Background:
– Christianity is projected to remain the world’s largest religion, but may experience the largest net losses in religious conversion.
– The growth of Christianity in China could potentially maintain its status as the largest religion globally.
– Church institutions are declining in power in most industrialized societies.
– Developing countries in Latin America and Africa are not experiencing a decline in Christianity due to social support services provided by the Church.
– Pentecostalism is the fastest-growing religion globally due to religious conversion.
Europe:
– Europes population was 77.8% Christian in 2017.
– The European Values Study showed a decline in religious affiliation across Europe from 1981 to 2008.
– In Central and Eastern European countries, the proportion of Christians has either remained stable or increased post-communism.
– 71% of Western Europeans identified as Christian in 2018, according to a Pew Research Center study.
– A 2015 analysis found a majority of young respondents in Europe claimed to belong to a Christian denomination.
Impact on Society:
– In the Western world, there has been a gradual decline in adherence to established Christianity since the mid-twentieth century.
– Unchurched spirituality is gaining prominence over organized religion in a process known as secularization.
– In Western Europe, 83% of those raised as Christians still identify as such.
– A study projected that Christians may make up less than half of the American population by 2070.
– One-third of American Christians leave the religion by age 30, according to the same study.
Church Decline:
– Churches in Western countries are being repurposed, leading to closures due to lack of clergy and financial challenges.
– In Germany, 500 Catholic churches have closed since 2000.
– Pope Francis urged deconsecrated churches to be used for social needs like caring for the poor.
– The Pope lamented churches being turned into pizza joints, skating parks, strip clubs, and bars.
– Canada lost 20% of its churches between 2000 and the present.
Global Trends:
– The decline of Christianity in the Western world is leading to a rise in post-Christian, secular, globalized, multicultural, and multifaith societies.
– Christianity is declining in Western Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand.
– A decline in Christianity in Latin Americas Southern Cone is contributing to the rise of irreligion in the region.
– Increasing numbers of Christians in the global South are forming a new Christendom.
– The majority of young respondents in most European countries identified themselves as Christians in 2008.
The decline of Christianity in the Western world is the decreasing Christian affiliation in the Western world. While most countries in the Western world were historically almost exclusively Christian, the post-World War II era has seen developed countries with modern, secular educational facilities shifting towards post-Christian, secular, globalized, multicultural and multifaith societies.
While Christianity is currently the predominant religion in Latin America, Europe, Canada and the United States, the religion is declining in many of these areas, particularly in Western Europe, North America, and Australia and New Zealand. A decline in Christianity among countries in Latin America's Southern Cone has also contributed to a rise in irreligion in Latin America.
In the West, since at least the mid-twentieth century there has been a gradual decline in adherence to established Christianity. In a process described as secularization, "unchurched spirituality" is gaining more prominence over organized religion.
