Report: Islam could be the second-largest religion in the US by 2040

Muslims could become the second-largest religious group in the United States in the next two decades, a CNN report based on Pew Research study has claimed.

According to the report, Muslim population is growing at an accelerated rate, and will more than double from an estimated 3.45 million in 2017 to an estimated 8.1 million in 2050. In the meantime, Muslims are expected to surpass Jews as the second-largest religious group.

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Pew combined studies they conducted in 2007, 2011 and 2017 with yearly data from the US Census (which does not track religious affiliation) to put together a portrait of the future of Muslims in America, said the report.

The research showed a record number of Muslims immigrated to the US in 2016, which means that three-quarters of Muslims currently in the US are immigrants or children of immigrants.

Younger population

According to Pew, on average the Muslim population is younger than other religious groups, which means they have a higher fertility rate.

However, even as the Muslim population in America is set to double in the next few decades, they will still account for a tiny fraction of the overall US population, the report said.

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The report clarifies that even though the Muslim population in America is expected to rise considerably even with the population boom, Christianity is far and away the predominant religious group in the US, followed by those who identify with no religion at all.