A new study conducted by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary is projecting that by 2020, 2.6 billion of the world population will be Christian. The report is titled, “Christianity in Its Global Context, 1970-2010.”
Director of the Center, Todd Johnson, warned that while 2.6 billion seems like a large figure, it also depicts a decline in Christian faith in both North America and Europe.
“Secularization is strong here, but it’s far more pervasive in Europe. People are now choosing for themselves instead of following a religion established by a state or a country” Johnson told Christian Post.
The report however showed that Christianity in Europe rose from 75 percent to 78.6 percent in 2010, which was attributed for the most part, to the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, but that the faith is expected to decline again.
According to the study, Christianity in North America will likely decline from 91 percent in 1970 to near 77 percent in 2020
“Christianity is also expected to continue to grow quickly in Asia, rising from 4.5 percent in 1970 to 9.2 percent in 2020. Likewise, Christians in Africa are expected to increase from 38.7 percent in 1970 to 49.3 percent in the 2020.” – Christian Post Report
Interestingly enough, the research did predict an increase of 3 and 4 percent among Evangelicals and Charismatics.
Speaking with CP, Johnson noted that “studies support the fact that people really desire a personal encounter within their religion and attributes Pentecostals and Charismatics as socially engaging which attracts even more people to join their movements”.
