This Friday is Good Friday, the day Christians believe Jesus Christ died for the sins of humanity.

For Christians from Western ChurchesThe Catholic and Protestant Churches celebrate Easter both use the Gregorian calendar, so they celebrate Easter at the same time. The Eastern or Orthodox Churches use the older Julian calendar, so their Easter is often different., it will be a day of church services. In Italy, statues in Catholic churches will be covered with cloth. In JerusalemAn ancient city that is considered holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike., devotees will carry crosses to GolgothaAlso known as Calvary, this is the site outside the walls of Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified with two thieves. It now hosts the Church of the Holy Sepulchre., where they believe Jesus died.

In the secular West, it is common to see Christianity as a relic of our history. Yet these celebrations prove that Christianity is alive. 

Almost one-third of the world is Christian, and the faith is growing rapidly in Africa and East Asia.

Although we tend to think the world is losing faith, 84% of the global population identifies with a religious group, and this proportion is growing.

Much of the world believes there are reasons to believe in God. What are they?

Moral compass. For some philosophers, belief in morality only makes sense if we believe in God. Some suggest it is improbable that morality could have developed in a godless world. Others argue that without God, we have no solid basis for our moral ideas.

Heavenly miracles. Many Christians believe they have had direct contact with the divine. Every day, people claim that they have been miraculously healed, or received something they prayed for. For them, the simplest explanation is that God caused this. Miracles do not need to be big: for some, the greatest miracle is the sense of fulfilment they get from their faith.

Cause and effect. The cosmological argumentA range of arguments all resting on the idea that the universe must have an origin, and the only possible cause is God. for God states that everything that begins to exist must have a cause. As such, the universe must have a cause, and according to this argument, this cause is God. The most common form of this argument today is the Kalam argument popularised by William Lane Craig. For some Christians, existence provides another form of evidence for God. They say the world is full of wonder, and simply to look at it is to see God's hand at work within it.

Trust in faith. But some think proposing "rational" reasons for believing in God defeats the point. God is the source of all things, including human rationality. Insisting on a "rational" basis for believing in God makes about as much sense as demanding a "rational" basis for believing in the existence of the world, or of human beings. You just have to trust in faith.

Yes: The vast majority of the world still believes in God, and they have solid reasons for doing so. Without God, it is impossible to explain so much of the world around us, as well as our own ideas about life. 

No: Whether we like it or not, science has ousted God. It has restructured our thinking around rationalism and empiricism and, in doing so, made God obsolete.

Or... Whether or not God really exists, it is clear that human beings are naturally spiritual creatures. Yet this aspect of our existence is obscured by both extreme rationalism and insistence on one specific God.

Western Churches - The Catholic and Protestant Churches celebrate Easter both use the Gregorian calendar, so they celebrate Easter at the same time. The Eastern or Orthodox Churches use the older Julian calendar, so their Easter is often different.

Jerusalem - An ancient city that is considered holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.

Golgotha - Also known as Calvary, this is the site outside the walls of Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified with two thieves. It now hosts the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Cosmological argument - A range of arguments all resting on the idea that the universe must have an origin, and the only possible cause is God.