Pew Research Center
Posted on 08/02/2025 8:22:51 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The number of countries with Christian majorities declined between 2010 and 2020, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center, highlighting a notable shift in global religious affiliation.
As of 2020, Christians remained the majority in 120 out of 201 countries and territories analyzed, down from 124 in 2010. That means Christian-majority nations accounted for 60% of all countries surveyed, compared to 62% a decade earlier. The decline is largely attributed to a growing number of people leaving Christianity, contributing to the rise of religiously unaffiliated populations in multiple nations.
The most significant changes occurred in the United Kingdom, Australia, France and Uruguay — all of which lost their Christian majorities during the 10-year span. In these nations, the share of people identifying as Christian fell below 50%, while the percentage of religiously unaffiliated individuals rose substantially.
Uruguay became the only country in the Americas without a Christian majority by 2020, with 52% of its population identifying as religiously unaffiliated and only 44% as Christian. In the U.K., Australia and France, no single religious group held a majority. However, unaffiliated populations approached or surpassed the number of Christians, reflecting broader secularization trends.
Two other countries — New Zealand and the Netherlands — also transitioned to religiously unaffiliated majorities during the same period, joining a group of seven nations that already held that status in 2010: China, North Korea, the Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Macao and Japan.
In total, Pew found that 10 countries had religiously unaffiliated majorities by 2020, up from seven in 2010. These populations include individuals who identify as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.”
Pew Research Center
The report noted that while Christianity remains the most geographically widespread religion, its proportion of the global population is smaller than the share of countries where Christians form the majority. In 2020, Christians represented 29% of the world’s population but were the majority in 60% of countries. This contrast reflects Christianity’s broad dispersion across both large and small nations — from the United States and the Philippines to smaller nations like Micronesia.
By comparison, other major world religions such as Hinduism and Islam had majority populations in fewer countries, more closely aligned with their share of the global population. Hindus, who made up 15% of the world’s population, held majorities in just two countries: India and Nepal. Muslims were the majority in 53 countries, and Buddhists in seven.
The number of countries with no clear religious majority also increased slightly, rising from six in 2010 to seven in 2020. These included South Korea, Singapore, Ivory Coast, and Mauritius, along with the UK, Australia and France — countries that had lost their Christian majorities during the decade.
The findings reflect a growing global trend toward religious disaffiliation, particularly in traditionally Christian countries. Pew’s data suggests that while Christianity remains numerically widespread, its cultural and institutional influence is declining in some parts of the world.
The report is based on population data and estimates of religious affiliation collected from a wide range of sources, reflecting a broad demographic overview of global religious change.
This article was originally published at Christian Daily International
Christian Daily International provides biblical, factual and personal news, stories and perspectives from every region, focusing on religious freedom, holistic mission and other issues relevant for the global Church today.
And how is that going for them?
Sub-Saharan Africa is majority Christian. It’s also one of the fastest-growing areas of the world, both population AND percentage Christian. And also one of the “youngest” populations (i.e. low median age).
Therefore take with a grain of salt the thinly disguised “Christianity is dying!” implication of the headline.
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the INCREASE of His government and peace there will be no end...” Isaiah 9:6,7
The story correctly points out that Christians are the majority in the Philippines. This does not appear to be reflected in the map coloration, for whatever reason.
Tell me why my family fought and died for England and France twice in the last century?
“Never again”
When you try to share Bible verses online it actually goes pretty well
But there’s often also a persistent troll sent by That Old Serpent 🐍 Called the Devil and Satan to discourage you too.
We have ...some,,, freedom now but it is being eroded by media and tyrannical governments (see England and Germany)
The nations are like a man who is infected with devils. When the devils are cast out it wonders through the wilderness, then finds the man or nation has not filled that empty space with something better like Christianity. So the devils return far more and worse than before.
You fight for what you believe at that time. The future is not ours to see.
The soldier of 1776 had no idea of a Civil War in 1861, the Civil War soldier had no idea of two wars with Germany and one with Japan.
That’s not the point.
What IS material is what the people in those countries have done to repudiate everything we fought for by allowing the mass invasion of non-Christian enemy aliens.
They took our sacrifices and flushed them.
Have you been to Paris in the last twenty years? London? Frankfurt?
I almost got thrown out of Arlanda airport over a decade ago for making a snarky remark about the security checkpoint being run by an African named Mohammed. Recall that 9/11 and its aftermath were still front and center. But the idiot Swedish were hiring the perps to be the police. Gotta be inclusive, right?
What is happening now is a CHOICE that far Left, anti-Christian, anti-White governments are making. And by doing so, hey spit on our families graves.
The elephant in the room that no one wants to see:
Islam is not a religion of peace.
WILLIAM FEDERER explains how Muslims overtake cultures...
ISLAM: to submit
MUSLIMS: have submitted.
Muslim 3-Step Program:
* Religious - Immigrate to a country.
* Political - Increase in number.
* Militant - Eliminate those who oppose them.
Every American, Congressman, and Senator should listen to this short discussion by American Historian by WILLIAM FEDERER on Islam.
During the Q & A a student asked why legislators are so weak when it comes to condemning Islamic aggression.
FEDERER responded, “3 Things.”
1. They are ignorant about the history of Islam.
2. They are afraid of Islam aggression.
3. They are on the take.
What Every American Needs to Know About the Qur’an
https://www.c-span.org/program/book-tv/what-every-american-needs-to-know-about-the-quran/318924
bump
I work with some Uruguay folks a d materially they are doing well. I’ve not asked them spiritual questions.
The reason for Uruguay, like in France is the separation of church and state. In the early 1900s, under President José Batlle y Ordóñez, Uruguay implemented reforms that strictly separated religion from public life. This included banning religious references in public education, oaths of office, and government ceremonies. The 1918 Constitution formalized this separation, making Uruguay a pioneer in secularism in the Americas.
These policies fostered a secular culture, with Christian holidays renamed to neutral terms (e.g., Christmas as “Family Day” and Holy Week as “Tourism Week”). Over time, this led to declining church attendance and nominal adherence, even among those identifying as Catholic
This has led to progressive policies, including the legalization of abortion (2012), same-sex marriage (2013), and marijuana (2013).
They don6have much immigration but have rising crime rates, an aging population, large feelings of disconnection with society, moral relativism etc.
High suicide rates—23 per 100,000 in 2022, the highest in South America— are paradoxically tied to this secular context, with some attributing it to a lack of religious “meaning” or symbolic coping mechanisms for suffering, leading to unaddressed mental health issues
This was because the president in the early 1900s was a member of the anti clerical Colorado party that saw the Catholic Church as consevative, so impeding their “Enlightenment” ideas and not “progressive”
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