Religion

Of the global population:

• 31.5 percent identify with Christianity
• 23.2 percent identify with Islam
• 15 percent identify with Hinduism
• 7.1 percent identify with Buddhism
• 5.9 percent identify with traditional, or folk, religions
• Less than 1 percent identify with other religions such as Baha’i, Jainism, Sikhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Tenrikyo, Wicca and Zoroastrianism¹

According to the Pew Research Center, of the world’s most populated nations, Russia, Egypt, India, Pakistan and Nigeria have the most stringent restrictions on religion, accounting for both governmental restrictions and societal religious hostility.² The Open Doors World Watch list names 11 nations that are extremely dangerous for those of the Christian faith: North Korea, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, Pakistan, Eritrea, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, Iran and India.³ In 2014, Yazidis, Christians and Shiite Muslims became the victims of the Daesh genocide in Iraq, hundreds were killed, and thousands of Yazidi women were auctioned to members of ISIS, raped and abused.⁴ In India, radical Hindus are using violence against Muslim and Christian populations in a religious nationalist movement attempting to “cleanse” the minority faith groups from the nation.⁵ As Afghanistan is an Islamic state, Christians are renounced from their families and communities when expressing their conversion.⁶ The situation is similar in Somalia, Sudan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, Iran and Libya.⁷