They take exception to Mark Elliott, "Analysis of World Christian Encyclopedia Figures for Post-Soviet Christians," East-West Church & Ministry Report 4 (Summer 2001), 4-5, and "Making Sense of Russian Church Statistics," Ibid., 16, 9.
The Annual Global Megacensus as Definitive Source
The two-volume World Christian Encyclopedia reports the overall results of the churches' megacensus costing the churches worldwide $1.1 billion every year. In this, the world's 34,000 organized denominations instruct their bishops, clergy, and lay leaders to report each year on the numerical state of their work. Some ten million questionnaires in 3,000 languages are returned to their headquarters quantifying 180 major subject areas. For instance, all Roman Catholic bishops are each required to answer 141 statistical questions annually.
Two Vast Databases Guarantee Credibility
WCE's computational side has been firmly based on two large databases. First is the United Nations Demographic Database, continually updated by statistics on 100 variables for each of the UN's 189 member nations for each year from A.D.1950 to A.D.2050. On top of this, we have built the World Christian Database, itemizing for 238 countries the world's 12,600 ethnolinguistic peoples, 6,600 cultures, 13,500 languages, 7,000 metropolises, 9,900 religions, 250 confessions, 34,000 denominations, 30,000 dioceses, 3,450,000 churches and worship centers, and so on.
The key variable in quantifying Christians is not "active believers," which most churches never measure. The only measurable or quantifiable imperative in Jesus' Great Commission is "Baptize them" (Matthew 28:10, Contemporary English Version). This is the one category employed by all 34,000 organized denominations in the world. We use it therefore throughout WCE as "affiliated Christians (church members)." This means all baptized persons, living and with names written on church affiliation rolls. Virtually all denominations worldwide provide this figure. None pretend that all are "active believers."
Church Leaders Know Their Flocks Best
[On pages 16 and 5 Elliott] ... ignores the megacensus by making the extraordinary claim "Many Orthodox and Protestant estimates typically inflate," "Orthodox hierarchs may sometimes exaggerate," "Russian Protestants may sometimes exaggerate ... for the benefit of Western donors," and [WCE gives] "overly generous figures for Catholics." After speaking over a 40-year period with hundreds of church leaders including bishops, popes, and patriarchs about their enumeration practices and examining their millions of questionnaires, we must assert that the average denominational or diocesan leader is far more likely to know and to accurately return the most believable total of baptized persons under his care than any outsider could. It is their business to know.
The two-volume WCE gives the overall firm totals of the megacensus. Readers wanting to go further to examine WCE's 7,000-item bibliography, methodology, assumptions, sources, and so on will find detailed explanations and documentation in our new 952-page companion volume World Christian Trends (William Carey Library, 2001). This contains a searchable CD of the volume's entire text, tables, photographs, and color maps, plus a spreadsheet for 191 variables in all 238 countries. Of special interest is our series of computerized tables and graphs showing church growth and decline over the entire period A.D. 30 to A.D. 2200. Next to appear will be the full World Christian Database, expected to become available in 2002.
David B. Barrett
Todd M. Johnson
Global Evangelization Movement
Richmond, VA
David B. Barrett & Todd M. Johnson, "World Christian Encyclopedia Editors Respond,"
"More Responses to World Christian Encyclopedia Statistics," East-West Church & Ministry Report 9 (Fall 2001), 12. East-West Church & Ministry Report 9 (Fall 2001), 11.
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© 2001 East-West Church and Ministry Report
ISSN 1069-5664
