View source for African atheism and intelligence

== Improving African IQ scores and Christianity ==

''See also:'' [[Protestant cultural legacies]] and [[Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]] and [[Atheism and sloth]]
[[File:Niall Ferguson.jpg|thumbnail|200px|right|The atheist and [[Harvard University]] historian [[Niall Ferguson]] declared: "Through a mixture of hard work and thrift the [[Protestantism|Protestant]] societies of the North and West Atlantic achieved the most rapid economic growth in history."<ref name="blog.tifwe.org">[http://blog.tifwe.org/the-protestant-work-ethic-alive-well-in-china/ The Protestant Work Ethic: Alive & Well…In China] By Hugh Whelchel on September 24, 2012</ref> ]]
As noted above, African IQ scores are expected to rise due to improving living conditions.<ref name="AfricanIQ"/> 

In the 20th century Christianity grew very rapidly in Africa and it continues to grow rapidly today.<ref>[http://gratefultothedead.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/the-african-apostles-how-christianity-exploded-in-20th-century-africa/ The African apostles: How Christianity exploded in 20th-century Africa]</ref><ref>[http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2011-12-20/christianity-growth-africa-europe/52125920/1 Study: Christianity grows exponentially in Africa] , USA Today, 2011</ref> See: [[Christianity in Africa]] and [[Religion and Africa]]

Historically, the growth of Protestant Christianity in an area causes improved economic and social conditions (see: [[Protestant cultural legacies]] and [[Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]]). 

The atheist and [[Harvard University]] historian [[Niall Ferguson]] declared: "Through a mixture of hard work and thrift the [[Protestantism|Protestant]] societies of the North and West Atlantic achieved the most rapid economic growth in history."<ref name="blog.tifwe.org"/>

The article "The Surprising Discovery About Those Colonialist, Proselytizing Missionaries" published in ''Christianity Today'' notes:
{{Cquote|In his fifth year of graduate school, Woodberry created a statistical model that could test the connection between missionary work and the health of nations. He and a few research assistants spent two years coding data and refining their methods. They hoped to compute the lasting effect of missionaries, on average, worldwide...

One morning, in a windowless, dusty computer lab lit by fluorescent bulbs, Woodberry ran the first big test. After he finished prepping the [[statistics|statistical]] program on his [[computer]], he clicked "Enter" and then leaned forward to read the results.

"I was shocked," says Woodberry. "It was like an [[atomic bomb]]. The impact of missions on global democracy was huge. I kept adding variables to the model—factors that people had been studying and writing about for the past 40 years—and they all got wiped out. It was amazing. I knew, then, I was on to something really important."

Woodberry already had historical proof that missionaries had educated women and the poor, promoted widespread printing, led nationalist movements that empowered ordinary citizens, and fueled other key elements of democracy. Now the statistics were backing it up: Missionaries weren't just part of the picture. They were central to it...

Areas where [[Protestantism|Protestant]] missionaries had a significant presence in the past are on average more economically developed today, with comparatively better health, lower infant mortality, lower corruption, greater literacy, higher educational attainment (especially for women), and more robust membership in nongovernmental associations.

In short: Want a blossoming democracy today? The solution is simple—if you have a time machine: Send a 19th-century missionary."

...at a conference presentation in 2002, Woodberry got a break. In the room sat Charles Harper Jr., then a vice president at the John Templeton Foundation, which was actively funding research on religion and social change. (Its grant recipients have included Christianity Today.) Three years later, Woodberry received half a million dollars from the foundation's Spiritual Capital Project, hired almost 50 research assistants, and set up a huge database project at the University of Texas, where he had taken a position in the sociology department. The team spent years amassing more statistical data and doing more historical analyses, further confirming his theory.

...Woodberry's historical and statistical work has finally captured glowing attention. A summation of his 14 years of research—published in 2012 in the American Political Science Review, the discipline's top journal—has won four major awards, including the prestigious Luebbert Article Award for best article in comparative politics. Its startling title: "The Missionary Roots of Liberal Democracy."

...over a dozen studies have confirmed Woodberry's findings. The growing body of research is beginning to change the way scholars, aid workers, and economists think about democracy and development.<ref>''Christianity Today'', [https://archive.is/cDMnA "The surprising discovery about those colonialist, proselytizing missionaries"], January 8, 2014</ref>}}
=== Rapid growth of Christianity in Africa in recent times ===
[[File:African open air Christian meeting.jpg|thumbnail|right|200px|[[Africa]]n Christians clapping at an open air meeting. 
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In recent years, Christianity has seen a rapid growth in Africa.<ref>[http://gratefultothedead.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/the-african-apostles-how-christianity-exploded-in-20th-century-africa/ The African apostles: How Christianity exploded in 20th-century Africa]</ref> See: [[Global Christianity]] ]]
''See also:'' [[Historical examples of the exponential growth of Christianity]]

Updated figures for 2021 show that there are now nearly 685 million Christians in Africa, already vastly surpassing projected figures for 2025.<ref>https://www.gordonconwell.edu/center-for-global-christianity/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2020/12/Status-of-Global-Christianity-2021.pdf</ref> It shows Christianity continues to grow among every Continent and Tribe, just as was prophesied in the Scriptures long ago by the Prophet Daniel and Saint John the Apostle. The Prophet Daniel saw Christ at the right hand of the Father receive worship from people of every tribe and tongue and St. John the Apostle, in the Book of Revelation, prophetically foretells a vast multitude that no man could number, adoring and praising God and Christ. The updated projection for 2025, from Gordon Conwell, is now an amazing 760 Million!

New data from the Gordon Theological Seminary shows that, for the first time ever, more number of Christians live in Africa than on any other single continent.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=Todd M. |last2=Zurlo |first2=Gina A. |last3=Hickman |first3=Albert W. |last4=Crossing |first4=Peter F. |title=Christianity 2018: More African Christians and Counting Martyrs |journal=International Bulletin of Mission Research |date=November 2017 |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=20–28 |doi=10.1177/2396939317739833 |accessdate=2 May 2020}}</ref>

"The results show Africa on top with 631 million Christian residents, Latin America in 2nd place with 601 million Christians, and Europe in 3rd place with 571 million Christians."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mauro |first1=J.-P. |title=Africa overtakes Latin America for the highest Christian population |url=https://aleteia.org/2018/07/24/africa-overtakes-latin-america-for-the-highest-christian-population/ |website=Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture |02 May 2020 |language=en |date=24 July 2018}}</ref>

The statistics from the ''World Christian Encyclopedia'' (David Barrett) illustrate the emerging trend of dramatic Christian growth on the continent and supposes, that in 2025 there will be 633 million Christians in Africa.<ref>World Council of Churches Report, August 2004</ref>

For more information, please see: [https://www.christianmessenger.in/study-traces-exponential-growth-of-christianity-in-africa/ Study traces exponential growth of Christianity in Africa]