3.30.2008

Muslims officially surpass Roman Catholics

Vatican: Islam Surpasses Roman Catholicism As World's Largest Religion
By ALESSANDRA RIZZO
The Associated Press

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.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Erich,

Any word on when the documentary Demorgraphi Winter is supposed to air? Or do you have to purchase it to view it?

Erich Heidenreich, DDS said...

I believe you will need to purchase it. I don't know of any other means by which they plan to air it. I have it on order and received the following note a couple weeks ago:

We wish to apologize for the long delay in processing and shipping your order for Demographic Winter: the decline of the human family. The film experienced some additional editing delays. We believe the film will be finished and mastered the week of March 17, and our goal is to begin shipping by the end of that week.

Erich Heidenreich, DDS said...

I just got a message that my order of the documentary "Demographic Winter" has been processed and shipped by USPS: First Class.

Erich Heidenreich, DDS said...

Anonymous,

I also just noticed on the website that campus and nonprofit screenings are planned.