wonder if there are statistics on the number of people, worldwide, voluntarily converting to or from the various faiths (plus atheism)?
That would mean officially classifying citizens according to religion, which can lead to discrimination. No secular state would ever dream of doing such a thing.
Actually, in Islam it is: “professing” Islam is not the same as “believing” Islam: this is explicitly acknowledged in the Qran. When you make the profession of faith, that is what defines you as Muslim: you submit yourself to Islamic law’s rule and protection, and become a member of the Islamic community with all the advantages and disadvantages it confers. However, only God knows if you believe or not (you might be deluding yourself).
Therefore, a Muslim is simply someone who claims to be one. That’s as well defined and easy to test as it could possibly be, am I right?
You could use voluntary surveys.
There seems to be some data, but as far as I can tell it’s pretty crappy and approximative.
The data are going to be blurry because what being a member of a religion means isn’t well-defined.
Actually, in Islam it is: “professing” Islam is not the same as “believing” Islam: this is explicitly acknowledged in the Qran. When you make the profession of faith, that is what defines you as Muslim: you submit yourself to Islamic law’s rule and protection, and become a member of the Islamic community with all the advantages and disadvantages it confers. However, only God knows if you believe or not (you might be deluding yourself).
Therefore, a Muslim is simply someone who claims to be one. That’s as well defined and easy to test as it could possibly be, am I right?