File talk:Protestentism world map.png

Using the quoted source International Religious Freedom Report 2004, I found some mistakes , the map is overstating the % of protestants for several countries :

Austria: According to the 2001 census, membership in major religions are as follows: Roman Catholic Church--74.0 percent; Lutheran and Presbyterian churches (Evangelical Church - Augsburger and Helvetic confessions)�-4.7 percent; Islamic community�-4.2 percent; Jewish community--0.1 percent; Eastern Orthodox (Russian, Greek, Serbian, Romanian, and Bulgarian)�-2.2 percent; other Christian churches�-0.9 percent; other non-Christian religious groups�-0.2 percent. Atheists accounted for 12 percent; 2 percent did not indicate a religious affiliation In other words less than 15 % protestants in Austria the map shows something different.

Netherlands: Approximately 31 percent of the population consider themselves Roman Catholic, 14 percent Dutch Reformed, 6 percent Muslim, 6 percent Calvinist Reformed, 3 percent non-Christian (Hindu, Jewish, or Buddhist), and 40 percent atheist or agnostic. In other words just about 20 % , the map shows the same color as for Germany

Germany: The Evangelical Church, which includes the Lutheran, Uniate, and Reformed Protestant Churches, has 27 million members, who constitute 33 percent of the population. Statistical offices in the Evangelical Church estimate that 1.1 million members (4 percent of the membership) attend weekly religious services. The Catholic Church has a membership of 27.2 million, or 33.4 percent of the population. According to the Church's statistics, 4.8 million Catholics (17.5 percent of the membership) actively participate in weekly services. According to government estimates, there are approximately 3.1 to 3.5 million Muslims living in the country (approximately 3.4 percent to 3.9 percent of the population). Statistics on mosque attendance were not available. So at the time of this report , 33 % protestanst however same color as for the Netherlands.

The map should be updated for these mistakes and carefully checked for more mistakes (notably the baltic states look incorrect to me as well).

Furthermore , due to the increasing secularization, the number of protestants has dropped in 2011 to less than 20 % in the Netherlands and less than 30 % in Germany.

So either the map sould be named historical 2001 status of protestentism or the coloring should be updated to the current status. Ruud64 (talk) 22:10, 22 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

I actually checked out the latest freedom report issued late 2010. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/index.htm :

Netherlands

Society has become increasingly secularized. In general church membership continued to decline. : According to a 2006 study by the government's Social Cultural Planning Bureau, the number of persons who are church members declined steadily from 76 percent of the population in 1958 to 30 percent in 2006 (16 percent Catholic and 14 percent Protestant). Only 16 percent regularly attend church. Catholics constitute the largest religious group in the country.

So with 14 % protestants the color should be changed.

Austria:

According to 2009 estimates, membership in major religious groups is as follows: Roman Catholic Church, 66 percent; Muslim community, 4.2 percent; Protestants, including Lutheran and Swiss Reformed Churches (Evangelical Church-Augsburger and Helvetic confessions), 3.9 percent; Eastern Orthodox (Russian, Greek, Serbian, Romanian, and Bulgarian), 2.2 percent; other Christian churches, 0.9 percent; Jehovah's Witnesses, 0.3 percent; other non-Christian religious groups, 0.2 percent; and Jewish community, 0.1 percent. Atheists account for 12 percent, and 2 percent do not indicate a religious affiliation.

There are actually less protestants than muslims in austria. The color on the map is clearly incorrect.

Estonia

The country has an area of 17,666 square miles and a population of 1.3 million. The population is 13.6 percent Evangelical Lutheran and 12.8 percent Orthodox. Other Christian groups, including Methodists, Seventh-day Adventists, Roman Catholics, and Pentecostals, constitute 1.4 percent. Thirty two percent of the population is unspecified or other, 34.1 percent is unaffiliated, and 6.1 percent does not identify with a religion.

Most religious adherents among the Russian speaking population, who mainly reside in the capital or the northeastern part of the country, are Orthodox.

In other words the map is incorrect for quite a number of countries, it was already for the 2004 status and is even more so for the year 2009.

Ruud64 (talk) 22:32, 22 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]