6 Ways Major World Religions are Changing in 2019

Even in our progressive culture, people still look to faith to guide them through life. 84% of the world’s population follows a religion. A third of the population follows the Christianity religion.

Religions need to adapt with the times to still keep their following. Religious leaders know this and are implementing changes to keep faith strong. But what changes to modern religion should we expect to see?

Here are the ways major world religions are changing their landscapes.

Addressing Key Issues

There are many worldwide issues. Examples include climate change, poverty, political crises, and war. Social issues such as LGTBQ and gender equality are also at the forefront.

Religion won’t stand aside. They will take strides to help solve these world issues.

Let’s take climate change, for example. Religious groups. such as the World Council of Churches (WCC) and ACT Alliance, are fighting for climate advocacy.

Many religions take strides to reduce poverty, whether on a community or global level.

There is still some controversy that forces traditions to hold back on progressivism.

States such as Alabama impose a stringent abortion law. This prevents even victims of rape and incest from getting an abortion. This law was passed by Alabama’s conservative government.

In Christianity, the classic belief is all life is sacred and murder is wrong. Therefore, abortion should be outlawed.

Feminism, health, and reproductive rights are making more people supportive of abortion. This is why many churches and Christianity branches have opposing views of abortion.

Religion Will Still Influence Politics

The involvement of religion and politics is a debated topic. Many believe in the separation of church and state. This is a doctrine influenced by many modern political climates.

However, many cultures don’t see a decrease in religion’s influence on their politics.

This isn’t only restricted to our government and the laws that form due to religious belief. Many individuals base their political beliefs off of their religious beliefs.

Social issues are a perfect example. Many people don’t support social decisions such as gay marriage and contraceptive use because these are forbidden in their religion.

The reason why this controversial is these countries, such as the United States, offer the freedom to exercise different religions (or practice no religion) and not all of these beliefs entail these decisions.

This trend doesn’t seem to dissipate in the United States. However, it is dissipating in other countries such as Sweden.

There’s another major way that religion influences politics — persecution. Some religions are restricted under certain political climates. This is seen in countries such as China and Pakistan.

Welcoming Ethnic and Racial Diversity

Immigration is at the center for many countries. While countries such as the United States are hindering immigration, other countries such as France, Australia, the UK, Spain, and Canada are more welcoming of immigrants.

Religious leaders understand this diversity will impact the strength of religion. This is why religious leaders are opening their arms to more ethnic and racial diversity.

But not every religion is as diverse as others. The most diverse religions today are Muslim, Jehovah’s Witness, Buddhism, and Catholicism. The least diverse are Lutheran, Methodist, Hinduism, Episcopal, and Judaism.

Addressing Internal Issues

While many religions strive to preach good and good unto others, no religion is perfect. This is many religions are addressing internal issues and trying to overcome them.

For example, the American Sikh community faces domestic violence, sexual abuse, substance abuse, mental health issues, poverty, and limited LGTBQ rights, which are common issues experienced by many religions.

The Sikh community is taking strides to confront these issues within their group and help resolve them, making Sikhism a better community worldwide.

Christianity in the west is also facing challenges. These challenges include implementing scientific law into religion, a focus on individual prosperity and not based on community, increase in institution distrust, and overall outdated beliefs.

More Power to the Individuals

Individualism is a global phenomenon. Individualism encompasses philosophies, stances, outlooks, and ideologies emphasizing on an individual’s worth.

Most religions focus on empowering communities, neighbors, groups, families, etc. Overall, religion aims to connect different people by a common factor: faith.

While many people still feel faith, they trust institutions less and seek out a religion that focuses on individual empowerment.

Religious leaders still see the need for change and are making strides to adjust beliefs that coincide with emphasis on the community while catering to the individual.

This varies with each religion. For example, Judaism, Catholicism, and Protestantism all vary in their views of individualism.

Some religions are more versatile, such as Protestantism. It’s easier to divert from the community in this sense. Unlike a religion that focuses solely on community and social events.

More Technological Advancements

Baby boomers are the main group leading religious institutions today. But soon, they will be replaced by millennials and Gen Z-ers. These are groups who are apt in technology.

More technological advances will only be applied to various religions.

Technology’s impact is already starting to extend to the religious world.

For example, just about every church or place of worship has a website. And many institutions are implementing advanced design and other web-based marketing practices.

The website for Parkway Fellowship is attractive and interesting but also UX-friendly.

Major World Religions Are Keeping Up With a Changing World

Major world religions will never fail. But, in order to maintain their influence, they must adhere to a changing world.

Do you want to know more about our different societal changes? Head over to our society section!