Islam world’s fastest growing religion – Study

Islam is the world’s fastest growing religion – and not just in Muslim majority nations: 10% of all Europeans are projected to be members of the Muslim faith by 2050, according to a recent Pew Research Center study. The study estimates that from 2010 to 2050, Muslims will have increased across the world by 73%, […]

Islam is the world’s fastest growing religion – and not just in Muslim majority nations: 10% of all Europeans are projected to be members of the Muslim faith by 2050, according to a recent Pew Research Center study.

The study estimates that from 2010 to 2050, Muslims will have increased across the world by 73%, followed by Christians who are projected to grow by 35% during the same time period, and Hindus at 34%.

That means that Islam — currently the world’s second-largest religion — will surpass Christianity as the world’s biggest religion by the end of the century, the study projects.

Why? Muslim women have more children, on average — 3.1 children compared to 2.3 for all other religious groups combined, Pew says. Also, those of the Muslim faith tend to be, on average, seven years younger than non-Muslims.

This year’s annual survey also sheds light on how Muslims are perceived around the world, including American views on Islam today compared to 2002 by political party. The study finds the people they surveyed who lean Republican had a more negative view of Muslims in the United States than in 2002, a year after the 9/11 attacks, while the opposite was true for those who lean Democrat. (CNN)