There are more than 900 million Protestants worldwide, among approximately 2.4 billion Christians. In 2010, a total of more than 800 million included 300 million in Sub-Saharan Africa, 260 million in the Americas, 140 million in Asia-Pacific region, 100 million in Europe and 2 million in Middle East-North Africa. Protestants account for nearly forty percent of Christians worldwide and more than one tenth of the total human population. Various estimates put the percentage of Protestants in relation to the total number of world's Christians at 33%, 36%, 36.7%, and 40%, while in relation to the world's population at 11.6% and 13%.
In European countries which were most profoundly influenced by the Reformation, Protestantism still remains the most practiced religion. These include the Nordic countries and the United Kingdom. In other historical Protestant strongholds such as Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Latvia, Estonia and Hungary, it remains one of the most popular religions. Although Czech Republic was the site of one of the most significant pre-reformation movements, there are only few Protestant adherents; mainly due to historical reasons like persecution of Protestants by the Catholic Habsburgs, restrictions during the Communist rule, and also the ongoing secularization. Over the last several decades, religious practice has been declining as secularization has increased. According to a 2012 study about religiosity in the European Union (EU) by Eurobarometer, Protestants made up 12% of the EU population. According to Pew Research Center, Protestants constituted nearly one fifth (or 17.8%) of the continent's Christian population in 2010. Clarke and Beyer estimate that Protestants constituted 15% of all Europeans in 2009, while Noll claims that less than 12% of them lived in Europe in 2010.
Changes in worldwide Protestantism over the last century have been significant. Since 1900, Protestantism has spread rapidly in Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America. That caused Protestantism to be called a primarily non-Western religion. Much of the growth has occurred after World War II, when decolonization of Africa and abolition of various restrictions against Protestants in Latin American countries occurred. According to one source, Protestants constituted respectively 2.5% of South Americans, 2% of Africans, and 0.5% of Asians. In 2000, percentage of Protestants on mentioned continents was 17%, more than 27% and 5.5%, respectively. According to Mark A. Noll, 79% of Anglicans lived in the United Kingdom in 1910, while most of the remainder was found in the United States and across the British Commonwealth. By 2010, 59% of Anglicans were found in Africa. China is home to world's largest Protestant minority.
Protestantism is growing in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania, while remaining stable or declining in Anglo America and Europe, with some exceptions such as France, where it was legally eradicated after the abolition of the Edict of Nantes by the Edict of Fontainebleau and the following persecution of Huguenots, but now is claimed to be stable in number or even growing slightly. According to some, Russia is another country to see Protestant growth.
In 2010, the largest Protestant denominational families were historically Pentecostal denominations (10.8%), Anglican (10.6%), Lutheran (9.7%), Baptist (9%), United and uniting churches (unions of different denominations) (7.2%), Presbyterian or Reformed (7%), Methodist (3.4%), Adventist (2.7%), Congregationalist (0.5%), Brethren (0.5%), The Salvation Army (0.3%) and Moravian (0.1%). Other denominations accounted for 38.2% of Protestants.
The United States is home to approximately 20% of Protestants. According to a 2012 study, Protestant share of U.S. population dropped to 48%, thus ending its status as religion of the majority for the first time. The decline is attributed mainly to the dropping membership of the Mainline Protestant churches, while Evangelical Protestant and Black churches are relatively stable or continue to grow.
According to Scientific Elite: Nobel Laureates in the United State, a review of American Nobel prizes winners awarded between 1901 and 1972 by Harriet Zuckerman, 72% of American Nobel Prize Laureates came from Protestant backgrounds. Overall, Protestants have won a total of 84.2% of all the American Nobel Prizes in Chemistry, 60% in Medicine, 58.6% in Physics, between 1901 and 1972.
By 2050, Protestantism is projected to rise to slightly more than half of the world's total Christian population. According to other experts such as Hans J. Hillerbrand, Protestants will be as numerous as Catholics.
According to Mark Jürgensmeyer of the University of California, popular Protestantism is the most dynamic religious movement in the contemporary world, alongside the resurgent Islam.
Video Protestantism by country
Methodology
For the purposes of this list, the following Christian branches are considered Protestant:
- Adventists
- Anabaptists (including Amish, Hutterites, Mennonites)
- Anglicans (including Episcopalians)
- Baptists
- Calvinists (or the Reformed tradition) (including Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Continental Reformed, Waldensians)
- Lutherans
- Methodists
- Pentecostals
- Other Protestants (including Hussites, Brethren, Free Evangelicals, Quakers, United, Holiness and others)
Evangelicals, Charismatics, Neo-charismatics and other revivalists are found virtually across every Protestant branch. Nondenominationals, various independents and Protestants from other denominations, not easily fitting in the traditional classification, are also taken into account.
Estimates of total Protestant population vary considerably. Most reliable sources claim a range of 800 million to more than 1 billion. Difficulties occur as there is no consensus among scholars which denominations should be considered Protestant.
Maps Protestantism by country
Countries
The seven regions considered in the following table are the six traditional ones (Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania), plus Middle East (i.e. countries with Islamic majority from the Mediterranean to Iran).
By region
The following are summary tables of the numbers and percentages of Protestants in each region. Also included are the percentages of Protestants in the world that reside in that region ("% of Protestant total").
Maps
Europe
World
See also
- List of the largest Protestant bodies
- Christianity by country
- Catholic Church by country
- Orthodoxy by country
- List of Christian denominations by number of members
Other religions
- List of religious populations
- Buddhism by country
- Hinduism by country
- Islam by country
- Jews by country
- No faith by country
- Bahá'í statistics
Notes
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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