Persecution
Number of Christian martyrs every 24 hours:
1900s: 90
’70s: 1,030
’00s: 440
2011: 270*
2025: 410*
* projectedSource: Status of Global Mission, International Bulletin of Missionary Research
Church Life
1,600: Christian denominations worldwide in 1900.
18,800: In 1970.
42,000: In 2011.
400,000: Christian congregations worldwide in 1900.
1,433,000: In 1970.
3,500,000: In 2011.
Source: Status of Global Mission, International Bulletin of Missionary Research
Discipleship
5%: Among Christians who are involved in a church, those who say their church holds them accountable.
7%: Small-group attenders who say accountability is one of the functions fulfilled by their group.
Source: Barna Research
Celebrity
Protestant pastors who think the following are Christians:
Barack Obama: 23% of pastors who are Republicans, 80% of pastors who are Democrats.
Glenn Beck: 24% of pastors who are Republicans, 37% of pastors who are Democrats.
Source: Lifeway Research
Islam
23.4%: Global population that is Muslim.
26.4%: The world’s Muslim population in 2030, if trends continue.
0.8%: U.S. population that is Muslim. It is projected to be 1.7% in 2030.
400,000: Christian congregations worldwide in 1900.
1,433,000: In 1970.
3,500,000: In 2011.
Source: Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life
Economy
Church Foreclosures in the U.S.
2006: 2
2007:9
2008: 24
2009: 61
2010:96
Source: CoStar Group, NPR
71%: Megachurch pastors who said in April-May 2010 the economy is having a minimal impact on their church and its ministries.
58%: Megachurch pastors who said this in October 2010.
Source: Leadership Network
15%: Pastors of megachurches (2000+ attendance) who say offerings decreased between 2009 and 2010.
34%: Protestant pastors overall who said, in a separate survey, that offerings were down.
39%: In a third survey, churches overall who reported a decline in giving in 2010 from 2009.
Source: Leadership Network, Lifeway Research, State of the Plate
Technology
22%: Protestant churches that do not have a website.
42%: Of Protestant churches with websites, those that update them monthly or less often.
Source: Lifeway Research
Education
13%: Public high school biology teachers who explicitly advocate creationism in the classroom.
28%: Public high school biology teachers who explicitly advocate Darwinian evolution in the classroom.
Source: New York Times/Science
Youth
48%: American teens who say they “can think of a specific time recently when my religious beliefs actually changed the way I behaved.”
34%: American teens who believe all religions teach equally valid truths.
65%: American teens who agreed that “when it comes to matters of morals and ethics, truth means different thingsto different people; no one can be absolutely positive that they have the truth.”
Source: One Hope’s “Spiritual State of Children”
Family
47%: American teenswho say they frequently feel proud of their father.
61%: American teens who say they frequently feel proud of their mother.
Source: One Hope’s “Spiritual State of Children”
Theology
91%: British evangelicals who strongly agree that Jesus is the only way to God.
75%: British non-evangelicals who strongly agree.
Source: Evangelical Alliance/Christian Research”
Note: This online article combines “Go Figure” items from the February, March, and April 2001 issues of
Christianity Today
, as well as items that did not appear in the print magazine.Copyright © 2011 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
See our earlier Go Figure postings from February 2011, January 2011, December 2010, November 2010, October 2010, September 2010, August 2010, July 2010, June 2010, May 2010, April 2010, March 2010, February 2010, January 2010, December 2009, and earlier issues.
