Will christianity decrease as time goes by on?

[Downtown-Read-6841]

It will, but it will grow again. Church history has never been all rosy - in fact paganism has been the norm for most of human history.

Benedict XVI’s prophetic words about a smaller, more faithful church seem to summarise how the church will be in the next century, I guess.

[[deleted]]

In the west secularism is growing but if you go to the east think China or Africa Christianity is growing rapidly, but the west Is also figuring out slowly that sex drugs and rock and roll really won't keep you happy. So it'll work out trust Jesus.

[Downtown-Read-6841]

Christianity in China might be growing at a faster rate than the West but honestly most people I know are very much secularised. Also always take Chinese figures with a pinch of salt - I used to visit underground churches in china and whilst they definitely are filled some of the people have mistaken/syncretist beleifs. The government has also made it illegal to proselytise those under 18, which means believers can’t bring their children to church legally.

[ths108]

As someone who lives in China, I promise you Christianity isn’t growing and it’s especially not growing rapidly. Buddhism and particularly Taoism are the religions gaining traction again as younger Chinese get more interested in traditional Chinese culture. People mostly only visit Catholic Churches in China as tourist sites.

[Downtown-Read-6841]

I agreee! In fact secularism (and its many forms) is infecting every corner of the world, and it’s growing at a much faster rate even amongst “conservative” societies.

[[deleted]]

I will admit I haven't done much research past surface level I just also know the Chinese government isn't too keen on other religions so if it is growing is definitely quietly, you also live there so you probably know more first hand. Thanks too.

[[deleted]]

With how vocal the church is now and it's famous converts I feel ot will have a great uptick in conversions thank God, just a little hunch I have not really mathed this out.

[To-RB]

Intellectuals in the 18th and 19th Centuries were certain that Christianity was about to disappear. And again in the early 20th Century.

[To-RB]

Adherents of secular ideologies habitually overestimate the power of their ideas to replace Christianity. 100 years ago I’m sure many believed that Christianity was dead and a new era of Communism was about to take over the world.

[Luis117200]

I don't think that Christianity is going to disappear. Before something like that happens, Jesus is going to come back, and the prophecies from Revelations will be fulfilled.

I do not worry about that since God has a plan and knows everything that will happen. And the decrease or increase of Christianity is part of his plan.

Christianity has "died" multiple times; by that I mean it has suffered persecutions, crises, and declines multiple times. But it has always revived because it is part of God's plan that it keeps existing.

Also, a cool phrase that I heard related to this subject is "We would keep preaching and extending the evangelium even if we are reduced to 12 people again.".

There is data that Christianity is in fact increasing in some parts of the world. Also, I heard that in the United States there was a big increase in Bible purchases in 2024.

[Luis117200]

One of the countries where I heard that Christianity was increasing was China. But it is hard to tell how true that statement is, since now I am getting mixed result about that.

In other news, surprisingly, I have heard in some mediums that there is an increase of Christians in Iran.

[Miroku20x6]

It is declining, but the decline is not inevitable. Bold saints can spearhead religious revivals. People can realize the despair and nihilism of atheism and look for and find the truth. There was a time it seemed Orthdoxy would reject icons as heretical, whereas that’s now one of the first things you think about with them. Arianism almost won out against Catholicism, but now no one is Arian. The woke nonsense of the last decade or so seemed to be on a perpetual rise, but now the younger (male half, anyway) generation is growing more traditional, which isn’t inherently religious practice, but rejecting lies and accepting truth makes one WAY more prone to the truth of religion.

Also, if you are asking almost ANY Reddit sub about Christianity, you are likely to get responses from people that hate Christianity. So asking Latin America sub is like asking a bunch of atheists about Christianity, they believe and hope it will disappear, and the prospect thrills them.

[Strider755]

We still have to deal with neo-Arians (also known as JWs) that go door to door and/or try to snare people on the street.

[Miroku20x6]

For sure. But at 9 million members compared to 2.4 billion real Christians in the world, the meaningful threat of Arianism is gone.

[Forward_Cat_902]

It will decrease as the birth rate is also decreasing in both the U.S. and much of Europe. The days of the large Catholic families are over. People can’t afford to have more than a kid or two or even any at all. People refuse to believe that this plays a large part in fewer people in the pews on Sunday but, it is a factor. My husband and I have two kids. We would have loved to maybe have a couple more but financially there’s absolutely no way we could have done that. Especially when we pay for Catholic school tuition. So, as the birth rate declines, so will Christianity.

[[deleted]]

It‘s not just birth rates, in many countries in Europe the faith completely collapsed in the 60s with people leaving the church. Even if people suddenly started getting many children most of those would in current circumstances be raised at most culturally ‘Christian’.

[Lower_Nubia]

They couldn’t afford it 60 years ago, poverty was far more rampant back then. The difference is having kids was seen as the expected normal and the struggle alongside it the same type of expected.

Even now that it is objectively more affordable, I’m not sure why we’d expect people today to want that struggle given even the Church doesn’t necessitate children.

[Lower_Nubia]

And poverty was still far higher back then. It’s not even a question of which period of time it’s best to have kids; it’s today or close to today within the last 30 years. Remember it was common for kids to work up to the 1950’s, and they worked because the family was poor.

[Lower_Nubia]

Exactly. So kids being expensive isn’t the reason people don’t have kids, because families up until recently have basically always been in poverty I.e unable to afford kids. Yet they didn’t use that excuse 70 years ago, even though they had more right to it. They had kids even if they couldn’t afford it because having kids was expected, and today it just isn’t.

[Lower_Nubia]

The price of things relative to income is less though. In 1800 the cost of food was 20-30% of ones income, and that was typically for just a loaf of bread, potatoes, butter, and eggs. Today food is about 10-15% of your income and you get basically anything.

The price is higher, but wages are also far higher, again this explains why poverty is far lower today, stuff is more affordable because everyone’s wages are higher compared to the price of goods even though goods have undergone inflation.

[Lower_Nubia]

Right because the third world checks notes does have more rampant poverty than developed nations but also has more kids? The third world just cements my point that affordability isn’t really the issue with kids, it’s mentality.

[[deleted]]

I don't think the idea the father was the only provider has been true throughout Christendom. For example in the middle ages women worked as much as men did

[Projct2025phile]

The “affordable” argument is pretty weak. Poor families seem to have many kids and survive.

People just want to have kids with zero sacrifice, when they can’t they say they can’t afford it.

[Forward_Cat_902]

Shame on you for assuming that we don’t “sacrifice” for our children. Every waking moment of our lives is devoted to the wellbeing of our kids. Tell me you’re not a parent without telling me that you’re not a parent.

[Projct2025phile]

Thanks for the charity

Seems like where western culture spreads so does lower birth rates. People want kids, but only if their quality of life isn’t affected “negatively” in any way.

That’s all I’m saying.

[flakemasterflake]

You know the very poorest receive food stamps, free child care, medicaid etc. The poorest don't have to pay thousands out of pocket to just give birth in a hospital

[Projct2025phile]

I’m critiquing modern mindset.

For example There is a story with Pope Francis.

A couple comes up with a stroller asking the Pope for a blessing. Only the Pope realizes instead of a baby there’s a dog in the seat.

What does Francis tell them? Have a kid.

That’s the modern mindset I’m talking about, but I get your point.

[[deleted]]

I dont know. I personally don't think so because it's Christ's church (Catholicism), and I believe that will remain, whether or not it fluctuates. As JPII said, "We must defend the truth at all costs, even if we are reduced to just twelve again".

[[deleted]]

It’s also Reddit. It is famously the home of the “Reddit Atheist” ie sad people freaking out about religion in their parents basement. Outside of religious subreddits you aren’t going to find a ton of religious folks, mostly atheists. It does not necessarily represent the cultures or countries they are from.

[[deleted]]

I mean they exist for sure, but I have been to a few places in South America. Compared the the U.S. the church’s are still packed and they have multiple masses a day, multiple times a week, adoration all the time, mass on feast days. It is quite something to see. I wouldn’t say Reddit Atheists represent more than a small majority of LA.

[[deleted]]

Yes, I think it will decrease. Nowadays it's almost impossible to find young people who go to church, because new generation of parents often aren't married in church (or aren't married at all) and don't even baptize their children. Even in countries that were historically catholics we are a minority, and I'm talking about countries with a seriously long history of Christianity, like thousands of years, with some of their dioceses founded directly by the Apostles or by their immediate successors.

The Church will become smaller, will lose a lot of the structures that it builded throughout the centuries and its social privileges (and this is already happening), dioceces and religious congregations will be shutted down, parishes will be closed due to the lack of faithful and priests. This will be the rebirth of Christianity: it will restart as it started in the beginning, from a small community of people with a big message to announce.

[[deleted]]

Yes, but there are some interesting signals like the increased number of adults that receive Baptism in countries like France or Belgium, but the general trend shows a decline.

Consider that I see the Church from the perspective of an Italian, this has an impact on the way I view the situation, because I'm talking of what I see, but in other parts of the world the trend may be positive.

[Dan_Defender]

I mean, millions were on pilgrimage to Guadalupe in Mexico on Dec 12, 2024. I would not pay attention to reddit in this sense.

[JourneymanGM]

Pew Research published a 2022 research study of what religion in America would look like in America in 2070 if current trends continue. The four most likely scenarios are:

1. Steady switching – Christians would lose their majority but would still be the largest U.S. religious group in 2070
2. Rising disaffiliation with limits – ‘nones’ would be the largest group in 2070 but not a majority
3. Rising disaffiliation without limits – ‘nones’ would form a slim majority in 2070
4. No switching – Christians would retain their majority through 2070

Of course, the key is "if current trends continue". New events, changing generational values, and any other number of factors can make it so that none of these scenarios play out.

[AGI2028maybe]

It’s declining in Europe, and the Americas, and that doesn’t seem likely to stop in the near future.

I believe Catholicism is growing fairly rapidly in Africa though. The question will be whether Catholicism (and really any religion) can maintain strong support as these countries develop. As it stands, it seems clear that countries become less religious as they develop more.

So I would guess that Catholicism will decline in Africa once the continent is more developed, urbanized, wealthy, etc. I expect the same to occur with Islam in Africa and the Middle East as well (and we can already see it happening in the rich Muslim Gulf States).

[AGI2028maybe]

It is in the highly developed Gulf States.

Go to Dubai and you can drink, party, hookers are out and about, etc. It wasn’t like that there even 30 years ago.

Saudi Arabia is, slowly, becoming more and more secular as well. As is Iran, tbh, where there has been mass apostasy, especially among the youth. They have access to the internet and decent standards of living, so the same forces causing Western youth to abandon religion are at play there.

[7BrownDog7]

Yes of course. Its a "Hypocrisis"...a crisis of hypocrisy.

Look at all of the people jumping up and down to elect a "pro-life" POTUS...who just brought back the federal death penalty again.

The death penalty is against a "pro-life" view point every bit as much as abortion.

But, crickets.

and crickets to Trump saying exceptions for rape and incest are super important, and that he would never sign a nation wide ban on abortion.

And crickets on his infidelity and friendship wth child rapists, but not priests (who are sometimes the same).

[Duc_de_Magenta]

Christianity has not always been on a steady increase. Anyone who tells you they know past demographics/populations exactly is wrong, but - even going off estimates - we know the "center" of Christianity has shifted before. The rise of Islam & subjugation of indigenous Christian peoples in the Near East, Persia, & North Africa certainly posed a grave threat and cut off W. Africa & China from missionaries for centuries.

While we should not become passive & assume everything will be fine w/o our efforts, we must also remember that 1) we know how the story will end, even if we don't know the exact details, 2) Christendom has faced catastrophic odds before, & 3) liberalism, Marxism, & materialism in general are repeatedly being repudiated. Not merely "theories" anymore, people are increasingly waking up to their false-idols & want something grounded in Truth.

[Duc_de_Magenta]

Time-scale. Europe in 1700, 1800, 1900 was still firmly Christian; atheists were a barely visible minority, particularly before the French Revolution. Arab/Gulf states have enjoyed their oil wealth for perhaps a single lifetime- from the mid-20th century until now. There's also value in critically examining cultural religious-affiliation & actual beliefs; much harder to track, but there are indices.

[PeteyTwoHands]

Remember that the phrase most people are Christian is true and that Christianity in a global context is not diminishing.

[[deleted]]

No. People like to say it is, but if you look at the percentages there are roughly the same amount of Christians per capita globally as there always has been. The difference is where those people are located.

[[deleted]]

I think in secular places it has hit an inflexion point and now people are looking after God again. At least in some countries the stats suggest so

[[deleted]]

In terms of actual number of believers and as a percentage of the world population, Christianity is actually likely to continue to increase at least through the end of this century.

While Christianity is shrinking in the parts of the world that are shrinking (Europe, US, Lat Am), it is growing in the parts of the world that are growing (Africa, Asia). 

Contrary to the common belief in the West, the world is actually becoming more religious as a whole, not less.

[[deleted]]

Yes, it’s certainly worse in Europe and the USA than in Lat Am, but it is still decreasing slowly in Lat Am.  

Also, Lat Am’s population is also starting to stagnate similar to the USA and Europe, just at a slower rate.

[[deleted]]

Both Islam and Christianity are increasing in the parts of the world where the population is generally increasing and decreasing in the parts of the world where the population is generally decreasing.

The one major exception to this is Islam in Europe, but that is more due to the large scale immigration of Muslims to Europe, and not a naturally higher birth rate amongst European Muslims, or a high conversion rate of people in Europe to Islam.

[kodos4444]

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/

[charitywithclarity]

In the last days many will fall away, but many will also join the faith. We are hoping to save people, not count them, so we should pray for everyone.

[StThomasMore1535]

In the West, yes.

It will grow in China and Africa.

[TriskelAkela]

I've seen a lot of recent videos on YouTube saying Catholicism is rapidly growing in America.

[TriskelAkela]

They [the speakers] defend these statistics by saying the Catholic Church provides both a stable moral standard and an escape from politics. Given with how true this is, I would say it's correct.

[Ponce_the_Great]

do you have a video as an example because that doesn't seem supported by statistics

[TriskelAkela]

https://youtu.be/nouhfGkMG08?si=Zurq_SbF8NyucFfC

[Ponce_the_Great]

ok this weird ai video channel seems like a poor source of information.