The World's Religions in Figures

The World's Religions in Figures is the first comprehensive introduction to the field of international religious demography. The authors' breadth of experience with methods and data and their detailed knowledge of global patterns of religious affiliation are extensive. This volume, together with their considerable expertise, presents a contemporary portrait of both the religious and non-religious around the world. By examining religious freedom and religious diversity on a global scale, it highlights trends over the past 100 years and projects estimates for 2050. The book outlines the issues and challenges related to definitions, taxonomies, sources, analyses, and other techniques in interpreting data on religious adherence. Special attention is given to data from religious communities, censuses, surveys, and scholarly monographs. Several in-depth case studies are also presented, relating to the demography of the global Muslim population, religion in China, and the religious demography of recently created Sudan and South Sudan. The result is a crucial volume that provides resources for measuring both qualitatively and quantitatively one of the most important political and social factors in the twenty-first century.