# Which Religon ??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 11, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religon/571028 "2011-02-11T15:21:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kazmi37](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@kazmi37](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kazmi37)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religon/571028/1 "2011-02-11T15:21:12Z")
Dear friends, Was any real study ever carried out on " Which is the fastest growing religion in the world " ? On googling, I find a lot of obviously biased comments but no real facts. So, which religion is really the fastest growing ?? ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religon/571028/2 "2011-02-11T15:38:25Z")
How do you define “fastest growing”? If I start a religion this year and next year I find a recruit, that’s a 100% growth rate. Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religon/571028/3 "2011-02-11T15:41:33Z")
Well, you would have to start by picking a time period over which you wanted to analyze the rate of growth. Finding the instantaneous rate of change would be really hard. In addition, you have to determine what you’re interested in - the rate of growth in absolute terms (number of people) or in percentage terms (eg, religion x has doubled in size in the last 3 years). You may be able to find some relatively unbiased numbers by looking to atlases published 10 years apart or something. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religon/571028/4 "2011-02-11T15:58:18Z")
You could get an loose, unscientific idea by looking at population growth rates for countries that have primarily one religion. I don’t think converts are going to affect the global rates much in this day and age. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religon/571028/5 "2011-02-11T15:58:58Z")
In a situation like this, I think absolute numbers are more meaningful than percentages. As CurtC pointed out, a small religion can easily double its numbers and remain a small religion. But saying a million people joined the religion last year indicates it had some real growth, regardless of whether that represents 50% or 2% of its overall membership. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religon/571028/6 "2011-02-11T16:00:05Z")
I didn’t fully read this article but it does go into the complications of how you define “fastest growing” and the problems with it. > **[Growth of religion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claims_to_be_the_fastest-growing_religion)** > > Growth of religion involves the spread of individual religions and the increase in the numbers of religious adherents around the world. In sociology, desecularization is the proliferation or growth of religion, most commonly after a period of previous secularization. Statistics commonly measure the absolute number of adherents, the percentage of the absolute growth per-year, and the growth of converts in the world. > Studies in the 21st century suggest that, in terms of percentage and worldwide s... I recently became an ordained Priest in my religion of The Church of the Latter-Day Dude. > **[The Take it Easy Manifesto - Dudeism](https://dudeism.com/takeiteasymanifesto/)** > > THERE'S A RELIGION for its time and place...It fits right in there, helps us abide through all the strikes and gutters, the ups and downs of the whole durned We’re still a small religion compared to the big ones but it fits me perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religon/571028/7 "2011-02-11T16:27:57Z")
One place to browse for religious statistics is [adherents.com](http://adherents.com) > **[Adherents - technology and environmental policy to education](https://adherents.com/)** > > Latest news HBO Max Who’s who in ‘The Last of Us’: the best casting for the adaptation of the Naughty Dog video game By aliintizar71January 31, 20230 Movies Animated film "Light and the Rock" awarded at IndieJúnior Porto By aliintizar71January 31,... The statement in their FAQ related to “fastest growing religion”, and why they don’t include growth rates in their database: > **[Adherents - technology and environmental policy to education](https://adherents.com/)** > > Latest news HBO Max Who’s who in ‘The Last of Us’: the best casting for the adaptation of the Naughty Dog video game By aliintizar71January 31, 20230 Movies Animated film "Light and the Rock" awarded at IndieJúnior Porto By aliintizar71January 31,... ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-religon/571028/8 "2011-02-12T00:10:01Z")
That guy’s a loon. His “sociological” definition of religion is unstated, but apparently includes every group with members who believe in something, whether the something is a principle, a policy, or a practice. Thus, animal rights activism, environmentalism, and veganism are all “religions” – he’s quite insistent about that, even declaring that the vigorous insistence of the above groups that they’re not religions is itself an indication that they are.