The Last 100 Years of World Religion
In 1900, Believers by Percentage:
Judeo-Christianity 34.5%
Chinese-Traditional* 23.5%
Hinduism 12.5%
Islam 12.3%
Buddhism 7.8%
Other 9.2%
Non-Religious/Atheist 0.2%
In 2000, Believers by Percentage:
Judeo-Christianity 33.0%
Islam 19.6%
Non-Religious/Atheist 15.1%
Hinduism 13.4%
Other 6.7%
Chinese-Traditional* 6.3%
Buddhism 5.9%
*Note: Chinese-Traditional is a combination of Taoist, Confucian and Buddhism.
Major Changes during the last 100 years:
Christianity shrunk by 1.5 percenage points.
Chinese-Traditional shrunk by 17.2 percentage points.
Hinduism grew 0.9 percentage points.
Islam grew 7.3 percentage points.
Buddhism shrunk 1.9 percentage points.
Non-Religious/Atheism grew 14.9 percentage points.
Statistical Source: National Geographic's "Geography of Religion", 2004.
Believers by Continent (sorted by dominant religion first):
Africa: Islam, Christianity, Hinduism.
Asia: Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Christianity.
Australia: Christianity, Indigineous.
Europe: Christianity, Islam.
North America: Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism.
South America: Christianity.
Countries with the Most Hindus
India 755,135,000
Nepal 18,354,000
Bangladesh 15,995,000
Indonesia 7,259,000
Sri Lanka 2,124,000
Pakistan 1,868,000
Malaysia 1,630,000
United States 1032,000
South Africa 959,000
Myanmar 893,000
Countries with the Most Christians:
United States 235,742,000
Brazil 155,545,000
Mexico 95,169,000
China 89,056,000
Russia 84,308,000
Philippines 68,151,000
India 62,341,000
Germany 62,326,000
Nigeria 51,123,000
Dem. Rep. of the Congo 49,256,000
Countries with the Most Muslims
Indonesia 181,368,000
Pakistan 141,650,000
India 123,960,000
Bangladesh 110,805,000
Turkey 65,637,000
Egypt 65,612,000
Iran 65,439,000
Nigeria 63,300,000
China 38,208,000
Algeria 30,690,000
Countries with the Most Buddhists:
China 105,829,000
Japan 69,931,000
Thailand 52,383,000
Vietnam 39,534,000
Myanmar 33,145,000
Sri Lanka 12,879,000
Cambodia 9,462,000
India 7,249,000
South Korea 7,174,000
Taiwan 4,686,000
Countries with the Most Jews
United States 5,621,000
Israel 3,951,000
Russia 951,000
France 591,000
Argentina 490,000
Canada 403,000
Brazil 357,000
Britain 302,000
Palestine 273,000
Ukraine 220,000
Statistical Source: National Geographic's "Geography of Religion", 2004.
Religious Milestones: 1900-2006
1906 - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi uses satyagraha (non-violent protest) for the first time to protest against Indian segregation/unfair laws in South Africa.
1928 - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi pushes for India to be given Dominion Status.
1941-1945 - Six million Jews are murdered by NAZI-Christians during WWII.
1947 - Creation of Muslim Pakistan.
1948 - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is assassinated by a Hindu radical. His last words were "Oh God."
1948 - The State of Israel is Founded.
1948 - World Council of Churches formed.
1950 - World Fellowship of Buddhists formed.
1959 - The Dalai Lama escapes to India during the Chinese invasion of Tibet.
1962-65 - The Second Vatican Council marks shift to the modern Catholic Church.
1966 - Maulana Karenga creates Kwanzaa.
1966 - Swami Prabhupuda founds the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
1967 - The Six Day War.
1967 - Israel gains control of East Jerusalem.
1968 - Liberation theology begins at Second Latin American Bishops' Conference.
1971 - East Pakistan secedes from West Pakistan to become Bangladesh.
1975 - Incorporation of Sikhism into the Republic of India.
1978 - John Paul II becomes the Pope in the Vatican.
1978 - Louis Farrakhan forms his own sect of the Nation of Islam.
1979 - Islamic Republic established in Iran under Ayatollah Khomeini.
1980-92 - Falasha migrations from Ethiopia to Israel.
1982 - The film "Gandhi" is released. It is considered to be the greatest religious movie of all time. It won 8 Oscars and the Academy Award for Best Picture.
1987 - Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas founded.
1988 - Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is charged with molesting a choirboy by the Italian & German police.
1989 - Dalai Lama receives Nobel Peace Prize.
1991 - The United States declares war on Iraq, but later backs down because of fears of "another Vietnam".
1992 - Militant Hindu nationalists destroy mosque at Ayodhya, the birthplace of Rama.
1993 - Pope John Paul II says that "Condoms are evil tools of the Devil."
1993 - "Schindlers List" is released, a film about a German Catholic businessman who was instrumental in saving the lives of over one thousand Polish Jews during the Holocaust. The film won 7 Oscars and the 1993 Academy Award for Best Picture.
1994 - The Taliban gains control of Afghanistan with the aid of the United States.
1998 - Pope John Paul II visits Cuba.
2001 - Hindu celebration of Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, the largest religious gathering/ceremony in world history.
2001 - Sept. 11th, al-Qaeda terrorists destroy the World Trade Centre in NYC.
2002 - The United States declares war against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
2003 - March 18th, the United States declares war against Iraq.
2003 - The Iraq Civil War begins.
2004 - The Passion of the Christ upsets box offices and viewers. The film is banned in many countries for its anti-semitism. It was nominated for 3 Oscars but never won anything.
2004 - Jedi declared an official world religion.
2005 - Pope John Paul II dies.
2005 - Bishop Joseph Ratzinger becomes Pope Benedict XVI.
2005 - A blasphemous cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb on his head causes deadly riots in the middle east and a consumer boycott of all products from Denmark.
2006 - Mel Gibson makes anti-semitic remarks.
2006 - Israel attacks Lebanon.
2006 - The United States threatens Iran with nuclear war. Iran says it has the right to defend itself with nuclear weapons.
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