Christianity is Rapidly Losing Ground in Europe

The Christian world will change dramatically within the next decades, according to a report from idea news agency. While Christianity is losing ground in the West, it is making fast progress in the Southern hemisphere. As the dean of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Paul Rajashekar, pointed out in a lecture at the University of Leipzig (Germany), Europe, previously known as the "Christian Occident," is turning into a post-Christian society.

One hundred years ago, more than half of the world's Christians lived in Europe, today only a quarter. By comparison, Africa and Latin America constituted only 12 percent of Christianity around the turn of the 20th century. Today they make up 40 percent of the two billion or so Christians. In the year 2025, Europe will account for one fifth of the worlds Christians, Africa and Latin America for more than half.

Rajashekar believes one of the main reasons for this development is the difference in understanding the Bible. While Western theology had removed the mystery from the "Book of Books," Christians in Africa and Latin America did not simply see it as a historic document but as God's living word. They have no problems with miracles or apocalyptic statements in the Bible.