Unbelief is now world's third largest religion

New stats from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life study on The Global Religious Landscape.

84% of the world's 7 billion people adhere to some form of religion.

Christians are the largest group, 2.2 billion (32%).

Muslims are the second largest, 1.6 billion (23%).

"Nones" (no religious affiliation or don't believe in God) are 1.1 billion (16%).

This makes "nones" about the same size as the Catholic church worldwide.

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One out of six people worldwide does not have a religious identity.

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Next largest group is Hindus, 1 billion (15%).

Then Buddhists, 500 million (7%).

Then Jews, 14 million (.2 percent).

Note that after Buddhists, all other religious traditions are miniscule as a percentage of the global population.

400 million people (6%) practice folk traditions.

An additional 58 million people (~1%) belong to other religions, such as Baha'i, Jainism, Sikhism, Shintoism, Taoism, Tenrikyo, Wicca and Zoroastrianism.

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The nation with the most Christians is the United States (243 million), although Christians are widely distributed around the globe.

The majority of the world's religiously unnafiliated live in the Asia-Pacific region, especially China (700 million).

There are 51 million religiously unaffiliated Americans.

The religiously unafiliated are in the majority in six nations: China, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hong Kong, Japan, and North Korea.

The unaffiliated, Buddhists, and Jews have the highest median age, while Muslims, Hindus and Christians have the lowest. Median age is a predictor of how religious groups will grow.

One warning from the researchers is that such surveys sometimes over-estimate certain population groups, especially Christians.

7 Great Ways to Read the Bible

You have decided to read the bible in one year, or three, or three months, but you are struggling with the very practical question: What bible should I read? Many of us try to figure out whether we should read the bible from a good study edition (and which one) or whether we should read it on-line, on our mobile device, or Kindle.

So here are the 7 best ways to read the bible, on various media platforms. Take your pick; you won't be disappointed

1. Read a print Study Bible I have two favorites. The Lutheran Study Bible is the one we give our catechumens. It has excellent resources in it, and lots of space to write marginal notes. My other favorite is the HarperCollins Study Bible - Student Edition: Fully Revised & Updated. I've loved this study edition for years, and it is also (like the LSB) in the New Revised Standard Version translation, the translation we most frequently use in public worship in the ELCA.

2. Read a free version of the bible on-line The bible is available for free on-line in many forms. The best option for a totally free study bible is probably the Net Bible, http://bible.org/netbible/. This is a new translation, translated specifically to be a net based bible. It has plenty of study resources and is an excellent (if moderately conservative) translation. For those looking for other options, the Oremus Bible Browser, http://bible.oremus.org , allows you to browse many of the most popular English translation.

3. Read via an on-line study tool  Many people want to study the bible, but with study tools embedded. For this purpose, there are many dynamic study resources. One of the best is hosted at Luther Seminary, http://www.enterthebible.org . This site is a guide to the bible but also a study tool. You can create study plans, take notes, and join the conversation. In addition, many clergy find sermon prep web sites helpful for studying the lectionary text for the week (lectionary being a fancy word for the schedule of readings for Sunday worship). Two of the best are www.workingpreacher.org and The Hardest Question, http://thq.wearesparkhouse.org . The most comprehensive is www.textweek.com

4. Read the bible in the original languages It may interest you to do a little research into the original languages. There is a wiki lexicon and concordance for New Testament Greek at http://lexicon.katabiblon.com and the full Greek Bible at http://www.greekbible.com . And for a resource that has Hebrew, Greek, study, interlinear, and even flash card resources, check outhttp://biblewebapp.com/study/ .

5. Read a fresh translation of the bible Many new translations of Scripture come out each year. It may interest you to read a translation other than the one you are used to. One of the best is the CEB Common English Bible. The English is how it is spoken, today, and has a fresh feel to it.

6. Download an excellent bible study program The best on the market is http://www.accordancebible.com. With a program like this, you can read many different translations, and more study tools than any one person other than a professional student of Scripture, would ever need. 

A week in the life of a pastor | Gangnam Style

Sunday- Back in the saddle after a week of family vacation, preached this sermon for Epiphany worship. Then in the evening, helped host an Epiphany Party for our catechumens and potential sponsors. Hors d'oeuvres and hospitality organized by our planning team, led the group in a service of Evening Vespers and practice the Rite of Welcome for the following Sunday. Was caught by surprise by the many new people who came out, so realized I would have to focus much of the week linking sponsors to catechumens to be ready for the following Sunday. Spent much of the afternoon building forts and having an epic Nerf gun and Nerf disc battle in our house. Went on a run. Interviewed Mark Huber of Sanctuary in Marshfield, MA, late that evening, around 10 p.m.

Monday- Morning staff meeting reviewing calendar from now until Easter. Lots of good check in conversations after some time away. Sat with the Spit and Shine group after they had done a run to Home Depot to pick up supplies. This men's ministry, made up primarily of retirees in our congregation, does various kinds of upkeep and repair around our church. Spent almost the whole rest of the day designing the Rite of Welcome, calling potential sponsors, and doing a pre-marital counseling session with a couple. Multiple care conversations by phone with people who are sick, grieving, struggling. Also spent time setting up home visits and lunch meetings for the following few weeks.

Tuesday- More work on our catechumenal process, wrote content for our weekly e-blast, spent some time showing family pictures and seeing family pictures from the many participants in our Bears ministry, a group of folks who make bears for children in our area children's hospitals. Lunch with a member that included deep and important conversation about faith and life. Finally finished reading Jean-Luc Marion's Being Given. Reviewing material to teach Wednesday bible study on Wisdom literature, and Wednesday evening session with high schoolers and parents on the Nooma video series.

Wednesday- Mornings with the youngest, ferried various children to elementary and preschool, then went to the public library and the gym. Noon bible study, did an introduction to Wisdom literature (especially Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Job), more work contacting sponsors, plus some catechumens who had missed the Sunday practice session. Multiple conversations today about our year of reading the bible, and how much joy people are getting out of it, and how many of our people are reading the bible for the first time! Spent time in the Alton Center with our sound guy and a lighting/audio tech imagining how to improve our audio and lighting in that space. Afternoon play date with the boys, the back for Logos and the Nooma class. After class, went over to the coffee shop (about 8:30 p.m.) to meet with our growing and energetic 20-somethings group.

Thursday- Thursday is typically my wrap up day before Sunday. As much as possible I finalize everything for Sunday worship so I can take Friday as my Sabbath, and Saturday with family and doing all kinds of Saturday things. Stopped in the office in the morning, wrote the Prayers of the Church, made final contacts for sponsors for our catechumens, read through the notes from Sunday worship, congregation having responded to the question, "What do you need for the journey of faith?" Started working to put these responses into a summary document. Then headed home to host a play date for our daughter, and clean the house a bit. Lunch at Firehouse Subs with our Strategic Planning Study Team, then time at Mama Carmen's reading the bible lessons for our Read the Bible in One Year process, catching up on e-mail. Finally, I did another Skype interview, this time with Pastor of New Communities Ben Cieslik of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. You can view that interview here.

Friday- If all goes according to plan, I won't work today. During naps I might do some freelance writing. Hope to watch at least one episode of Dr. Who, maybe go to a movie, work out

Saturday- Pre-baptismal meeting with a family, 8 a.m. for an infant of the congregation. Random family events around town. Start reading two books I'll be reviewing soon, Gary Dorrien's Kantian Reason and Hegelian Spirit and Paul Chung's The Hermeneutical Self.

How do you start a new church? | Sanctuary

Mark Huber on 2013-01-07 at 22.07 from Clint Schnekloth on Vimeo.

Mark Huber talks about his call as a mission developer beginning Sanctuary (sanctuarymarshfield.org), his congregation in Marshfield, MA. Mark is interviewed by Clint Schnekloth, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Fayetteville, AR, a congregation in the process of calling a pastor of new communities. They hope to begin a second site of their congregation that reaches new people in downtown Fayetteville and the university context. Mark and Clint learn from each other, and share this video in the hopes it might inspire other mission developers and developing congregations.