s
now professed by hardly more than 100,000 persons (mostly in Bombay).

+1146+. Islam is now the religion of the Turkish empire (except the
Christian groups in Europe, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Armenia), Persia,
Egypt (except the Copts), and the North African coast, and has a large
following in Central Asia, China, India, the Malay peninsula, the Malay
Archipelago, the Sudan, and a considerable representation on the east
and west coasts of Africa. Its spread, as is remarked above, has been
effected sometimes by force, but oftener by social pressure and through
traders and missionaries. Decadent Christianity in Palestine, Syria, and
Egypt readily yielded to it; Persian Zoroastrianism made some effort to
maintain itself but succumbed to the combination of military pressure
and the prospect of civil advancement and peace; after the fall of
Constantinople conversions of Christians in Europe were numerous, and
the Moslem conquests in India were followed by a considerable accession
of Hindus to the Islamic faith. At the present time it appears to be
advancing only among the half-civilized tribes of Central Africa, but it
maintains its position against Buddhism and Christianity.[2092]

+1147+. There is, thus, now no religion that, so far as extent of
diffusion is concerned, can be called universal. Omitting the Jewish and
Parsi groups, the Brahmanic and other religions of India, and the
Chinese Confucian cult, three great religions have divided the world
among them, Buddhism taking Eastern Asia, Islam Western Asia and
Northern Africa, and Christianity Europe and America. It is sometimes
suggested that the religion of the leaders of civilization, the
Christian nations, must become the faith of the world. But, even if we
may look forward to a time when social fusion, under the control of the
present Christian nations, shall have brought about substantial unity of
religious thought in the world, it is impossible now to predict what
the nature of that thought will be, since Christianity has undergone and
is now undergoing change, and may in the far future assume a different
form from that of to-day; fundamentals may remain, but opinions differ
even now as to what are fundamentals.

+1148+. _Classification of religions._ A word may be added on proposed
classifications of religions.[2093] Certain resemblances and differences
between religions are obvious, and groups may be made, geographical,
ritualistic, theologic, or soteriologic