Christians remain world's largest religious bloc
December 19, 2011
Christianity remains the world’s largest religion, measured by the number of the faithful.
About one-third of the world’s people—2.2 billion—are classified as Christians, according to a Pew Forum survey. Roughly half of those are Catholics, with Protestants accounting for 37%, Orthodox for 12%, and the remainder scattered among small Christian sects.
The study notes that Europe is no longer the world’s most Christian region. One-third of the world’s Christians live in the Western hemisphere, and the nations with the largest Christian populations are the US, Brazil, and Mexico—in that order.
For the first time, China appears on the list of the most populous Christian nations. There are more active Christians in China than in any European country, the study finds.
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