The Worlds Religions in Figures: An Introduction to International Religious Demography

The World’s Religions in Figures is the first comprehensive introduction to the field of international religious demography. The authors’ breadth of experience with methods and data and their detailed knowledge of global patterns of religious affiliation are extensive. This volume, together with their considerable expertise, presents a contemporary portrait of both the religious and non–religious around the world.   By examining religious freedom and religious diversity on a global scale, it highlights trends over the past 100 years and projects estimates for 2050. The book outlines the issues and challenges related to definitions, taxonomies, sources, analyses, and other techniques in interpreting data on religious adherence. Special attention is given to data from religious communities, censuses, surveys, and scholarly monographs. Several in–depth case studies are also presented, relating to the demography of the global Muslim population, religion in China, and the religious demography of recently created Sudan and South Sudan. The result is a crucial volume that provides resources for measuring both qualitatively and quantitatively one of the most important political and social factors in the twenty–first century.

List of Figures xiii List of Tables xiv Foreword xix Acknowledgments xxiv Introduction 1 Part I Overview 7 1 Global Religious Populations, 1910–2010 9 2 Regional Religious Populations, 1910–2010 81 3 Religious Diversity 93 4 Projecting Religious Populations, 2010–50 111 Part II Data and Methods 133 5 Defining Religion and Religious Identity 135 6 Religious Demography as an Emerging Discipline 143 7 Major Sources and Collections of Data 163 8 Analyzing Data on Religion 190 9 Dynamics of Change in Religious Populations 205 Part III Case Studies 227 10 Estimating Changes in the Global Muslim Population 229 11 Factors Driving Change in the Global Muslim Population 258 12 Estimating China’s Religious Populations 286 13 Assessing Religious Populations in the Sudans 313 14 Migration and Religious Diasporas 321 Conclusion 333 Appendix: World Religions by Country 337 Glossary 346 Index 360

Todd M. Johnson is Associate Professor of Global Christianity at Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary and Director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity. He is Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs (CURA) at Boston University, where he co–edits the World Religion Database. Professor Johnson is the co–editor of the Atlas of Global Christianity (with Kenneth Ross, 2009) and co–author of World Christianity Encyclopedia, 2 nd Edition (with David Barrett and George Kurian, 2001) and World Christian Trends (with David Barrett, et al, 2001).   He is also the editor of the World Christian Database. Brian J. Grim is Director of cross–national data and Senior Researcher in religion and world affairs at the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life in Washington, D.C. Dr Grim is also Visiting Research Fellow at the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs at Boston University, where he co–edits the World Religion Database. He is co–author of The Price of Freedom Denied: Religious Persecution and Conflict in the 21 st Century (with Roger Finke, 2011).

“It is a technical, critical volume.  For those who are seriously engaged in demographic studies and the manner in which international religious traditions have developed, and are now developing, this book will have value and significance.  It is a remarkable achievement.”  ( Association for Mormon Letters , 1 September 2013)