According to Pew Research Center, Islam will soon hold the title of the largest religion on Earth. Projections indicate that by mid-century (2050), there will be just as many Muslims in the world as Christians.
By the end of the century, Muslims will comfortably outnumber Christians as the majority religious population on the planet.
Researchers point to a number of factors for the Islamic boom. For one, Muslims have the lowest median age of all religious groups.
This means that many more Muslim couples are starting families and raising children than their Christian counterparts.
Islam is also the dominant faith in underdeveloped areas of the world – places that rely on larger families for agriculture or labor.
The birth rates in such countries tends to be much higher, resulting in more babies. Finally, children born into Muslim families are more likely to adopt their parents’ faith than, say, a child born to Christians in the United States or Europe.
All of these factors are putting Islam on track to outgrow Christianity.