According to the United States Census Bureau’s International Database, around 5 and a half percent of the world’s population defines themselves as Anglicans. That’s roughly 617 million of the earth’s 7,144 billion people in 2010. Anglicanism is not only one of the largest Christian churches in the world, it also has an exceptionally long history. How did this religion get started? Is it different from other forms of Christianity? What is its response to modern controversies such as climate change, gay marriage, and vaccine skepticism?
The world’s predominant religion is being debated and researched more and more often. Every global institution that sifts through statistics will begin to realize the consequences, influences, and causes that deal with religious factors. This is, most of the time, proving to be a controversial issue due to its political nature. The majority of the populations in countries all over the world participate in one religion or another. The statistics of religious membership are typically collected through censuses and large surveys. Most recent data has found that Islam is still the world’s largest religion by number of adherents.
The five most populated religions in the world are: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Folk religion.
The Five Most Populated Religions in The World Are:
The most populated religions in the world are:
- Christianity (2 billion followers)
- Islam (1.8 billion followers)
- Hinduism (1 billion followers)
- Buddhism (900 million followers)
Christianity is currently the largest religion in the world, and the most populated religion in the world with over 2.2 billion active practitioners worldwide. Islam comes in second with 1.8 billion believers, followed by Hinduism at 1 billion and Buddhism at about 900 million practitioners worldwide. In addition to these five major faiths, many other religions have smaller but still significant followings around the globe.
Christianity
Christianity is the largest religion in the world. It is followed by more than 2.3 billion people and represents 33% of the global population. Christianity was founded by Jesus Christ in the first century AD, and a number of denominations exist within it, including Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
This section will provide you with statistics on Christianity from 2021 to 2023:
- 2021 – 1 billion followers worldwide
- 2022 – 1.2 billion followers worldwide (12% increase)
- 2023 – 1.4 billion followers worldwide (17% increase)
Islam
Although Islam is the second largest religion in the world, it is also one of the fastest growing religions. According to Pew Research Center projections, Islam will become the most popular religion by 2023.
Most Muslims live in Asia and Africa (60%), with 24% living in Europe or North America. About 20% of all Muslims live in Sub-Saharan Africa; 16% live in South Asia; 10% live in Southeast Asia; 2% live in Central Asia; and 2% live outside these regions (1%).
There are about 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide, making up around 23% of total global population (3).
The number of Muslims has been increasing rapidly since 1970 because of higher birth rates than those for any other religious groups globally over this period (4).
Hinduism
Hinduism is a religion, a way of life and a cultural system that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The term Hinduism includes a variety of beliefs and practices, such as karma, reincarnation and meditation. The most important texts are the Vedas. According to the World Religion Database, there are about 1 billion Hindus worldwide in 2021.
In 2022 there were 1 billion Hindus worldwide according to Gallup International Association (IAF). In 2023 there were also 1 billion Hindus according to Pew Research Center’s analysis of various sources
Buddhism
- Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha. The religion originated in India sometime between 500 BC and 300 AD. Major branches of Buddhism are generally divided into less than two dozen sects, often defined by geography or tradition. In meditation practices, for example, Tibetan Buddhist monks tend toward “solidity” and Indian monks toward fluidity; Chinese Buddhists may focus on the breath while Japanese Buddhists use the mind’s eye as an object of meditation.[7][8]
- 2021 Statistics:
- World population: 7 billion (up from 6.5 billion in 2020)-Buddhist population: 1% -Christian population: 31%-Muslim population: 20%-25%
Folk Religion
Folk religion is a general term that refers to the indigenous religious beliefs and practices of a people or culture. Folk religions are often closely associated with ethnic identity, as they are centered on the relationship between humans and the gods they believe in. In some cases, folk religions can be seen as a form of magic; however, this is not always true.
In 2021, it was found that there were roughly 5.1 billion people who practiced folk religion worldwide. This number grew to 6 billion by 2022, and 7 billion by 2023—the last year statistics were available for this data set at press time.
The Most Populated Religions in The World Are Christianity and Islam.
The most populated religions in the world are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.
Christianity is the most populated religion of all time with 2.2 billion followers (over 32% of global population). Highlight of african’s top ten countries by percentage of Christians:
- Nigeria – 71%
- Democratic Republic of Congo – 54%
- Ghana – 52%
- United Republic Of Tanzania – 51%
Islam is the second most populated religion with 1.8 billion followers (23%). Here is a map showing Muslim majority countries:
Final Thought
As you can see, the most populated religions in the world are Christianity and Islam. There are some interesting facts about these two religions and how they compare with each other. For example, Christianity is a monotheistic religion that teaches love for all people regardless of race or gender while Islam teaches that there should be no other gods beside God (Allah). Another important difference between them is their holy book: Christians believe that Jesus Christ was born from the virgin Mary while Muslims believe Muhammad was chosen by God to deliver His message through him as an angel visited him three times before revealing this message during his last one hour spent praying in Mecca before starting preaching all over Arabia after being commanded by Allah to do so as well (Sahih Bukhari).