![]() But the most public part of his visit was his address to the interfaith Congress, and its intentional connection to his Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, sometimes called the Abu Dhabi Agreement. In addition to meeting the current president, civic leaders and diplomatic corps, he celebrated Mass and held conversations with men and women religious, pastoral workers and seminarians serving this small but vibrant community in the region. ![]() The pope continued his practice of highlighting the presence of the Church in areas where Catholics are a tiny proportion of the overall population a priority he has demonstrated not only in his pastoral visits but also in his naming of cardinals from far-flung dioceses. Out of the 19 million Kazakhs, roughly 125,000 identify as Roman Catholic, a number well under 1%. This reality is one of the factors that drove Pope Francis to visit the enormous Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan, a country nine times the geographical size of Italy. The Holy Father addressed the Seventh Congress of World and Traditional Religions from September 13-15, held in the capital city of Astana, which is often referred to as Nur-Sultan, after the nation’s first president following independence, Nursultan Nazarbayev. Twenty-first century Christians will undoubtedly need to continue to adjust to living amidst pluralism not only across the common planet that we share, but also in their own nation and neighborhoods. population by 2070. So, while the number of religiously unaffiliated Americans is expected to continue to swell, those adhering to other traditions will also grow exponentially in the coming decades. The same poll predicted that Christians would make up somewhere between 35% and 46% of the U.S. 64% today), I did not realize that only 6% of United States residents identify with a non-Christian religion such as Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh or other faith traditions. ![]() (CNS photo/Paul Haring)ĭigging into the crosstabs of a new poll released last week, I found some numbers surprising. While I was well aware of the decline in Americans identifying as Christian (90% in 1968 vs. Pope Francis listens to a translation of his talk during a meeting with bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated persons, seminarians and pastoral workers at the cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
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