Dramatic demographic expansion is what makes a religion a world religion

Evidence

To put those numbers into perspective, the total number of Christians globally in 2015 was 2.3 billion. The total number of Muslims in 2015 was 1.8 billion, while the religiously unaffiliated comprised 1.2 billion of the world population (Pew Research Center 2017, 8). Thus, the net impact of religious switching on demographic changes is dwarfed by the larger population growth factors of fertility rates and age distribution. — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 34 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Nevertheless, it is far from clear to me that secular societies will win the race for cultural longevity. On one hand, we have the powerful forces of secularization gaining ground in some places—more economic prosperity, greater existential security, strong secular institutions, and mass exposure to higher learning, science, and analytic thinking. This means that people in these societies are on the verge of moving beyond prosocial religions. But prosocial religions have one crucial advantage over secular ones—the demographic windfall of more children. And that religious advantage is the secularists’ Achilles’ heel—in fact, the most secularized societies are having the fewest children. This means that what prosocial religious groups lose against the forces of secularization, they gain in reproduction. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 630 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Religious fundamentalism’s demographic growth will reshape the secular West; Fertility and age structure dwarf conversion in shaping religious demographics. — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 34; Religious belief correlates with higher fertility, shrinking secular populations (+6 more)

Related

• Religious belief correlates with higher fertility, shrinking secular populations (similarity 0.93)
• Fertility and age structure dwarf conversion in shaping religious demographics. (similarity 0.88)
• Religious population growth follows age structures, with Christianity aging out already in Europe. (similarity 0.88)
• Religious switching barely affects global religious demographics. (similarity 0.87)
• Religious groups offset secularization losses through higher birth rates (similarity 0.87)
• By 2050 only one in five Christians will be of European descent (similarity 0.86)
• High fertility plus conversion, not doctrine, make world religions (similarity 0.84)
• Specifically, I will examine recent demographic data from the Pew Templeton Global Futures project Changing Global Religious Landscape Report published in April 2017. This report outlines… (similarity 0.84)
• Religious conservative sexual norms serve demographic group survival (similarity 0.84)
• Migration affects demographics less than fertility rates and age distribution. (similarity 0.84)
• Religious switching had minimal impact on projected demographic changes, with conversions generating only 0.3% of Muslim growth. (similarity 0.84)
• Rates of religious switching do not reflect moral decay (similarity 0.84)
• Religiosity is only one factor impacting fertility rates, and is intertwined with educational opportunities, economic development, and age of marriage amongst other factors. (similarity 0.83)
• Religious affiliation predicts above-replacement fertility independent of income and education (similarity 0.83)
• Muslim and Christian population shares will converge by 2060 due to divergent fertility rates. (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Fertility and age structure dwarf conversion in shaping religious demographics. #corroborates (0.90) — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 34
• Specifically, I will examine recent demographic data from the Pew Templeton Global Futures project Changing Global Religious Landscape Report published in April 2017. This report outlines… #exemplifies (0.90)
• Religious belief correlates with higher fertility, shrinking secular populations #expands (0.85)
• Religious population growth follows age structures, with Christianity aging out already in Europe. #corroborates (0.85) — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 23
• Religious groups offset secularization losses through higher birth rates #corroborates (0.85) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 630
• Religious switching barely affects global religious demographics. #corroborates (0.80) — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 32
• I will then consider the demographic factors of fertility rates, age distribution, and migration. Much like conversion, white nationalists view high Muslim fertility rates as a form of jihad.… #qualifies (0.80)