Nadene Goldfoot
1. Christianity and Islam are running a race as to who is the most populated religion. As of late 2024/early 2025, there are over 2.3 to 2.6 billion Christians globally, making Christianity the world's largest religion, representing about a third 33% of the world's population, with numbers projected to grow to over 3 billion by 2050, especially in the Global South. Major denominations include Catholics (around 1.3 billion), Protestants, and Orthodox Christians, with significant growth in Africa and Asia. Christianity: Over 2.5 billion followers, centered on Jesus Christ.
2. Islam, according to Pew estimates, as of 2020, made up about 25.6% one fourth of the global population, or roughly 2 billion people (Muslims).Islam: Around 1.9 billion followers, followers of the Prophet Muhammad.
3. Hindus, There are approximately 1.2 billion Hindus in the world today, representing about 15% of the global population. Hinduism is the world's third-largest religion, after Christianity and Islam. Hinduism: Over 1 billion followers, with concepts like Samsara and Karma.
4a. Buddhists Today, there are roughly 320 to 535 million Buddhists worldwide, depending on the source and definition, making it the fourth-largest religion, with the majority living in Asia, particularly China, Thailand, Japan, and Myanmar, though recent trends show a slight decline in numbers in some regions like East Asia. Buddhism: Over 500 million followers, focused on achieving enlightenment (Buddha). Chinese Folk Religions: Hundreds of millions, blending traditions like Taoism, Confucianism, and ancestor worship.
4bTaoism/Daoism: Estimating Taoist followers worldwide is difficult, with figures ranging widely from around 12 million to potentially over 170 million, largely due to overlapping beliefs with Chinese folk religions, but most sources point to tens of millions, primarily in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia. Some estimates suggest about 20 million active followers, while the China Daoist Association claims up to 170 million, reflecting the broad spectrum of people who practice Taoist traditions alongside other faiths. Millions follow, focusing on living in harmony with the Tao.
4c Confucianism;, It's difficult to get an exact number for Confucianism followers because it's often intertwined with Chinese folk religions and ethics, but estimates generally range from around 6 million to over 300 million, depending on how it's counted; direct followers are fewer (about 6 million), while cultural adherence to Confucian ethics (morality, family, social harmony) impacts hundreds of millions, primarily in East Asia (China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan). Confucianism: Millions follow, focusing on ethics and social harmony (Confucius).
4d Shintoism: Shinto has a complex following, with figures ranging from around 3 million (Pew 2015) to estimates of over 100 million (Sakuraco, ChartsBin), though most adherents live in Japan, where many Japanese people participate in Shinto rituals without formally identifying as members, leading to inflated survey numbers (around 88-189 million in Japanese government surveys) because they combine Shinto with Buddhist practices for life events like births, marriages, and funerals. Shinto: Millions of followers, Japan's indigenous faith.
5. Sikhism, There are approximately 25 to 30 million Sikhs worldwide, making Sikhism the world's fifth-largest religion, with the vast majority (over 90%) living in India, particularly in the state of Punjab. Significant Sikh communities also exist in Canada, the UK, the US, and other countries, forming a vibrant global diaspora. Sikhism: Around 29 million followers, founded by Guru Nanak.
6. Jews' global Jewish population is around 15.7 to 15.8 million people, making up roughly 0.2% of the world's total population, with the largest communities in Israel (around 7.4 million) and the United States (around 6.3-7.5 million), according to recent 2023-2025 data from sources like the American Jewish Committee and the Jewish Agency for Israel. While still below pre-Holocaust numbers, the population has seen slow growth, with major populations also in France, Canada, and the UK. Judaism: About 15 million followers, a monotheistic faith with the Torah.
7. Baháʼí Faith: There are an estimated 5 to 8 million Baha'i followers worldwide, with official Baha'i sources often citing figures around 5 million and other estimates reaching up to 8 million or more, though precise numbers are hard to track due to varying reporting methods and diverse global presence in over 200 countries and territories, making it the second most geographically widespread religion after Christianity. Around 9 million followers, emphasizing unity.
8. Jainism: The global Jain population is estimated to be between 4 to 6 million, with the vast majority residing in India, which holds the largest community (around 4.45 million according to the 2011 census). Significant diaspora communities exist in North America, the UK, Kenya, and East Asia, contributing to a worldwide total of roughly 6.3 million Jains, making it a small but influential global religious minority, notes World Population Review. Jainism: Over 6 million followers, emphasizing non-violence.
President Donald Trump of the USA on Thursday said he ordered “numerous” strikes on Islamic State terrorists in Nigeria, Africa he had accused of killing Christians. This is what he may have learned:
- Although recent massacres in Burkina Faso, West Africa are almost as alarming, no place in sub-Sahara is more notorious for religious hostility against Christians than Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and largest economy. Over the last decade, more Christians have been deliberately murdered for their faith by Islamic extremists in Nigeria’s northern and central belts than in all the Middle East combined.
- Over 20 Catholics and Protestants have been beheaded since Christmas in Nigeria, alone.
- Among those murdered for their faith over Christmas include a Catholic bride and all her bridesmaids, while traveling to the bride’s country home to prepare the wedding.
- In mid-January, Rev. Andimi, the director of a regional office of the Christian Association of Nigeria, was filmed by Isis’ affiliate pleading for his life and, in a later film, being beheaded by the terror group. His executioner was identified as Emanuel, a man from his church who had been previously abducted and forcibly converted to Islam.
- Also, in mid-January, word came that the 14 -year-old Nigerian Christian girl Leah Sharibu, whose case of abduction and enslavement “for life” two years ago after courageously giving witness to her faith at gunpoint became internationally known, is now a mother and has been forcibly converted to Islam while captive in the Nigerian wilderness.
- In tiny Burkina Faso, three priests and two Protestant ministers have been murdered, along with their congregations during 2019. On 20 January 2020, a village of 195 homes was razed to the ground and the Christian inhabitants who could flee were eventually taken hostage or killed. Terrorists carefully choose and target teachers and priests with a view to crippling social services for a population who becomes homeless and poor through internal displacement. By the end of January 2020, there were at least 600,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) under the care of the Catholic Church.
- A few months ago, all the residents of an entire Christian village were slaughtered in Mali, leaving no survivors. There's lots more reported.
“The United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Trump said the “powerful and deadly” strikes were directed at militants in the northwest of Nigeria.
These attacks remind me of all the attacks Jews have had against them by Christians ! I write and list them most of the time. Even today, all this anti-Semitism happening, so much like 1939 in Germany, is being done by Christians and I imagine, atheists, backed by Islamists.
In essence, Trump was acting as the finger of G-d punishing the Islamic terrorists without his government's approval, but with their knowledge of how he felt about these Christians being slaughtered by terrorist Islam. He feels his power. This is the first time any leader of a government has gone ahead without any government approval to attack another religion for his own religion, or is it ? Isn't that what was going on in Nigeria? The writers on CNN say the attack by Trump was more nuanced. Huh? Is this about TERROR or THE PERSECUTION of Christians?
It's impossible to give an exact number of governments that have attacked one religion in the name of their own, as history is full of such conflicts, but modern data shows nearly all countries (192/198) experienced some form of religious harassment by governments or social actors in 2022, with 186 countries seeing government interference with religious beliefs, often targeting minorities for reasons that align with a dominant or state-favored belief system or for purely political control, exemplified by China's actions against Uyghurs and Tibetans or historical examples like the Crusades, Inquisition, (both Catholic Christianity against Jews )and conflicts involving state-sponsored churches.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/25/africa/trump-nigeria-attacks-on-christians-explainer-intl-hnk
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-says-ordered-strikes-isis-targets-nigeria-rcna250970
