There isn't one single "most popular" religion in China, as a majority (over 50%) identify as non-religious, but Folk Religions (like Taoism, Confucianism, ancestor worship, and local deities) and Buddhism are the most widely practiced belief systems, with Buddhism having the largest single organized following, while many also follow syncretic beliefs incorporating elements from different traditions.
According to 2021 estimates from the CIA World Factbook, among people claiming any religious beliefs, 52.1% of the population is unaffiliated, 21.9% follows Chinese Folk Religion, 18.2% follows Buddhism, 5.1% follow Christianity, 1.8% follow Islam, and 0.7% follow other religions including Taoism.
As China's largest officially recognized religion, Buddhists range from 4 to 33 percent, depending on the measurement used and whether it is based on surveys that ask for formal affiliation with Buddhism or Buddhist beliefs and practices.
Chinese people over the age of 18 are only allowed to join Christian groups that are registered with one of three state-controlled bodies, either the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, the China Christian Council, or the Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement.
It is still not illegal to own a Bible in China. Since the Bible does not have an ISBN (International Standard Book Number), it cannot be sold or distributed within China in bookstores or other commercial markets.
Indonesia is home to the largest Christian community made up of converts from their former Islamic faith; according to various sources, since the mid and late 1960s, between two million and 2.5 million Muslims converted to Christianity.
The country that is approximately 95% Buddhist is Thailand, where Theravada Buddhism is the predominant religion, deeply integrated into daily life and culture, with other nearby nations like Cambodia also having very high Buddhist majorities.
In South Asia, Buddhists are predominantly found among the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka, the Bamar in Myanmar, and various minority groups in India and Nepal.
Buddhism originated in the Indian sub-continent around the fifth century BCE. Buddhism was founded in the north-eastern region of India in what is now Nepal and is based on the teachings of Siddharatha Gautama, The Buddha, or the Enlightened/Awakened One (British Broadcasting Corporation).
Donald Trump identifies as a nondenominational Christian, having previously been associated with Presbyterianism and influenced by Norman Vincent Peale's "positive thinking," though his faith journey includes shifting affiliations and a strong connection with evangelical Christians, with recent statements emphasizing a stronger faith after a life-threatening event. While raised Presbyterian and attending church as a child, he declared himself nondenominational in 2020, yet his religious identity is complex, drawing from various Christian influences and appealing to a broad base of Christian supporters, including Christian nationalists.
Judaism came first, with its origins dating back to Abraham (around 2000 BCE) and Moses (around 1200 BCE), making it the first Abrahamic monotheistic religion; Islam emerged much later, founded by the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century CE, though Muslims believe their faith began with Adam and view figures like Abraham as early prophets. Therefore, Jews existed as a people and religious community centuries before Islam began.
Christianity is the world's largest religion by number of followers, with over 2.4 billion adherents, followed closely by Islam, with nearly 2 billion, and then Hinduism and Buddhism, with billions and hundreds of millions, respectively, though Islam is projected to grow faster and potentially overtake Christianity in the coming decades, according to reports from organizations like the Pew Research Center.
The Chinese government is wary of religion for several reasons. China is officially an atheist state and Communist Party members are banned from believing in or practicing any faith; there is concern that religion can function as an alternative to Communism and thus undermine loyalty to the government.
Kami and people are not separate; they exist within the same world and share its interrelated complexity. Shinto is the largest religion in Japan, practiced by nearly 80% of the population, yet only a small percentage of these identify themselves as "Shintoists" in surveys.
It just kind of happens and we respond to the need and inspiration that people have and we have to find ways to address the different types of people who come to us in a way that is respectful and inclusive. We encourage everyone to practice Buddhism, regardless of their race, color, sexual orientation, or class.
Hinduism. Having both originated from the same place, Hinduism and Buddhism have shared India and influenced each other over centuries.
Pew Research stated that Buddhism was the only religion to have declined in their 2010 to 2020 report covering the global religious landscape.
Despite the fact that Japan is considered a Buddhist country and the majority of people belong to some Buddhist denomination, the religious content of Buddhism is not well known.
According to official census data from 2018, approximately 94% of Thais follow Buddhism. On the other hand, non-census data from 2023 has put the figure at 90% of Thais being Buddhist. The religious life of the country is more complex than how it is portrayed by such statistics.
Nirvana is the goal of many Buddhist paths, and leads to the soteriological release from dukkha ('suffering') and rebirths in saṃsāra. Nirvana is part of the Third Truth on "cessation of dukkha" in the Four Noble Truths, and the "summum bonum of Buddhism and goal of the Eightfold Path."
In Hitler's eyes, Christianity was a religion fit only for slaves; he detested its ethics in particular. Its teaching, he declared, was a rebellion against the natural law of selection by struggle and the survival of the fittest.
Reasons the global Muslim population grew quickly
Based on data for the 2015-2020 period, we estimated a Muslim woman would have 2.9 children, on average, in her lifetime, compared with 2.2 children per non-Muslim woman. In 2020, the global median age for Muslims was nine years below the non-Muslim median (24 vs. 33).