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| | *[http://kitmantv.blogspot.com/search/label/atheist%20demographics Eric Kaufmann's Atheist Demographic series] | | *[http://kitmantv.blogspot.com/search/label/atheist%20demographics Eric Kaufmann's Atheist Demographic series] |
| | *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwmgFZsgSo0 Eric Kaufmann: Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?, Australian Broadcasting Corporation]</ref>]] | | *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwmgFZsgSo0 Eric Kaufmann: Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?, Australian Broadcasting Corporation]</ref>]] |
| − | [[Desecularization]] is the process by which [[religion]] reasserts its societal influence though religious values, institutions, sectors of society and symbols in reaction to previous and/or co-occurring [[secularization]] processes.<ref>''Religion and the State in Russia and China: Suppression, Survival and Revival'' by Christopher Marsh, 2011, page 11 (Christopher Marsh cites the definitions of desecularization given by Peter L. Berger and Vyacheslav Karpov)</ref> | + | [[Desecularization]] is the process by which [[religion]] reasserts its societal influence though religious values, institutions, sectors of society and symbols in reaction to previous and/or co-occurring [[secularization]] processes,<ref>''Religion and the State in Russia and China: Suppression, Survival and Revival'' by Christopher Marsh, 2011, page 11 (Christopher Marsh cites the definitions of desecularization given by Peter L. Berger and Vyacheslav Karpov)</ref> for example the collapse of the [[Soviet Union]] and restoration of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] or the withdrawal of [[American]] troops from [[Afghanistan]] and restoration of the [[Taliban]]. |
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| | + | On March 15, 2024, Frontier Partners International reported concerning [[global atheism]]: "Simultaneously, atheism, which once saw a peak around 1970 with 165 million adherents, is on the decline. The current growth trend for atheism is -0.12 percent, with their number falling from 147 million in 2020 to 146 million in 2024."<ref>[https://www.frontierpartners.org/global-christianity-surges Global Christianity surges beyond projections in 2024], LiCAS.news • Mar 15, 2024, Frontiers Patners Intertnational, 2024</ref> See also: [[Desecularization]] and [[Global atheism statistics]] |
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| | The [[theology|theologian]] and [[Harvard University]] academic Harvey Cox asserted that [[grassroots]] movements such as [[fundamentalism]] and the [[Charismatic movement]]/[[pentecostalism]] are significant religious forces that are resistant to secularization forces.<ref>[http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8028-4691-4 Publisher's Weekly Review of'' The Desecularization of the World: Resurgent Religion and World Politics'' by Peter L. Berger]</ref><ref>[https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/harvey-cox/fire-from-heaven/ Kirkus Reviews- ''FIRE FROM HEAVEN: Pentecostalism, Spirituality, and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-First Century'' by Harvey Cox]</ref> In her book ''The Battle for God'', Karen Armstrong wrote: "One of the most startling developments of the late 20th century has been the emergence within every major religious tradition of a militant piety known as 'fundamentalism'… this religious resurgence has taken many observers by surprise."<ref>Karen Armstrong, The Battle for God, p. 9</ref> Today, even the highly [[secular]]ized public and political sphere of [[France]] is showing a new and more open attitude towards religion.<ref>[https://edoc.unibas.ch/50856/3/20170119190142_5880ff06238b8.pdf How religious is the public sphere? – A critical stance on the debate about public religion and post-secularity], Draft Version, Jens Koehrsen (Köhrsen). Bielefeld Graduate School in History and Sociology, Germany. École des hautes études en sciences socials, France. Published in: Acta Sociologica 55 (3), S. 273-288.</ref> | | The [[theology|theologian]] and [[Harvard University]] academic Harvey Cox asserted that [[grassroots]] movements such as [[fundamentalism]] and the [[Charismatic movement]]/[[pentecostalism]] are significant religious forces that are resistant to secularization forces.<ref>[http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8028-4691-4 Publisher's Weekly Review of'' The Desecularization of the World: Resurgent Religion and World Politics'' by Peter L. Berger]</ref><ref>[https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/harvey-cox/fire-from-heaven/ Kirkus Reviews- ''FIRE FROM HEAVEN: Pentecostalism, Spirituality, and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-First Century'' by Harvey Cox]</ref> In her book ''The Battle for God'', Karen Armstrong wrote: "One of the most startling developments of the late 20th century has been the emergence within every major religious tradition of a militant piety known as 'fundamentalism'… this religious resurgence has taken many observers by surprise."<ref>Karen Armstrong, The Battle for God, p. 9</ref> Today, even the highly [[secular]]ized public and political sphere of [[France]] is showing a new and more open attitude towards religion.<ref>[https://edoc.unibas.ch/50856/3/20170119190142_5880ff06238b8.pdf How religious is the public sphere? – A critical stance on the debate about public religion and post-secularity], Draft Version, Jens Koehrsen (Köhrsen). Bielefeld Graduate School in History and Sociology, Germany. École des hautes études en sciences socials, France. Published in: Acta Sociologica 55 (3), S. 273-288.</ref> |
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| | The [[Soviet Union]], communist China and the [[decline of the secular left]] in the world, demonstrate that [[state atheism]] and/or [[atheist indoctrination]] through social institutions is vulnerable to disruption and that desecularization can occur rapidly (see also: [[Collapse of atheism in the former Soviet Union]] and [[Growth of Christianity in China]] and [[Decline of the secular left]]). | | The [[Soviet Union]], communist China and the [[decline of the secular left]] in the world, demonstrate that [[state atheism]] and/or [[atheist indoctrination]] through social institutions is vulnerable to disruption and that desecularization can occur rapidly (see also: [[Collapse of atheism in the former Soviet Union]] and [[Growth of Christianity in China]] and [[Decline of the secular left]]). |
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| − | In China, [[Christianity]] is experiencing explosive growth.<ref>[https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/04/china-unregistered-churches-driving-religious-revolution/521544/ In China, Unregistered Churches Are Driving a Religious Revolution], The Atlantic, 2017.</ref> In addition, irreligious/secular countries are vulnerable to rapid desecularization through mass immigration of religious immigration or the disruption of atheistic indoctrination. For example, secular Europe is presently having a migrant crisis and these migrants come from religious countries (see: [[European migrant crisis]]). In [[Turkey]], which has history of a secular state, the higher fertility rate of religious/fundamentalist Muslims eventually caused the banning of the [[evolution|theory of evolution]] from secondary schools.<ref>[Turkey Coup: Undone by Demographics Turkey Coup: Undone by Demographics], The Unz Review: An Alternative Media Selection, 2016</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/world/europe/turkey-evolution-high-school-curriculum.html urkey Drops Evolution From Curriculum, Angering Secularists], New York Times, 2017</ref> See also: [[Atheist indoctrination]] and [[Evolutionary indoctrination]]
| + | Irreligious/secular countries are vulnerable to rapid desecularization through mass immigration of religious immigration or the disruption of atheistic indoctrination. For example, secular Europe is presently having a migrant crisis and these migrants come from religious countries (see: [[European migrant crisis]]). In [[Turkey]], which has history of a secular state, the higher fertility rate of religious/fundamentalist Muslims eventually caused the banning of the [[evolution|theory of evolution]] from secondary schools.<ref>[Turkey Coup: Undone by Demographics Turkey Coup: Undone by Demographics], The Unz Review: An Alternative Media Selection, 2016</ref><ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/23/world/europe/turkey-evolution-high-school-curriculum.html urkey Drops Evolution From Curriculum, Angering Secularists], New York Times, 2017</ref> See also: [[Atheist indoctrination]] and [[Evolutionary indoctrination]] |
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| | Current trends, which are covered below, suggests that the [[growth of global desecularization]] may accelerate sometime in the 21st century - particularly in the latter half of the 21st century. | | Current trends, which are covered below, suggests that the [[growth of global desecularization]] may accelerate sometime in the 21st century - particularly in the latter half of the 21st century. |
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| | As populations shrink, there are fewer mothers begetting fewer children and so forth so you get a compounding effect.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NtvDErEmBY Big Ideas Eric Kaufmann]</ref>}} | | As populations shrink, there are fewer mothers begetting fewer children and so forth so you get a compounding effect.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NtvDErEmBY Big Ideas Eric Kaufmann]</ref>}} |
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| − | See also: [[Atheism and fertility rates]] | + | See also: [[European desecularization in the 21st century]] and [[Atheism and fertility rates]] |
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| | Kaufmann wrote in his academic paper ''Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century'' | | Kaufmann wrote in his academic paper ''Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century'' |
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| | On July 24, 2013, ''CNS News'' reported: | | On July 24, 2013, ''CNS News'' reported: |
| | {{cquote|Atheism is in decline worldwide, with the number of atheists falling from 4.5% of the world’s population in 1970 to 2.0% in 2010 and projected to drop to 1.8% by 2020, according to a new report by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass."<ref>[https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/global-study-atheists-decline-only-18-world-population-2020 Global Study: Atheists in Decline, Only 1.8% of World Population by 2020]</ref>}} | | {{cquote|Atheism is in decline worldwide, with the number of atheists falling from 4.5% of the world’s population in 1970 to 2.0% in 2010 and projected to drop to 1.8% by 2020, according to a new report by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass."<ref>[https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/global-study-atheists-decline-only-18-world-population-2020 Global Study: Atheists in Decline, Only 1.8% of World Population by 2020]</ref>}} |
| − | | + | [[File:Eric Kaufmann.jpg|right|thumbnail|400px|[[Eric Kaufmann]] ]] |
| | On December 23, 2012, Professor [[Eric Kaufmann]] who teaches at Birbeck College, University of London wrote: | | On December 23, 2012, Professor [[Eric Kaufmann]] who teaches at Birbeck College, University of London wrote: |
| | {{cquote|I argue that 97% of the world's population growth is taking place in the developing world, where 95% of people are religious. | | {{cquote|I argue that 97% of the world's population growth is taking place in the developing world, where 95% of people are religious. |
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| | [[File:Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square in Beijing China.jpg|thumb|right|200px|In front of the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square in Beijing.]] | | [[File:Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square in Beijing China.jpg|thumb|right|200px|In front of the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square in Beijing.]] |
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| | + | === Subreplacement level of births in China which has the largest atheist population in the world === |
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| | + | As a group, atheists have a subreplacement level of births (See: [[Atheism and fertility rates]]). |
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| | + | Most atheists in the world are [[East Asia]]n and [[China]] has the largest atheist population in the world (See: [[Asian atheism]] and [[Atheism and China]]). |
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| | + | According to ''Forbes'' magazine, as far as the fertility rate of China: "...the Total Fertility Rate (births per woman) dropped in 2021 to just 1.15, far below the 2.1 required for a stable population."<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/sites/franklavin/2022/10/12/chinas-demographics-it-gets-worse/?sh=6102ba4331d1 China’s Demographics: It Gets Worse], Forbes magazine, Oct 12, 2022</ref> In 2022, the historian [[Niall Ferguson]] indicated that [[China]]'s population is projected to drop by 50-75% by the end of the century.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2vqnpXWM0Y&t=601s Niall Ferguson on the projected drop of China's population in the 21st century]</ref> |
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| | + | === Growth of evangelical Christianity in China === |
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| | + | ''See also:'' [[Growth of Christianity in China]] |
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| | According to ''Slate'', "[[Protestantism|Protestant]] Christianity has been the fastest growing religion in China."<ref>[http://www.slate.com/bigideas/what-is-the-future-of-religion/essays-and-opinions/fenggang-yang-opinion When Will China Become the World’s Largest Christian Country?], Slate</ref> [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical Christianity]] is especially growing sharply in China.<ref>[https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2015/0111/In-China-a-church-state-showdown-of-biblical-proportions In China, a church-state showdown of biblical proportions]</ref> | | According to ''Slate'', "[[Protestantism|Protestant]] Christianity has been the fastest growing religion in China."<ref>[http://www.slate.com/bigideas/what-is-the-future-of-religion/essays-and-opinions/fenggang-yang-opinion When Will China Become the World’s Largest Christian Country?], Slate</ref> [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical Christianity]] is especially growing sharply in China.<ref>[https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2015/0111/In-China-a-church-state-showdown-of-biblical-proportions In China, a church-state showdown of biblical proportions]</ref> |
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| | 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>[https://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>[https://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>}} |
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| | + | To see the magnitude of the explosive growth of Christianity in China, examine [https://www.dw.com/en/in-xi-we-trust-is-china-cracking-down-on-christianity/a-42224752 this graph about the growth of Christianity in China] in a DW news story about Chinese Christianity (DW is a mainstream news outlet in Germany). There are now more Christians in China than Chinese who belong to the [[Communist Party of China]] (see also: [[East Asia and global desecularization]]).<ref>[https://www.dw.com/en/in-xi-we-trust-is-china-cracking-down-on-christianity/a-42224752 In Xi we trust - Is China cracking down on Christianity?], DW News</ref> |
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| | Justin Wood also wrote: | | Justin Wood also wrote: |
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| | Justin Long, citing statistics from Operation World states: | | Justin Long, citing statistics from Operation World states: |
| | {{Cquote|From 146 million in 2010, evangelicals grow to 1.2 billion, or 24% of Asia’s 4.3 billion by 2100. Evangelicals are, in this model, predicted to slip from 3% per annum growth today to 1.5% per annum in 2100, due to the projected fall in population growth. This, too, seems a fairly realistic projection. While there are significant gains in the number of evangelicals in China, growth in other places in Asia is presently fairly flat.<ref>[http://justinlong.org/2016/04/when-will-the-world-be-over-half-evangelical/ When will the world be over half evangelical?] by Justin Long</ref>}} | | {{Cquote|From 146 million in 2010, evangelicals grow to 1.2 billion, or 24% of Asia’s 4.3 billion by 2100. Evangelicals are, in this model, predicted to slip from 3% per annum growth today to 1.5% per annum in 2100, due to the projected fall in population growth. This, too, seems a fairly realistic projection. While there are significant gains in the number of evangelicals in China, growth in other places in Asia is presently fairly flat.<ref>[http://justinlong.org/2016/04/when-will-the-world-be-over-half-evangelical/ When will the world be over half evangelical?] by Justin Long</ref>}} |
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| | + | === Skepticism about China remaining a global power === |
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| | + | ''See also:'' [[Atheism and leadership]] |
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| | + | China faces a number of serious intractable problems. A number of leading geopolitical analysts are pessimistic about [[China]]'s remaining a global power. [[Neocon]] globalist author [[Peter Zeihan]] said in 2022, "I do not worry about China at all... I don't think that there is going to be a China for much longer."<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKFsn8xwQSw Energy at the End of the World | Part 4 | Demographics | Peter Zeihan]</ref> |
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| | + | China has [[state atheism]] and the fall of the Chinese Communist Party due to economic and other societal problems would cause a large drop in the [[Global atheism|global atheist population]] (See: [[Future of atheism in China]] and [[China and atheism]] and [[Collapse of atheism in the former Soviet Union]]). |
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| | == Desecularization and Europe == | | == Desecularization and Europe == |
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| | *[[Historical examples of the exponential growth of Christianity]] | | *[[Historical examples of the exponential growth of Christianity]] |
| | *[[Militant atheism vs. Christianity, Islam and right-wing ideology]] | | *[[Militant atheism vs. Christianity, Islam and right-wing ideology]] |
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| | + | Essays: |
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| | + | *[[Essay: Secular leftism, future shock and the acceleration of 21st desecularization|Secular leftism, future shock and the acceleration of 21st desecularization]] |
| | + | *[[Essay: Militant atheists cannot stop this runaway train|Militant atheists cannot stop this runaway train]] |
| | + | *[[Essay: The slow implosion of atheism is accelerating|The slow implosion of atheism is accelerating]] |
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| | == External links == | | == External links == |