talk of radio talk show he only listened to and multiple accounts atheists open on social media . What rubbish ! Arrant nonsense . Gross idiocy , Repugnant foolishness . Atheism is indeed an insult to human intellect .

Honestly. I saw the thread and i Shook head. Lol

felixomor:
Hehehehe ....Wow.
Some pple wont like this one

As at 1970 when countries with high populations like China , North Korea , Soviet Union were ruled by atheists , the population of the world was at 3.7 billion with close to 170 million atheists .

Fast forward , the population of the world has doubled (numbers in billion ) and the number of atheists fell massively and was at 136 million after 40 years (2010) .

And in three years time , the population will still drop when compared to the world's population.

I love how the article separated non religiousity and atheism and revealed that the both of them are actually on a massive decline

The World's Newest Major Religion: No Religion

You don’t usually think of churches as going out of business, but it happens. In March, driven by parishioner deaths and lack of interest, the U.K. Mennonites held their last collective service.

It might seem easy to predict that plain-dressing Anabaptists—who follow a faith related to the Amish—would become irrelevant in the age of smartphones, but this is part of a larger trend. Around the world, when asked about their feelings on religion, more and more people are responding with a meh.

The religiously unaffiliated, called "nones," are growing significantly. They’re the second largest religious group in North America and most of Europe. In the United States, nones make up almost a quarter of the population. In the past decade, U.S. nones have overtaken Catholics, mainline protestants, and all followers of non-Christian faiths.

There have long been predictions that religion would fade from relevancy as the world modernizes, but all the recent surveys are finding that it’s happening startlingly fast. France will have a majority secular population soon. So will the Netherlands and New Zealand. The United Kingdom and Australia will soon lose Christian majorities. Religion is rapidly becoming less important than it’s ever been, even to people who live in countries where faith has affected everything from rulers to borders to architecture.

National Geographic Society

Out of that 1.8 %, some believe God exists as as scientific studies has demonstrated. I had a friend like that, who declared himself an atheist yet still believed in God. He just hated God because of the tragic events in his life.

budaatum:
The World's Newest Major Religion: No Religion

You don’t usually think of churches as going out of business, but it happens. In March, driven by parishioner deaths and lack of interest, the U.K. Mennonites held their last collective service.

It might seem easy to predict that plain-dressing Anabaptists—who follow a faith related to the Amish—would become irrelevant in the age of smartphones, but this is part of a larger trend. Around the world, when asked about their feelings on religion, more and more people are responding with a meh.

The religiously unaffiliated, called "nones," are growing significantly. They’re the second largest religious group in North America and most of Europe. In the United States, nones make up almost a quarter of the population. In the past decade, U.S. nones have overtaken Catholics, mainline protestants, and all followers of non-Christian faiths.

There have long been predictions that religion would fade from relevancy as the world modernizes, but all the recent surveys are finding that it’s happening startlingly fast. France will have a majority secular population soon. So will the Netherlands and New Zealand. The United Kingdom and Australia will soon lose Christian majorities. Religion is rapidly becoming less important than it’s ever been, even to people who live in countries where faith has affected everything from rulers to borders to architecture.

National Geographic Society

Here is 2017 research by PewResearch , stay updated . And by the way , atheism does not reject religion ; so your post is totally not pertinent to the topic at all


http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/07/why-people-with-no-religion-are-projected-to-decline-as-a-share-of-the-worlds-population/

Talking about Christianity could just put people off – Church of England signals

The Church of England is set to signal to members that speaking openly about their faith could do more harm than good when it comes to spreading Christianity.

Stark new research findings being presented to members of the Church’s ruling General Synod suggest that practising Christians who talk to friends and colleagues about their beliefs are three times as likely to put them off God as to attract them.

The study commissioned privately by the Church of England and a coalition of other Christian groups also found that four in 10 British adults did not even think that Jesus was “real person who actually lived”.

Meanwhile a third of those surveyed said they were not aware of anyone they know being a practising Christian.

The Bishop of Bristol, the Rt Rev Michael Hill, admitted the findings had been “greeted with disbelief” but warned members of the Synod not to dismiss them because they did not fit with their “preconceptions” about the public.

The Church’s most senior lay official, the Synod's Secretary General William Fittall, added that some forms of outreach by Christians hoping to win new converts should be recognised as “counterproductive”.

The findings, which present one of the gloomiest pictures ever about the state of Christianity in Britain, were sent out to almost 470 members of the Synod, which is due to discuss how to tackle the crisis in the pews when it meets in London next month.

The study, called “Talking Jesus”, was commissioned jointly by the Church of England, the Evangelical Alliance and “Hope” an umbrella body which brings local churches together in different areas, in an attempt to arrest the decline in attendances.

It suggests that British society is polarised about Christian beliefs.

Overall 43 per cent of those surveyed said they believed in the resurrection – although more than half of those said they did not take the Biblical accounts literally.

Yet only 60 per cent believed that Jesus even existed with 22 per cent describing him as a “mythical or fictional character” and another 18 per cent unsure. Among under-35s the proportion viewing Jesus as a fictional character rises to 25 per cent.

Telegraph

rekinomtla:
Out of that 1.8 %, some believe God exists as as scientific studies has demonstrated. I had a friend like that, who declared himself an atheist yet still believed in God. He just hated God because of the tragic events in his life.

Yeah , atheism rejects deification not the existence of God . Those atheists you talked about believe that God exists but not really of a divine nature or status like we theists project them It to be .

To be very specific , your friend is a misotheist - someone who hates God - not an atheist .

500 UK Churches Closed While 423 Mosques Were Built on 'Sad Ruins of English Christianity': Report

An international think tank warned in a report that multiculturalism is feeding radical Islam in the U.K., pointing out that in the past couple of decades close to 500 Christian churches have closed in London alone while 423 mosques were built.

"British multiculturalists are feeding Islamic fundamentalism. Above all, Londonistan, with its new 423 mosques, is built on the sad ruins of English Christianity," the Gatestone Institute argued in a report released Sunday.

It pointed out that since 2001, as many as 500 churches in London of all denominations have been turned into private homes. At the same time, the number of Muslims has grown by almost a million.

Statistics from the NatCen Social Research Institute showed that between 2012 and 2014, the number of Britons identifying as Anglicans fell from 21 to 17 percent of the population, representing a decrease of 1.7 million people. Data from British Social Attitudes surveys also showed that those without a religion in England and Wales now outnumber Christians.

The Christian Post Company

China on course to become 'world's most Christian nation' within 15 years

The number of Christians in Communist China is growing so steadily that it by 2030 it could have more churchgoers than America

While Christianity is growing rapidly in China and India - the world's most populous nations

It is said to be China's biggest church and on Easter Sunday thousands of worshippers will flock to this Asian mega-temple to pledge their allegiance – not to the Communist Party, but to the Cross.

The 5,000-capacity Liushi church, which boasts more than twice as many seats as Westminster Abbey and a 206ft crucifix that can be seen for miles around, opened last year with one theologian declaring it a "miracle that such a small town was able to build such a grand church".
The £8 million building is also one of the most visible symbols of Communist China's breakneck conversion as it evolves into one of the largest Christian congregations on earth.

"It is a wonderful thing to be a follower of Jesus Christ. It gives us great confidence," beamed Jin Hongxin, a 40-year-old visitor who was admiring the golden cross above Liushi's altar in the lead up to Holy Week.If everyone in China believed in Jesus then we would have no more need for police stations. There would be no more bad people and therefore no more crime," she added.

Officially, the People's Republic of China is an atheist country but that is changing fast as many of its 1.3 billion citizens seek meaning and spiritual comfort that neither communism nor capitalism seem to have supplied.
Christian congregations in particular have skyrocketed since churches began reopening when Chairman Mao's death in 1976 signalled the end of the Cultural Revolution.
Less than four decades later, some believe China is now poised to become not just the world's number one economy but also its most numerous Christian nation.
"By my calculations China is destined to become the largest Christian country in the world very soon," said Fenggang Yang, a professor of sociology at Purdue University and author of Religion in China: Survival and Revival under Communist Rule.
"It is going to be less than a generation. Not many people are prepared for this dramatic change."
China's Protestant community, which had just one million members in 1949, has already overtaken those of countries more commonly associated with an evangelical boom. In 2010 there were more than 58 million Protestants in China compared to 40 million in Brazil and 36 million in South Africa, according to the Pew Research Centre's Forum on Religion and Public Life.
Prof Yang, a leading expert on religion in China, believes that number will swell to around 160 million by 2025. That would likely put China ahead even of the United States, which had around 159 million Protestants in 2010 but whose congregations are in decline.
By 2030, China's total Christian population, including Catholics, would exceed 247 million, placing it above Mexico, Brazil and the United States as the largest Christian congregation in the world, he predicted.
"Mao thought he could eliminate religion. He thought he had accomplished this," Prof Yang said. "It's ironic – they didn't. They actually failed completely."
Like many Chinese churches, the church in the town of Liushi, 200 miles south of Shanghai in Zhejiang province, has had a turbulent history.
It was founded in 1886 after William Edward Soothill, a Yorkshire-born missionary and future Oxford University professor, began evangelising local communities.
But by the late 1950s, as the region was engulfed by Mao's violent anti-Christian campaigns, it was forced to close.
Liushi remained shut throughout the decade of the Cultural Revolution that began in 1966, as places of worship were destroyed across the country.
Since it reopened in 1978 its congregation has gone from strength to strength as part of China's officially sanctioned Christian church – along with thousands of others that have accepted Communist Party oversight in return for being allowed to worship.
Today it has 2,600 regular churchgoers and holds up to 70 baptisms each year, according to Shi Xiaoli, its 27-year-old preacher. The parish's revival reached a crescendo last year with the opening of its new 1,500ft mega-church, reputedly the biggest in mainland China.
"Our old church was small and hard to find," said Ms Shi. "There wasn't room in the old building for all the followers, especially at Christmas and at Easter. The new one is big and eye-catching."

The Liushi church is not alone. From Yunnan province in China's balmy southwest to Liaoning in its industrial northeast, congregations are booming and more Chinese are thought to attend Sunday services each week than do Christians across the whole of Europe.
A recent study found that online searches for the words "Christian Congregation" and "Jesus" far outnumbered those for "The Communist Party" and "Xi Jinping", China's president.

Among China's Protestants are also many millions who worship at illegal underground "house churches", which hold unsupervised services – often in people's homes – in an attempt to evade the prying eyes of the Communist Party.

Such churches are mostly behind China's embryonic missionary movement – a reversal of roles after the country was for centuries the target of foreign missionaries. Now it is starting to send its own missionaries abroad, notably into North Korea, in search of souls.
"We want to help and it is easier for us than for British, South Korean or American missionaries," said one underground church leader in north China who asked not to be named.

The new spread of Christianity has the Communist Party scratching its head.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/10776023/China-on-course-to-become-worlds-most-Christian-nation-within-15-years.html

KingEbukasBlog:


Yeah , atheism rejects deification not the existence of God . Those atheists you talked about believe that God exists but not really of a divine nature or status like we theists project them It to be .

To be very specific , your friend is a misotheist - someone who hates God - not an atheist .

You tried this in another thread, and atheists themselves, people who know what atheism is to them, informed you that some atheist, quite a lot of them actually, reject the existence of God, and deification in general! Are you ignoring that fact?

World View: Christianity Grows in India Despite Anti-Christian Violence from Hindu Activists

Demographic figures for India show what is apparently a contradiction, when comparing the population of Sikhs with the population of Christians. During the period 1991 to 2011, the fertility rate for Sikh women was 3.9 children per woman, while it was 3.8 children per woman for Christians.

And yet, during that same period, the Sikh population grew at an average rate of 1.2% per year, while the Christian population grew at the rate of 1.9% per year. Based on the relative fertility rates, the population of Sikhs and Christians should have been growing at around the same rate, but the Christian population grew much faster.

The difference is believed to be due to conversions. Sikhs do not proselytize, while Christian missionaries do proselytize, and convert people of other religions to Christianity. By comparing the growth rate of the two populations, and assuming that the differences are due to proselytization, then it’s possible to compute that Christian missionaries in India have converted to Christianity 170,000 people of other religions, including Hindu and Muslim religions.

http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2016/03/25/25-mar-16-world-view-christianity-grows-in-india-despite-anti-christian-violence-from-hindu-activists/

My point however is to show that there are lots of reports pointing either way. If you asked me, my view is that more people will be religious than atheist.

But my opinion is irrelevant here as I have no way of knowing what the future holds regarding this topic.

budaatum:

You tried this in another thread, and atheists themselves, people who know what atheism is to them, informed you that some atheist, quite a lot of them actually, reject the existence of God, and deification in general! Are you ignoring that fact?

Rejecting the existence of a creator of the universe isn't atheism , so pointing this out is irrelevant . I'm working with facts , not hearsay or empty wishful thinking .

budaatum:
If you asked me, my view is that more people will be religious than atheist.

Being religious or non religious isnt atheism . Atheists as the study shows up are on a massive decline - this includes both religious and irreligious atheists

budaatum:

atheists themselves, people who know what atheism is to them,

Many atheists in the world are very ignorant . I've discussed atheism with say close to 500 atheists on various social media platforms in like 4 years and I can tell you , some of them claim they are atheists because they reject the bible or religion . Its pretty funny right .

KingEbukasBlog:


Rejecting the existence of a creator of the universe isn't atheism , so pointing this out is irrelevant . I'm working with facts , not hearsay or empty wishful thinking .

What facts? Show me! I've posted some facts below just so you desist from accusing me of thinking wishfully or hearsay (though, hmm, well).

Atheism is, in the broadest sense, the absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is the rejection of belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities. Atheism is contrasted with theism, which, in its most general form, is the belief that at least one deity exists. Wiki


Atheism is the absence of belief in any Gods or spiritual beings. The word Atheism comes from a, meaning without, and theism meaning belief in god or gods.

Atheists don't use God to explain the existence of the universe.
Atheists say that human beings can devise suitable moral codes to live by without the aid of Gods or scriptures. BBC


Atheism is one thing: A lack of belief in gods.

Atheism is not an affirmative belief that there is no god nor does it answer any other question about what a person believes. It is simply a rejection of the assertion that there are gods. Atheism is too often defined incorrectly as a belief system. To be clear: Atheism is not a disbelief in gods or a denial of gods; it is a lack of belief in gods. American Atheist

KingEbukasBlog:


Many atheists in the world are very ignorant . I've discussed atheism with say close to 500 atheists on various social media platforms in like 4 years and I can tell you , some of them claim they are atheists because they reject the bible or religion . Its pretty funny right .

They may well be ignorant. But least define their beliefs or views properly!

budaatum:


What facts? Show me! I've posted some facts below just so you desist from accusing me of thinking wishfully or hearsay (though, hmm, well).

Atheism is, in the broadest sense, the absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is the rejection of belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities. Atheism is contrasted with theism, which, in its most general form, is the belief that at least one deity exists. Wiki


Atheism is the absence of belief in any Gods or spiritual beings. The word Atheism comes from a, meaning without, and theism meaning belief in god or gods.

Atheists don't use God to explain the existence of the universe.
Atheists say that human beings can devise suitable moral codes to live by without the aid of Gods or scriptures. BBC


Atheism is one thing: A lack of belief in gods.

Atheism is not an affirmative belief that there is no god nor does it answer any other question about what a person believes. It is simply a rejection of the assertion that there are gods. Atheism is too often defined incorrectly as a belief system. To be clear: Atheism is not a disbelief in gods or a denial of gods; it is a lack of belief in gods. American Atheist

Tell me how this refutes my stance : Atheism is the rejection of deification . I'll wait ... let me give you 15 minutes to respond , if you don't I'm off .

budaatum:

They may well be ignorant. But least define their beliefs or views properly!

Rejecting the bible or religion does not make anyone an atheist , so how exactly are they defining their beliefs or views properly ?

KingEbukasBlog:


Rejecting the existence of a creator of the universe isn't atheism , so pointing this out is irrelevant . I'm working with facts , not hearsay or empty wishful thinking .

Do any of those definitions agree with this in your view?

budaatum:

Atheism is the absence of belief in any Gods or spiritual beings.

Or spiritual beings ? The atheists who are in non theistic religions - the Confucians , adherents of Han folk religion , the Buddhists - actually acknowledge the existence of spiritual beings .Materialism is not atheism . The latter part of this "definition" is materialism .

budaatum:

Do any of those definitions agree with this in your view?

Understand this : there are no gods to an atheist because no entity- abstract or concrete- is being elevated to a divine status (deity, deification) . So the atheist lacks the belief in deities simply because he is godless or without a deity (atheos) , nothing is a god or deity to an atheist . Simple .

There is no way around this . It is what it is .

KingEbukasBlog:


Or spiritual beings ? The atheists who are in non theistic religions - the Confucians , adherents of Han folk religion , the Buddhists - actually acknowledge the existence of spiritual beings .Materialism is not atheism . The latter part of this "definition" is materialism .

Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development leading to Insight into the true nature of reality. Buddhist practices like meditation are means of changing yourself in order to develop the qualities of awareness, kindness, and wisdom.

Because Buddhism does not include the idea of worshipping a creator god, some people do not see it as a religion in the normal, Western sense.

Confucianism, is a religion of optimistic humanism, Confucianism deals primarily with moral conduct and ethical living and is often categorized as an ethical system, rather than a religion. It emphasizes the earthly, not the heavenly.
It emphasizes the earthly, not the heavenly. The doctrines of Confucianism center upon:

1. Ancestor worship – veneration of the deceased ancestors whose spirits are believed to control the fortunes of the descendants.
2. Filial piety – devotion and obedience to and reverence of the elders of the family by the younger members.

It does not include the belief in the existence of a creator

Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds that matter is the fundamental substance in nature, and that all things, including mental aspects and consciousness, are results of material interactions.

None of them adopt the worship or existence of a deity! But if you won't take my word for it, shall we ask the atheists if they accept that there is a creator?

KingEbukasBlog:


Understand this : there are no gods to an atheist because no entity- abstract or concrete- is being elevated to a divine status (deity, deification) . So the atheist lacks the belief in deities simply because he is godless or without a deity (atheos) , nothing is a god or deity to an atheist . Simple .

There is no way around this . It is what it is .

Finally, spot on. I agree. And add, the atheist also does not accept that there is a creator, a deity or spiritual beings.

Now, if we've agreed definitions, back to the topic of the thread.

Religion is growing in certain parts of the world. That's a fact. It is also declining in other parts. It is declining in Europe, and definitely in UK where church attendance has declined so much that the actual buildings are being sold off. As I said though, it is my view that on the whole people who adopt a religion are growing faster than atheists.

I'm sure we agree on that.

budaatum:

Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development leading to Insight into the true nature of reality. Buddhist practices like meditation are means of changing yourself in order to develop the qualities of awareness, kindness, and wisdom.

Because Buddhism does not include the idea of worshipping a creator god, some people do not see it as a religion in the normal, Western sense.

Confucianism, is a religion of optimistic humanism, Confucianism deals primarily with moral conduct and ethical living and is often categorized as an ethical system, rather than a religion. It emphasizes the earthly, not the heavenly.
It emphasizes the earthly, not the heavenly. The doctrines of Confucianism center upon:

1. Ancestor worship – veneration of the deceased ancestors whose spirits are believed to control the fortunes of the descendants.
2. Filial piety – devotion and obedience to and reverence of the elders of the family by the younger members.

It does not include the belief in the existence of a creator

Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds that matter is the fundamental substance in nature, and that all things, including mental aspects and consciousness, are results of material interactions.

None of them adopt the worship or existence of a deity! But if you won't take my word for it, shall we ask the atheists if they accept that there is a creator?

You made my point actually . Adherents of Buddhism and Confucianism are basically atheists unless they adopt the worship of deities or deify any entity .There are materialists who worship a physical god - there have been physical gods through out the history of mankind .

Its totally irrelevant to ask the atheists if they accept there is a creator , their opinions do not affect what atheism is - the rejection of the deification of an entity .

budaatum:
Now, if we've agreed definitions, back to the topic of the thread.

Religion is growing in certain parts of the world. That's a fact. It is also declining in other parts. It is declining in Europe, and definitely in UK where church attendance has declined so much that the actual buildings are being sold off. As I said though, it is my view that on the whole people who adopt a religion are growing faster than atheists.

I'm sure we agree on that.

Islam is growing rapidly in Europe while Christianity is declining in only few parts of Europe but is growing rapidly in Asia , Africa and some parts of South America . You focused on Christianity and totally forgot Islam and other religions that are springing up especially in countries like Iceland . Islam is expected to double the number of adherents by 2050 , that's how fast they are growing


And for atheists , its a sorry state . Read what I told Felix :

As at 1970 when countries with high populations like China , North Korea , Soviet Union were ruled by atheists , the population of the world was at 3.7 billion with close to 170 million atheists .

Fast forward , the population of the world has doubled (numbers in billion ) and the number of atheists fell massively and was at 136 million after 40 years (2010) .


Do you see how bad it is ? This is beyond egregious !

This most important is that people are becoming unreligious
Stop focusing only on atheism, I'm not an atheist either cos it's not necessary