Future of evangelicalism: optimistic in the South, pessimistic in the North
The outlook for conservative Christianity is really, really bright. Or really dim.
It all depends which side of the Equator you live on.
This happy/gloomy view comes via the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, which recently released a new Global Survey of Evangelical Protestant Leaders. In an enterprising move, Pew interviewed leaders who attended the Third Lausanne Congress of World Evangelization, held in October in Cape Town, South Africa.
Of Christians in the so-called Global South, most said evangelicalism will be better off and gain influence within five years. Most in the North, by contrast, said the faith will stay about the same or lose influence. In the United States, a sizable 82 percent said evangelicals are losing influence.