Abstract

In 1900, 82% of all Christians worldwide lived in Europe and North America, and just 18% of Christians lived in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania. However, in 2025, only 31% of Christians live in the global North, and 69% live in the global South. The demographic shift of Christianity to the global South has completely transformed the world’s largest religion, with implications for theology, history, leadership, and more. This lecture will detail how the shift occurred, primarily by babies (birth rates), converts (or switching), and migrants (immigration trends).

About the Speaker

Gina A. Zurlo is a Senior Researcher and Lecturer in World Christianity at Harvard Divinity School. Her research interests include World Christianity, sociology of religion, quantitative studies, and gender studies. She is editor of the World Christian Database (Brill) and World Religion Database (Brill), and her latest books are Women in World Christianity: Building and Sustaining a Global Movement and the Compact Atlas of Global Christianity. Dr. Zurlo was named one of the BBC’s 100 most inspiring and influential women of 2019 for her work quantifying religion and non-religion worldwide.