THE latest Pew Research Centre report shows the share of people without religion as a percentage of global population is expected to decline from 16 per cent in 2010 to 13 per cent in 2050. And the share of people with religion will increase within the same period.

Two reasons, among others, explain the rise.

First, the contribution from China, where more religious “nones” are expected to embrace religion. China has an estimated 700 million people with no religion, or about half of the world’s religiously unaffiliated people. China’s new religious converts will contribute a substantial share to the global rise in number of people of faith.

Second, the high rate of population growth in the Islamic world. Due to higher fertility rates among Muslims, there will be a significant increase in the number of Muslims globally and that will add to the share of the religiously affiliated in the world.

… Mohammad Alami Musa is Head of Studies in the Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, NTU.