{"id":323178,"date":"2026-06-30T09:59:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T13:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?post_type=short-read&p=323178"},"modified":"2026-06-30T09:59:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T13:59:24","slug":"5-facts-about-religion-in-the-philippines","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2026\/06\/30\/5-facts-about-religion-in-the-philippines\/","title":{"rendered":"5 facts about religion in the Philippines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Catholics
Catholics pray at a chapel in Manila on March 5, 2025, in observance of Ash Wednesday. (Ted Aljibe\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By a variety of measures, people in the Philippines tend to be highly religious. Nearly all Filipino adults are affiliated with a religion, and almost nine-in-ten say religion is very important in their lives<\/a>. The shares who believe in God and say they pray every day are among the highest Pew Research Center has found in recent survey work around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most Filipino adults \u2013 more than 90 million \u2013 are Catholic. The country is home to the world\u2019s third-largest Catholic population, behind only Brazil and Mexico, according to the Vatican\u2019s 2021 Statistical Yearbook of the Church<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Millions of Protestants, other kinds of Christians and Muslims also live in the Philippines, a chain of about 7,600 islands in Southeast Asia. This analysis focuses on Christians because our recent surveys do not have enough Filipino Muslims to allow us to report separately on their attitudes, beliefs and practices. As always, all religious groups are included in our findings on the full adult population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are five facts about religion in the Philippines, based on data from Center surveys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About this research<\/summary>\n

This analysis explores recent Pew Research Center survey findings about the religious affiliations, beliefs and practices of Filipino adults, as well as Filipino Catholics\u2019 opinions of Pope Leo XIV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did we do this?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Pew Research Center does opinion surveys, demographic studies and other research on the role of religion in public life, among other topics. This includes studying religion in Southeast Asia<\/a> and Catholicism around the world<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about Pew Research Center<\/a> and our religion research<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did we do this?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

These findings come mostly from the Center\u2019s 2024 surveys of 36 countries, including the Philippines. Here are the questions and responses<\/a> we used to measure Filipinos\u2019 religious beliefs and practices, as well as the questions and responses<\/a> we used to assess religious nationalism. Also, here are our survey questions and responses<\/a> about Pope Leo XIV, as well as our most recent data on religious affiliation in the Philippines from a 2026 survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more about our methodology for international surveys<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who funded this work?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This analysis was produced by Pew Research Center as part of the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project<\/a>, which analyzes religious change and its impact on societies around the world. Funding for the Global Religious Futures project comes from The Pew Charitable Trusts, John Templeton Foundation (grants 63095 and 63753) and Templeton Religion Trust (grant 34765). This publication does not necessarily reflect the views of the funders.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Most Filipino adults (92%) identify religiously as Christian \u2013 including 76% who identify as Catholic. <\/strong>A smaller share (12%) say they are Protestant, as of a spring 2026 Center survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most Filipino Catholics are lifelong<\/em> Catholics, according to a 2024 Center survey<\/a>, meaning they were raised Catholic and continue to identify that way as adults.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Three-quarters of Filipinos are Catholic<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Religious affiliation of Filipino adults, by year<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Note: \u201cOther Christian\u201d includes Christians who do not identify as Protestant or Catholic, such as Orthodox Christians or members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding. Respondents who identify with a non-Christian religion, do not identify with any religion or did not answer are not shown.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Source: Spring 2026 Global Attitudes Survey.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
PEW RESEARCH CENTER<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Share this chart<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t