As the United States publicly retreats from the world stage, people finally seem to be catching on. A new Pew Research Center study found many nations foresee a new superpower rising in the next few years to replace America—others think it’s already happened.

The Pew study, published July 14, describes the world’s perception of America. The study reveals that although the vast majority of nations condemn America’s extensive use of drones as well as the amount of intelligence gathering taking place, 65 percent of people from 44 different nations still hold a favorable view of the U.S.

Despite their positive views, many don’t see the U.S. continuing as the world’s only superpower for much longer. The study found that “a median of 50 percent of those surveyed,” up from 41 percent last year, “see China eventually supplanting America as the dominant world superpower.”

The belief that America will be replaced as the world’s superpower is strongest in Europe, a historic supporter of America. Sixty percent of those polled across the seven European nations surveyed thought the U.S. was on the way out or had already been replaced by China. The top four nations that thought America was about to be replaced were countries typically thought of as America’s closest European friends: Spain (67 percent), the United Kingdom (62 percent), France (61 percent) and Germany (60 percent). Conversely, only 59 percent of Chinese felt they would overtake America.

The top nations that felt America would never be replaced include some that rely on it the most: the Philippines (74 percent), Vietnam (69 percent), and Japan (69 percent). Without the U.S., these nations would quickly be dominated by China. All three nations are currently engaged in territorial disputes with China, and they don’t want to see America replaced. Their future hinges on the United States.

The study also found that while America is still viewed by most of the world as the leading economic power, that image is also changing. While a global average of 45 percent of those nations polled saw America as the leading economy, compared to the 29 percent who saw China as the leading economic power, this represents a major change in world perception since the economic crisis of 2008. As the Pew study brings out (emphasis added):

In the last six years, across the 20 countries surveyed in both 2008 and 2014, the perceived economic balance of power has shifted dramatically. In 2008, just months before the onset of the Great Recession, a median of 49 percent across 20 countries said America was the leading global economic power, with only 19 percent picking China. Six years later, 40 percent say the U.S. is the top economy while 31 percent say China.

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The final section of this new Pew study examined the growing fear in the Pacific that war could engulf the region soon. The study found that an overwhelming majority saw war as a very real possibility, “including 93 percent of Filipinos, 85 percent of Japanese, 84 percent of Vietnamese and 83 percent of South Koreans. Moreover, 61 percent of the public in the Philippines and 51 percent in Vietnam say they are very concerned about a possible military confrontation with Beijing. And, in China itself, fully 62 percent are concerned about a possible conflict.”

Why all this fear of war? The study brings out that it is America’s allies in the Pacific who are the most fearful of war. Why should they be fearful if, as the Pew study showed, America’s allies in the Pacific were also the ones who most believed China wouldn’t replace the U.S. economically? Simply because that is what they want to believe. They don’t want America to be replaced by China—they know what’s in their future if America is replaced.

The fact that so many are fearful proves what they really think. Even if America is the uncontested economic superpower, many of its allies are afraid it won’t rush to their rescue in the advent of war.

If you take a step back and view all the Pew study’s findings together—the growing sense America is going to be replaced; the growing belief China is the new economic power in the world; the fear of war in the Pacific—you clearly see that America really is in decline. The majority of the world sees American power waning—and some are terrified of the ramifications.

Why is America’s position in the world weakening? Is it just a result of the passage of time? Is it just the reality of another nation rising and falling like so many before it? And what will happen when it is gone? Read “What Happens After a Superpower Dies” to see what the Bible predicts for the world’s future after America.