A Pew Research poll predicts that, based on current trends, the number of Muslims worldwide will be nearly equal to the number of Christians by 2050. In conversations, you might hear this statement as proof that Islam is growing and other religions (such as Christianity) are quickly declining. But such a conclusion is misleading and does not take into consideration a number of realities happening throughout the Muslim world.
Research reveals the cultural tendencies in Muslim families, not the attractiveness of Islam itself, explains the demographic surge. The growing number of Muslims is not primarily caused by conversion but is due instead to Muslim families producing more children. The higher rela-tive birth-rate occurs for various social and religious reasons, including the fact that, in most Muslim-dominant societies, women have few opportunities outside the home.
Of course, some converts are choosing Islam—but we should acknowledge recent research demonstrating that conversion works in two directions.
Consider the Muslim popu-lation in the United States. In January 2018, a Pew Research study declared that the number of converts to Islam almost equa-lled the number who abandoned the faith. Thus, there was virtua-lly no net growth at all. This study also found that about 25% of adult Muslims raised in the United States no longer identified as Muslims.