Religious populations are growing faster than atheists worldwide

Despite an increase in the overall number of atheists worldwide, new research reveals that the population of religious people is growing at a faster pace than that of their secular counterparts. 

The 2022 Status of Global Christianity report found that the population of “religionists,” those who subscribe to a particular religion, grew at a rate of 1.27% between 2000 and 2022. By contrast, the number of atheists only grew at a rate of 0.18% in the same time period. 

While the number of atheists in the world has increased from approximately 141.5 million in 2000 to about 147 million now, the number of atheists remains below the record high measured in 1970. 

Another encouraging trend is the growth of Christianity in particular. The number of Christians worldwide increased 1.17% from 2000 to 2022.

Christian denominations that experienced the fastest growth rates are Evangelicals and Pentecostals/charismatics. 

The report also noted that Christianity is growing the fastest in the global south, consisting of Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania. 

Another finding from the report reveals that Christianity has become less concentrated in Christian-majority countries. In other words, while there are more Christians worldwide, these Christians are spread out among more countries.