Christianity not prevailing religion with China's youth -- The reality may shock you

The majority of Chinese under 30 practice Islam.

The prevailing faith among young people under the age of 30 in China is not Christianity, but Islam, according to a new study that was released by the National Survey Research Center and Renmin University in Beijing, China.

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - It has been reported that the specialists who performed the China Religion Survey 2015 discovered that 22.4 percent of Muslims in China are under the age of 30, with 22 percent of Catholics classified to be below this age rage.

"Islam tends to have a younger demographic. Most believers of Islam belong to ethnic minority groups and it is common for a woman to give birth to several children," stated Wei Dong, a researcher and a professor of Buddhist studies at the university. "The children would also become Muslims while it is very rare to have an adult converting to Islam."

However, the researchers discovered an age gap. They noted that in the mainland, Chinese citizens above the age of 60 are much more probable to subscribe to Buddhism or Taoism. In fact, almost 55 percent of Buddhists are found in this age range and very nearly 54 percent are Taoists.

China has an atheist government that has, in the past, clashed with Christianity and other faiths. Refugees during that time spoke out about the terrors they have gone through simply because they are religious individuals. Additionally, the Chinese government reportedly restrains Ramadan celebrations, and it holds a history of oppressing the Muslim Uighur minority.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom's 2015 report revealed China as a country that is still extensively limiting human rights.

"For religious freedom, this has meant unprecedented violations against Uighur Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists, Catholics, Protestants, and Falun Gong practitioners," reads the document. "People of faith continue to face arrests, fines, denials of justice, lengthy prison sentences, and in some cases, the closing or bulldozing of places of worship."

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