EMPTY CHURCHES THE DECLINE OF CULTURAL CHRISTIANITY IN THE WEST

EMPTY CHURCHES THE DECLINE OF CULTURAL CHRISTIANITY IN THE WEST

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Empty Churches: The Decline of Cultural Christianity in the West © Kyle R. Beshears. All rights reserved. Special thanks to Lynnette Ras.

EMPTY CHURCHES IS FREE TO ANY AND ALL. VISIT WWW.DEAREPHESUS.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION. BASED ON A SERMON PREACHED AT THE PEOPLE OF MARS HILL MOBILE, ALABAMA WWW.POMH.ORG

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INTRO God is dead. To many Europeans these three words, written by German philosopher Frederich Nietzsche, summarize the state of modern European society.

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Jesus is irrelevant. Faith is a crutch. Christianity is something our grandparents relied on to get them through times of war, but we’re past that now. We’ve moved on, become enlightened, evolved. God is dead - I am my own god. As English poet William Ernest Henley declared: “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.” Today, in the minds of many people Europe is decidedly post-Christian. The continent that was once referred to as “Christendom” is now leading the way in shedding itself of its Christian identity, opting instead for secularism as society’s worldview. Christianity in Europe is a thing of the past. Is this actually true? Is Christianity truly dead in Europe? This book “Empty Churches” would argue a resounding ‘no’. Despite much of Europe’s landscape being littered with empty churches, the Church in Europe is far from empty. Living churches have built their foundation on the person and work of Jesus, generously saturate their lives in prayer, uphold God’s Word as true and relevant, and actively live out biblical community. These living churches are living proof that while churches may be decreasing, the Church is increasing. However, cultural Christianity had indeed declined in European society. It is no longer socially advantageous to identify one’s self as an evangelical Christian. Being a Christian simply because everyone else is a Christian no longer exists in many European countries. Additionally, as European society shifted towards secularism and away from cultural Christianity, evangelicals are find themselves marginalized. So, what happened to cultural Christianity in Europe? How have evangelical churches managed to continue thriving in a culture that is increasingly antagonistic towards them. Is there anything we can learn as the church in America from the church in Europe? “Empty Churches” will seek to answer these questions and draw the conclusion that even though culture may change, the promises of God remain true. The global Church is currently explod-

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ing, just as He promised. We only need to realize that God is calling the church in the west to clarify what it means to be a Christian, to dig deep into biblical community, and to continue the course of solid biblical preaching to the glory of God’s name. One quick note: this book is primarily about Western Europe. The terms “Europe” and “European” should be understood as Western Europe and not Eastern Europe. The two, while in geographic proximity, have very different histories and current issues concerning Christianity. Also, not all European countries are the same. “Empty Churches” does not mean to broad stroke an entire continent with diverse cultures; rather, the book will hone in on the common cultural trajectory of European society as a whole.

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POST–(CULTURAL) CHRISTIAN EUROPE What exactly has happened to cultural Christianity in Europe? This is an extremely difficult question to answer since there are many reasons that could explain what happened (and to some extent what is still happening). To begin answering the question, one must look to Europe’s past.

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There are common explanations that Christians give, some of which fall short of the truth. For example, two very common reasons for the European church’s decline are secularism and Biblical criticism. In my opinion, they are not complete reasons. “Surely,” some would protest, “these two reasons must play some type of role!” After all, according to some Christians, the secular view of evolution is a concocted lie created to specifically destroy belief in God. What about Biblical criticism? Does it not teach against the infallibility of scripture? It is very easy to blame the decline of cultural Christianity in Europe on a myriad of typical suspects. Evolution could be blamed for replacing God’s creative actions with nature’s blind forces. Biblical criticism could be blamed for causing Christians to question the historicity and accuracy of the Bible. Even secularism could be blamed for removing Christianity from public life and replacing it with the self or a vague sense of social responsibility. Any one of these factors certainly play a role, but to what degree is very debatable. Much to the dismay of modern atheistic thinkers like Richard Dawkins, who champions 19th century evolutionary biologists (like Charles Darwin) as liberators of humanity, it seems that no one enjoyed the decline of Christianity in Europe, as they understood it at that time. Darwin himself lamented the decline of Christianity in Europe. The former Anglican seminarian once wrote that he was “very unwilling to give up [his] belief.” Ultimately, the tragedy of losing his children, not his own theory, led him to doubt. Likewise, biblical criticism was also not meant as a means to “free” humanity from the bondage of Christianity, but rather to sharpen our understanding of biblical texts, their origins, and the historical context surrounding them. Cultural Christianity’s decline in Europe cannot be blamed specifically on 19th century evolutionary biologists hell-bent on finding a reason to disbelieve in God, as some Christians would propose. It also cannot be blamed on enlightenment thinkers throwing off the shackles of centuries-long tyranny by the oppressive and backwards Roman Catholic Church, as some

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secularists suggest. The actual cause of Christianity’s decline in Europe is much more complicated than that. Instead of the usual suspects, I believe the decline of cultural Christianity in Europe may lie in the combination of three factors: 1.

Individualistic religion

2.

A century of warfare

3.

Little to no apologetic evangelism

Now, I don’t claim to have the exact explanation, but after years of research, contemplation, and living in Europe I feel my observations might have some traction in explaining not only European Christianity’s past, but American Christianity’s future.

INDIVIDUALISTIC RELIGION Religion in many European countries is an extremely personal matter. In many instances, it is considered rude to question or belittle someone’s beliefs. Each person’s ideas about truth and reality are valuable, regardless of their truthfulness. As long as a person doesn’t share their truth with anyone else, society will get along fine. It wasn’t always like this. At one point in Europe’s history, the church was the center of society and culture. It was the central focus of community. People would gather together, hear the gospel preached as a congregation, and discuss their faith in community. Faith was both communal and personal. During a period of time called the Enlightenment, the center of society and culture shifted from the church to the individual. Faith became an individual and internal decision. People gained autonomy over their own religious ideas. Enlightenment thinkers from Spinoza (1632–1677) to Schleiermacher (1768– 1834) championed the autonomy of the individual to reason for themselves. Consequently, religion became less of a communal aspect of life and more of a private matter for one's own contemplation and interpretation.

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While there are some intriguing aspects to this, the logical extreme certainly damages community. Why share your faith if faith is individualistic? If my faith is a matter of personal preference, choice, or determination, why should I bother someone else with it? Consequently, evangelism in Europe may have waned because of a shift from communal faith to individualistic religion. The Enlightenment gave people control over their own religion, declaring the individual as morally and spiritually autonomous. If religion is strictly a personal matter, then there is little need to share the gospel with anyone besides one’s self.

CENTURY OF WARFARE On the heels of Europeans adopting individualistic faith came one of the bloodiest centuries the world has ever seen. It could be argued that World War I, World War II, and the Cold War did more to damage to the European view of God than evolution and modernism ever could. This idea was made evident to me in Saint-Lô, France a few years back. During my time there, I visited a church that had been bombed in WWII so severely that only half of the building remained (pictured). After the war, the parishioners restored it enough to conduct mass but left the bullet holes and shrapnel in the walls. On the outside of the church a dud artillery shell is still visible, imbedded into a wall. The parishioners did this to remember a time of terrible tyranny, warfare, and a total absence from peace. On a separate occasion, I visited a French World War I memorial. An enormous mausoleum was constructed over the mass grave of a near-by battlefield. Body parts were collected and thrown into the grave, because they were completely unidentifiable. Small windows lined the floor of the mausoleum, displaying thousands of human bones and skulls.

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What stuck out the most for me was not the eerie silence of the battlefield, nor the utter horror of seeing thousands of skulls and bones in a seemingly never-ending pile, but a quote which I read:

“We asked God for peace, but He never answered.” The devastation of World War I is often overshadowed by the subsequent world war, but its affect on European faith cannot be overstated. The Great War took the lives of 7 million Germans, 6 million French, and 3 million Britons. As the memorial in France suggests, many people believed they were taken without reason by God. Just two decades later, World War II came at the cost (military and civilian) of an estimated 5.4 million Germans, 600,000 French, and 489,000 Britons. Additionally, the Holocaust witnessed the extermination of 6 million Jews. In the modern town of Dachau, a massive concentration camps sits wholly as it was 70 years ago. During a visit a few years back, I was surprised to experience the nearness this camp had to the rest of the city. Inside the fences you could hear cars passing by and children playing on a near-by soccer field. It was hard to ignore the pleasant chirping of birds in the woods while viewing the cremation ovens that disposed of tens of thousands of bodies. Even 70 years removed, I found myself asking God why he allowed such a horrific atrocity to occur? If I, an American three generations removed, was stirred to question God’s seeming inaction over these atrocities, how much more would the Europeans who had experienced them? During the first half of the 20th century Europeans could not understand why God, who promises peace and mercy, would allow millions and millions of people to die during two of the world’s worst wars. All in their own backyard. Literally.

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It should be said that America went through similar struggles during that same period. We also suffered heavy losses for wars fought in far off lands. Why then did our nation not experience the same national crisis of doubt? I would argue that, until recently, America “survived” the onslaught of very difficult questions spurned from the death and destruction that plagued Europeans for decades. We never had to “Keep Calm and Carry On” as our capital was destroyed by wave after wave of devastating bombings. Rather, we viewed ourselves as vindicators - we sent men and women to a war far away. We were a part of the solution, not the innocent bystanders of the problem. We did not fight in our own backyards. Following World War II came the Cold War. This is something we as Americans do not tend to consider. How much did the looming threat of a third world war affect the European psyche and their view of God? Additionally, there was intense persecution against Christians in countries behind the Iron Curtain. The effects of the Soviet Union on religion can be seen, even today. Take, for example, Germany which was split in two during the Cold War. If you were to discover the percentage of atheists in Germany today, you would find that about 30% of the population identify themselves as such. However, if you were to poll West Germany and East Germany separately, you would find that the percentage of atheists is vastly different at 10.3% and 51.1% respectively.

LITTLE TO NO APOLOGETIC EVANGELISM Warfare spurns questions of good and evil, God’s purpose and will, and even his existence. Unfortunately, the questions came in force but answers rarely followed. Individualistic religion was not equipped to explain why a good and loving God would sit back as World Wars I

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& II and the Cold War tore the continent apart. During a time when Christian leadership was needed most, there was little defense for the faith. The pulpits remained silent. It seems that when questions over the authority of the Bible and God’s character rose, European pulpits shrank. There was a disregard for apologetics as a means to explain the gospel in Europe’s immediate context of warfare and skepticism. One may speculate that apologetics, being the art of defending the Christian faith against objection, would have been of chief importance during both the Enlightenment and the previous century of warfare in Europe. Not only were people no longer sharing the gospel through evangelism, neither were they defending the gospel from objection. Of course, there were the exceptions. Most notably C. S. Lewis, who authored “The Problem of Pain” in an attempt to answer of why evil and suffering exist. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is another great example. This fiery anti-Nazi theologian railed against the dictatorship while offering sound apologetic arguments for faith in times of crisis. He paid for his message with his life. These men were the minority. It seems that the vast majority of pulpits steered clear of the big questions. When the issue of the Bible’s authenticity and authority arose, the pulpits clung to a message of using scripture as a moral compass regardless of its trustworthiness. When the full implications of naturalistic evolution was realized - that humans are no more than cleaver animals - the pulpits were quiet on why God’s image-bearing creation is something more than simply animal. When God’s loving character was called into question during a century of warfare, there was simply no reply.

THE RESULT The result of these three things (individualistic religion, a century of war, and a disregard for apologetic evangelism) is the rapid decline of cultural Christianity in Europe. So, to what extent has cultural Christianity declined?

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This question is also difficult to answer. We can explore the results in four observations about Christianity as a whole in Europe. OBSERVATION ONE: Many Europeans still identify themselves a Christian, but do not actively attend Christian services. Strangely enough, although many Europeans do not actively participate in a local Christian body they nonetheless still identify themselves as “Christian” on census polls. Perhaps this may be due to the fact that in some European countries people are given the option to pay a church tax to either the Protestant or Catholic state churches. Thus, when a pollster asks what religion someone identifies with, they may answer according to their tax records. However, the amount of Europeans claiming to be Christian compared to those actually showing up for church on a regular basis is vastly different, as the following infographic demonstrates.

EVANGELICAL CHURCH ATTENDERS IN 2011 % of population who attended church weekly vs. % of population who claim to be Christian POPULATION

BRITAIN

FRANCE

72% 1.4%

63% 0.9%

CLAIM

CHURCH GOER

GERMANY

72% 1.2%

Total church goers = 2,446,613

or roughly 1/3 of Alabama

PEWFORUM, PKD, CHURCH OF ENGLAND, FÉDÉRATION PROTESTANT DE FRANCE

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This is a reality despite the fact that for much of Europe the trend of identifying one’s self as Christian is declining. Being known as an evangelical Christian in some European countries actually means marginalization. It does not mean persecution yet, especially when considering the persecution Christians face in other parts of the world. Nonetheless, many Christians in Europe are being marginalized because being known as an evangelical Christian could have negative social consequences. OBSERVATION TWO: Many Europeans are “unchurched,” meaning they have never stepped foot in a church for any reason besides weddings, funerals, or christenings. They have never gone to a church service to hear the gospel preached, worship in song, nor fellowship once in their entire life. Consider the following infographics with regard to the population of unchurched Europeans.

% OF UNCHURCHED POPULATION = 1 MILLION PEOPLE

= 1 MILLION UNCHURCHED

37% 52% 53%

OF GERMANS ARE UNCHURCHED

OF BRITONS ARE UNCHURCHED

OF FRENCH ARE UNCHURCHED 16

% WHO NEVER ATTEND CHURCH (EXACT PERCENTAGES MAY BE FOUND IN BIBLIOGRAPHY & NOTES)

>50% >20% >10%

EUROPEAN VALUES STUDY

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OBSERVATION THREE: The religious landscape of Europe is rapidly changing. As a former continent known as “Christendom”, Europe is experiencing a rapid change in religious diversity. The two fastest growing religions in Europe are secularism (no religious affiliation, agnosticism, atheism, etc.) and Islam. While it has been rumored that Europe is becoming more and more influenced by Islam due to the religion’s explosive growth, this is not necessarily the case. Islam is in fact growing exponentially in Europe due to immigration, but there is another worldview far ahead of this religious import. That worldview is secularism. Consider the following infographic displaying the percentage of religiously unaffiliated citizens in twelve European countries. The United States is given for comparison.

% OF RELIGIOUSLY UNAFFILIATED 80 60 40 20 0 6 9 N F d B S G 3 u 1 U

= FORMER SOVIET STATES = WESTERN STATES PEW FORUM

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Another way of demonstrating Europe’s rapidly changing religious landscape is through three religious “snapshots” of Germany, France, and Britain. THERE ARE LITERALLY MORE ATHEISTS IN GERMANY THAN IN THE UNITED STATES

UNITED STATES

313M

GERMANY

3%

31% 81M = POPULATION = % ATHEIST

In Britain, there are more Muslims attending mosque on Friday . . .

4x

! c

M

c

c

One empty church in north London was converted into an “atheist church” in January 2013. It was so popular that by its second ever service, there was standing room only in a 250-seat chapel. By July 2013, the founder had planted multiple churches across Britain and the United States.

c c

. . . than Anglicans attending church on Sunday.

100,000+ SINCE THEN,

IN 2010, FRENCHMAN RENE LEBOUVIER SOUGHT TO LEGALLY “DE–BAPTIZE”

HAVE SOUGHT A LEGAL

HIMSELF

“DE–BAPTISM” NORC / UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, PEW FORUM, CHURCH OF ENGLAND

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Along with the rising popularity of secularism among Europeans, an increase of immigration from Africa and the Middle East is also contributing to the changing religious landscape of Europe. The following infographic demonstrates the growth of Islam across the globe since 1989. It is easy to notice the dramatic in-

142% EUROPE

crease of Europe’s Muslim population. GLOBAL GROWTH OF ISLAM SINCE 1989

2% AFRICA

12%

25% N AMERICA

ASIA

SOUTHERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

OBSERVATION FOUR: Christianity (not cultural Christianity) is alive and vibrant in Europe. This observation cannot be demonstrated in numbers or statistics, but rather stories of what God is doing through His church throughout Europe. While there are many stories of many churches throughout the continent, I believe two churches in particular capture the fact that

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Christianity is alive and vibrant despite living in a culture that is growing increasingly antagonistic towards the faith. CITY MISSION KAISERSLAUTERN The first church, City Mission Kaiserslautern (Germany), was originally founded by an American denomination to minister to military service men and women of their denomination stationed at a near-by military base. Formerly under a different name, the church acted as a “life raft” church, keeping American members of their denomination afloat for the few years they lived overseas. This changed when City Mission Kaiserslautern (CMK) began hearing God’s call to local missions. The pastor and congregation became convicted that their strategic position within the heart of Europe was being neglected, and that God had called the church’s focus towards caring for the poor and needy in the immediate community. When the pastor shared this vision with the denomination he was met with disapproval. After a short season, the church decided to withdraw from the denomination. Soon funding was cut and the pastor with his family were left to God’s promises. As He always does, He stayed true. CMK changed their name shortly after leaving the denomination and immediately began a benevolence ministry of redistributing food to the needy. Every Saturday (and sometimes during the week) members of CMK collect food from local grocers that otherwise would have been thrown out. They then spend hours sifting out bad or spoiled food. Finally, they set up a table across town, feed the impoverished, and share the gospel. Like many churches in Europe, CMK has also experienced the miracle of Iranian converts happening all throughout Europe. One day, an Iranian refugee by the name of Macmud came to CMK during the month of Ramadan. Macmud explained to the pastor that he had recently had a dream in which Jesus instructed him to go to CMK and hear about God. Naturally, the pastor obliged.

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Another story happened when a young Iranian refugee attended a CMK Sunday service. The young man had something urgent to say. Unfortunately, he spoke neither German nor English (as CMK is bi-lingual). Eventually, he found a pen and paper, then drew a vision God gave him of Jesus on the cross and of how deeply God loved him. HOLY TRINITY CAMBRIDGE The second church, Holy Trinity Cambridge (England), has a rich history dating all the way back to the twelfth century. Christians have been worshipping on the site of Holy Trinity Cambridge (HT) for hundreds and hundreds of years. The famous British evangelist Charles Simeon preached at HT, as well as the famous missionary Henry Martin. Countless people of influence have walked in and out of HT’s doors. To call the church strategic for the gospel is an understatement. Unfortunately, HT has not always realized that strategic importance. Until relatively recently the church sat almost vacant, home to a dwindling congregation. When HT’s current vicar arrived, he was convinced that God was calling him to simply preaching the gospel over and over. Many members left the church after his first Sunday. As a result, one of the vicar’s staff members swore to have him removed from the post. Nonetheless, the vicar rested in God’s promises. As He always does, He stayed true. Today, there are hundreds of students from the University of Cambridge that attend HT each Sunday. When the university is not in session, a core group of around eighty members remains in the city throughout the summer months. Then, when class start back up, the church swells with hundreds of students from one of the most prestigious and influential universities in the world. Many of the students at HT come to Cambridge having never heard the gospel, but leave knowing Jesus. When they leave Cambridge, they go all over the world to positions of influence in politics, media, business, and law. There is no way to measure the influence HT will have on future generations, but one thing is for sure – this church is actively and powerfully engaged in shaping culture and advancing the gospel. 22

SUM UP SO FAR To sum up so far, cultural Christianity in Europe is in decline or even dead. This may be due to a combination of factors to include the Enlightenment, a century of warfare, and little to no apologetic evangelism (with few notable exceptions). The result of these three factors is an increasingly secular Europe where millions of people are completely unchurched and are quickly embracing secularism as the religious landscape around them rapidly changes. Consequently, thousands of empty churches litter the countryside of Europe; however, even though there may be empty churches in Europe, the Church is not empty in Europe. On the contrary, Christianity is alive and vibrant.

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AMERICA’S DECLINING CULTURAL CHRISTIANITY It should come to no surprise that the cultural conscience of America is shifting away from alignment with Christianity. This will undoubtably challenge the evangelical church throughout our nation. With this as a reality, what can we learn from European churches who have gone through a similar change in their own culture? 24

There are a few things we must admit before answering that question. The first is that we must come to terms that our culture is, in fact, changing. The U.S. culture is currently shifting in a direction that the Christian church will most likely not follow. In this way, American culture is following suit to European culture with regard to its morality. European culture is simply a decade or so ahead of American culture. For example, consider how America is following Europe’s lead with regard to the social issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage, and cannabis legalization.

In 1967, the United Kingdom legalized abortion. America LEGALIZED ABORTION six years later in 1973. The Netherlands decriminalized cannabis in the 1970s. America is following suit with two states decriminalizing in 2012. In 2003, Belgium recognized same-sex marriage. THE SUPREME COURT STRUCK DOWN DOMA in 2013. There are certain recognizable patterns emerging between the shifting European and American societies. It seems, culturally speaking, that when Europe shifts America is often not far behind. Consider the following infographic on the next page that demonstrates how our culture is changing. It will attempt to demonstrate that American culture is experiencing a change in how it views violence, drug use, human sexuality, and faith.

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DID YOU KNOW THAT IN AMERICA... SEXTING is popular among teens between the ages of 13-19. In fact, 10% of them have sent explicit pictures of themselves. This did not exist just a decade ago. VIOLENT CRIME RATE

I 4.8

2nd UNBELIEF

n 10%

is now the

largest religious affiliation PEW RESEARCH

CNN, THE NATIONAL CAMPAIGN

is worse than Yemen, Palestine, Libya, Afghanistan, and Iraq

PORNOGRAPHY CONSUMPTION

40M DAILY VISITORS

UNODC

% NOW IN FAVOR OF

qqw

r

CANNABIS LEGALIZATION

0 73%

1 in 3 are female

XXX CHURCH

PEW RESEARCH

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE OPPOSE

IN JUST A DECADE, PUBLIC OPINON HAS CHANGED

60%

2001

30%

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

60%

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

PEW RESEARCH

FAVOR

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The second thing we must admit is that cultural Christianity is declining in America. Its dying and on its way it. It is quickly becoming unfashionable to identify one’s self as a Christian. This admission may be controversial and some Christians may disagree; however, most of the signs point to a decline of cultural Christianity in our country much like the decline experienced in Europe. As a result of declining cultural Christianity, unbelief in America is rising. The following infographic follows unbelief by generation.

DISBELIEF BY GENERATION 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5%

GREATEST BOOMERS

GEN X

MILLENNIAL

NEXT PEW FORUM

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Along with a rise in disbelief among Americans, church attendance and church planting is declining. There has been a boost in church planting numbers during the past decade. Perhaps this is why the number of young evangelicals, between 23–35, rose 21% to 25% in the past six years. Despite this small spike, overall church attendance is still declining. As a result, many churches are closing their doors. According to the North American Mission Board (NAMB), in 1900 there were 28 churches for every 10,000 Americans. Just fifty years later, that number plummeted to 17 for every 10,000. Since 2004, the trend is expected to continue at an 8% decrease every 4 years. This is despite the fact that our population is increasing. The following infographic demonstrates this data where the church icon represents one church per every 10,000 U.S. citizens. The blue represents U.S. population growth.

300M

m 250M m 200M m m 150M m 100M m 50M m

m m m m m m m

m m m m m m m

m m m m m m m

1900

m m m m m

m m m m

1950

m m m m

m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m

2000



2014

NORTH AMERICAN MISSION BOARD, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

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The third thing we must admit is that a decline in cultural Christianity in America does not mean the decline of Christianity in the world. This is a crucial point to understand. Jesus promised His church that it would never end. Matthew 18:16 “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” That term “Gates of Hell” is also found in the Old Testament as “Gates of Sheol”. The gates of a city represented that city’s power. Hell/Hades/Sheol is the realm of the dead. What Jesus is promising us in this verse is that death will not overpower the church. The church will never, ever die. Ever. When we examine statistics and infographics like the ones in this book, we may be tempted to throw our hands into the air and give up. The one thing we must remember is that Christianity will not die. Cultural Christianity may become unfashionable, but Christianity itself will not die. In fact, just the opposite is occurring across the globe. Christianity is actually exploding! If you had to guess which world religion is the most globally diverse, which would you pick? During my research for this book, when I asked myself that question I admittedly picked Hinduism. To my surprise, it’s not Hinduism, Buddhism, nor Islam. The most globally diverse religion in the world is Christianity! The following maps display the global diversity of these four religions so that you may visualize the realization of Jesus’ promise that His gospel would go to the ends of the earth.

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REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF BUDDHISM

0.3% 0.8%

0.1%