A new report from Pew Research Center reveals a startling truth: while Christianity remains the world’s largest religion, its share of the global population is shrinking. From 2010 to 2020, the number of Christians grew by 122 million — reaching 2.3 billion globally — but this growth did not keep pace with the world’s population increase. In contrast, Islam grew by 327 million followers over the same period, becoming the world’s fastest-growing religion and increasing its global share by 1.8 percentage points (Pew, 2024).
This trend matters — not just because of numbers, but because it reflects a spiritual crisis. The world is drifting, fast. And while the Church remains a beacon of truth, countless souls are walking away from it. Pew’s lead researcher, Conrad Hackett, called the shift “striking,” noting that “Muslims grew faster than any other major religion,” and warning, “During this time, the Muslim and Christian populations grew closer in size” (Pew, 2024).
What’s fueling this decline in Christianity’s influence? In a word: disaffiliation. People raised in the faith — especially in the West — are walking away. According to the report, “Among young adults, for every person around the world who becomes Christian, there are three people who are raised Christian who leave” (Pew, 2024). This spiritual hemorrhaging has deeply impacted countries like the United States, where the number of religiously unaffiliated people soared to 101 million by 2020. Globally, the “nones” now make up 24.2% of the population — making them the third-largest religious group, after Christians and Muslims (Pew, 2024).
This isn’t just about trends. It’s about truth. Jesus Christ remains “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), and no shift in demographics will ever change that. But we cannot be silent while the Body of Christ shrinks. The loss is not in the message — it is in the missionary effort. For too long, too many in the Church have treated evangelization as optional. We are now seeing the results.
Yet there is hope. The report also revealed that sub-Saharan Africa is now home to the largest share of Christians globally — about 31% — thanks to youthful populations, higher birth rates, and strong faith communities. In 1900, just 1% of the world’s Christians lived there. Now, it’s the spiritual center of gravity for global Christianity (Pew, 2024).
What does this mean for Catholics? It means the mission field is not just “out there” — it’s right here. In our homes, schools, cities, and hearts. We are called not to despair, but to respond. We must raise our children in the faith, not merely in name, but in living witness. We must evangelize with courage, clarity, and conviction. The Church must be the Church — boldly proclaiming truth in a world desperate for it.
The data is clear: Christianity is not dying, but in many parts of the world, it is sleeping. And it must wake up. As Pew researcher Hackett concluded, “Sometimes we hear rumors of religious revival… but in this careful 10-year study that we’ve done, the broad trend is that in many places people are moving away from religion” (Pew, 2024). Unless we change course — unless we turn again to Jesus — that trend will continue.
Let us not lose heart. Let us rise up. The Gospel is still Good News. The world still needs Jesus. And the Church — our Church — is still the ark of salvation. Let us live as if we believe it. Because eternity depends on it.
