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Line 16: − − On April 19, 2014 ''The Telegraph'' published a story on the growth of [[Christianity]] in [[China]] which stated: − {{cquote|The number of Christians in Communist China is growing so steadily that it by 2030 it could have more churchgoers than America.... − − Officially, the People's Republic of China is an [[Atheism|atheist]] country but that is changing fast as many of its 1.3 billion citizens seek meaning and spiritual comfort that neither communism nor capitalism seem to have supplied. − − Christian congregations in particular have skyrocketed since churches began reopening when Chairman Mao's death in 1976 signalled the end of the [[Cultural Revolution]]. − − Less than four decades later, some believe China is now poised to become not just the world's number one economy but also its most numerous Christian nation.... − − China's [[Protestantism|Protestant]] community, which had just one million members in 1949, has already overtaken those of countries more commonly associated with an evangelical boom. In 2010 there were more than 58 million Protestants in China compared to 40 million in Brazil and 36 million in South Africa, according to the Pew Research Centre's Forum on Religion and Public Life. − − Prof Yang, a leading expert on religion in China, believes that number will swell to around 160 million by 2025. That would likely put China ahead even of the United States, which had around 159 million Protestants in 2010 but whose congregations are in decline. − − By 2030, China's total Christian population, including Catholics, would exceed 247 million, placing it above Mexico, Brazil and the United States as the largest Christian congregation in the world, he predicted. − − "[[Mao Zedong|Mao]] thought he could eliminate [[religion]]. He thought he had accomplished this," Prof Yang said. "It's ironic – they didn't. They actually failed completely."<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/10776023/China-on-course-to-become-worlds-most-Christian-nation-within-15-years.html China on course to become 'world's most Christian nation' within 15 years]</ref>}} −
→Growth of Christianity in China
Yang Fenggang of Purdue University, in Indiana, says the Christian church in China has grown by an average of 10% a year since 1980. He reckons that on current trends there will be 250m Christians by around 2030, making China’s Christian population the largest in the world. Mr. Yang says this speed of growth is similar to that seen in fourth-century Rome just before the conversion of [[Constantine]], which paved the way for Christianity to become the religion of his empire.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21629218-rapid-spread-christianity-forcing-official-rethink-religion-cracks ''Cracks in the atheist edifice''], ''The Economist'', November 1, 2014</ref>}}
Yang Fenggang of Purdue University, in Indiana, says the Christian church in China has grown by an average of 10% a year since 1980. He reckons that on current trends there will be 250m Christians by around 2030, making China’s Christian population the largest in the world. Mr. Yang says this speed of growth is similar to that seen in fourth-century Rome just before the conversion of [[Constantine]], which paved the way for Christianity to become the religion of his empire.<ref>[http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21629218-rapid-spread-christianity-forcing-official-rethink-religion-cracks ''Cracks in the atheist edifice''], ''The Economist'', November 1, 2014</ref>}}
== Notes ==
== Notes ==