Islam has surpassed Roman Catholicism as the world's largest religion, a Vatican news
Is this correct?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080330/ap_on_re_eu/vatican_muslims
For those whom NOT to choose to read the link I will cut and paste!
VATICAN CITY - Islam has surpassed Roman Catholicism as the world's largest religion, the Vatican newspaper said Sunday. For the first time in history, we are no longer at the top: Muslims have overtaken us," Monsignor Vittorio Formenti said in an interview with the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano. Formenti compiles the Vatican's yearbook.
He said that Catholics accounted for 17.4 percent of the world population ? a stable percentage ? while Muslims were at 19.2 percent.
"It is true that while Muslim families, as is well known, continue to make a lot of children, Christian ones on the contrary tend to have fewer and fewer," the monsignor said.
Formenti said that the data refer to 2006. The figures on Muslims were put together by Muslim countries and then provided to the United Nations, he said, adding that the Vatican could only vouch for its own data.
When considering all Christians and not just Catholics, Christians make up 33 percent of the world population, Formenti said.
Spokesmen for the Vatican and the United Nations did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment Sunday.
I am sorry if my Question is NOT clear... Is this data correct? Had Islam as many followers now as Roman Catholicism?
What can be the reasons?
**I saw they said WE have LARGE fa miles, mum and they are against "birth control" IE: The Roman Catholic Church remains morally opposed to contraception and orgasmic acts outside of the context of marital intercourse, believing that all sexual acts must be open to procreation. The only form of birth control permitted is abstinence. Modern scientific methods of "periodic abstinence" such as Natural Family Planning (NFP) were counted as a form of abstinence by Pope Paul VI in his 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_on_birth_control
Is it a PLOY to get Catholics to "populate" more than ever? I'm not REALLY sure what this NOW means considering where the facts came from... can someone please explain!??
Ed F: Islam converts by way of Intimiation? .. Ohh PLEASE.. someone thumb that clown down so I don't have to do do? (Spoken like a Person that has never even studied fact one on Islam)
hangemhigh2008: Back to your Clint Eastwood film festival.. clown.
Craps McGee's : I've looked at your history on Q/A here.. I think Romper Room is still open for you.
Jack G: Since your age seems to be well under 15. And 1/3 of your questions are about a fight in school you had and getting your arse kicked, you need to probably need to go to Zune Disney and state an opinion there instead of here with the grown ups.
Juan V: I've read your Q/A history as well.. it's past your bedtime, you have school tomorrow, let the adults talk now.
Bryce: Umm recently when asked "Why do Muslim women cover their heads you stated: "To ward off the blows from their cowardly "men.."
Don't you have like GED classes tomorrow.. off to bed with ya!
If Christianity is true... why is Allah calling all?
Bet no-one can answer this... o wait some try to say "In Arab countries, they have lots of children"... yeah now explain why 2 million Americans converted to Islam... AMERICANS...TWO million
Yes this could be right. Because statics say that Islam is a very growing religion in the world. It is the #1 religion that's been growing since several years. The Vatican is 50% right about this.Or maybe not...
Its true. But the Vatican's motives behind this news is not innocent. They're trying to brown nose the Saudis so they can build their Church on Saudi land.
I thought these Popes and Priests were supposed to be honest open people?
That is not a question, but thanks for the info. I will be sure to let people know that I took the time to thank you for the information that I wasn't looking for.
Since Catholicism is only one sect of Christianity it is the same as saying Shia Muslims or Sunni Muslims or some other sect of Islam outnumbers Catholics. If you want true data then compare how many Christians are in the world as opposed to how many Muslims and you will see that Christianity still holds higher numbers of members. However, it isn't a competition between religions and doesn't prove which religion, if any, is the true religion. We should all be happy for the individual who finds God instead of be concerned within which religion they did this.
First, Islamism is not a religion, it is a Fascist Conspiracy. Fo example, it is well known that Islamism has for at least the past 50 years set its sights on infiltrating Western Europe, especially France. And look at Europe today. France announced recently its population of approx. 60,000,000 consists of 28% Islamism. England 25%, etc etc.,
Like their kindred spirits,and fellow Jew-haters,the Nazi"s, Islamism wants to take over the West and bring all their laws and customs to be obeyed by the West. And it is working. Our governments, spineless and geed as usual, smile as they approve these locusts by the hundreds of thousands for entry into our countries. Be prepared. You may not be alive to see it, but your children and theirs will...your country will be under Islamism, like Europe was under Naziism, within forty to fifty years. May Heaven help us when these wide-eyed, hate-filled, fanatic Jew-haters, Hindu-haters, women-haters and west-haters who treat their donkeys and camels(especially the male ones) better than their women, get control. I'm glad I wont be here !
I think that you should also consider the belief system of various Muslims when you are looking at the growth of Islam (especially when you are comparing it to only one branch of Christianity). Most Muslims in the West (especially converts) don't much resemble their radical brethren in the Middle East and elsewhere. So, to me it is not a matter of Islam converting the world, but rather a matter of the world taming Islam (through acceptance of an abundance of Western-minded converts). Shouldn't take that long either (ma be just a generation or two). I believe that Islam is an alright religion (same God as Jews and Christians now if not originally)...I will probably like it once it is controlled by Western-minded Muslims who don't support violence and the rest of the backward ideas which abound in Islam now. So, please keep converting and between that, war, famine and Middle Eastern and third-world Muslims (such as the Egyptian who recently converted to Catholicism) leaving Islam I believe that Islam will be alright (though not the same). Pretty soon the center of power for Islam will be in Dearborn, MI, U.S.A and "old-school" Muslims won't even recognize it anymore. Although I detest the term "Chrislim"...it appears to be an apt description of many Muslims and especially of many so-called converts to Islam.
population density can not be the main reason for increasing Muslims
for example India and china are the most population density countries but they are not Muslims nor Christians
and census of Saudi Arabia is fewer than 40 millions of Muslims
the reality of Islam and miracles of Qumran are the main reason of popularize of Islam in the whole of world
This is just plain stupid. Catholicism is only one sect of Christianity so if there is a comparison to Islam it should be based on one sect. If you want to know how many Christians there are vs. Muslims then a report should be done on all Christian sects vs. all Islamic sects and not just some of them. As one answerer said it's the Catholics trying to brown nose Saudi Arabia so they can build there church. So what, the stupid King said the only way Catholics would be allowed was to "admit" that Muhammed was a prophet of God. They only do this so later it can be said "the pope admits that Muhammed is a prophet--we've won over the Christians" or some other stupid comment. I agree with Butterfly, this isn't a competition and we should simply be happy that someone else has found God and not be so concerned with how they found Him.
I think someone said it rightly that Muslims surpassing Catholics in numbers (though it is still debatable) does not mean Muslims have surpassed Christanity. The Vatican statement itself says Christains - all sects together - are still much more in number than Muslims.
But beyond this point, one is disturbed by some of the responses to this question. I think we all need to realize and appreciate the fact that Islam recognizes both Judaism and Christanity as two religions which have come into being through the Prophets sent by God himself, like Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ. All Muslims respect and revere all these Prophets. But then, sadly, the word of God in Bible and Torah was corrupted by the humans and God had to send a word through Prophet Muhammad in the form of the Quran which is a guidance to the whole humanity and not only to Muslims.
The reason 2 million Americans embraced Islam and that this religion is growing in Europe like no other religion is something to do with the spirit of Islam as a religion of guidance and eternal peace. Sadly, usually those people make comments about Quran and Islam who have never read it. I have asked a number of converts to Islam what have they felt after conversion and almost all have said that Islam has brought peace, stability and meaning to their otherwise haywire and meaningless lives.
The Holy Quran has liberated millions of restless souls even in this modern life driven by technology and high comfort. It continues to give a kind of guidance and enlightenment which everyone cherishes in life. Not many people confess this. All those who read and understand Quran find it difficult to deny that it is indeed the Final Word of God.
Finally, it is not time to talk of "Another Crusade" and say derogatory words about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Do Muslims ever say something bad about Jesus Christ? Muslims, Christains and Jews are all men in faith. God tells us in Quran to respect other religions and not to force anyone to embrace the faith of Islam.
This religion does not preach violence but talks of the rules of self defence. Throughout pre-Islamic history, there have been no rules for aggression, self defence, and conduct of treatment with children, women, sick, POWs and natural gifts like trees. The hallmark of all wars was naked brutality. So is self defence, as preached by Islam, aganist the law of humanity? The law of the nature is that equals respond to attack or aggression. Look at animals in the wild. Look at two children playing and suddenly one hitting the other. What does the other kid do? Laugh? Smile? Or try to hit back? How many of us have been beaten in our lives and we have not tried to save us or hit back? Can we ask this question to ourselves and answer honestly? There is no room for hypocrisy in understanding the law of nature. Islam does not preach violence, it praches thr rules of self defence. Let us read Quran.
Islam has surpassed Roman Catholicism as the world's largest religion, a Vatican news
