Chinese Buddhism and Folk Religions China has the world's largest Buddhist population, with an estimated 185–250 million practitioners, according to Freedom House. Though Buddhism originated in India, it has a long history and tradition in China and today is the country's largest institutionalized religion.
National surveys conducted in the early 21st century estimated that some 80% of the population of China, which is more than a billion people, practice some kind of Chinese folk religion; 13–16% are Buddhists; 10% are Taoist; 2.53% are Christians; and 0.83% are Muslims.
Chinese who are over the age of 18 are only permitted to join officially sanctioned Christian groups which are registered with the government-sanctioned Catholic Patriotic Church, the China Christian Council and the Protestant Three-Self Church.
Under Chinese law, it is illegal to bring printed religious material into the country if it exceeds the amount for personal use.
China for years has allowed sales of the Bible through official channels only. Currently, among China's major religions, which include Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and folk beliefs, Christianity is the only one whose major holy text cannot be sold through normal commercial channels.
In 2021 the most common religions were: Christianity (43.9%) No religion (38.9%) Islam (3.2%)
No single religion is particularly dominant, and people often follow a combination of practices from multiple religious traditions. According to the Government of Japan, 69.0% of the population practises Shintō, 66.7% practise Buddhism, 1.5% practise Christianity and 6.2% practise other religions as of 2018.
Buddhists do not believe in any kind of deity or god, although there are supernatural figures who can help or hinder people on the path towards enlightenment. Siddhartha Gautama was an Indian prince in the fifth century B.C.E. who, upon seeing people poor and dying, realized that human life is suffering.
The word Hindu is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, many practitioners refer to their religion as Sanātana Dharma (Sanskrit: सनातन धर्म, lit.
Despite the great diversity of Buddhist traditions across various countries, Buddhism in general has restricted the consumption of alcohol since early times.
Instead, in Buddhism, we pray to Buddhas and bodhisattvas for the inspiration and strength to work on ourselves so that we can create our own causes of happiness , as well as benefit others as much as possible.
The most widespread religion in Russia is Russian Orthodox Christianity. The Orthodox faith is very strict. Upon entering a church, women must cover their hair, while men have to take off any headwear.
The 2010 population census, the most recent available, indicated 93 percent of the population is Theravada Buddhist and 5 percent Muslim. NGOs, academics, and religious groups state that 85 to 95 percent of the population is Theravada Buddhist and 5 to 10 percent Muslim.
According to estimates by the Pew Research Center in 2010, most of the Vietnamese people practiced (exclusively) folk religions (45.3%). 16.4% of the population were Buddhists, 8.2% were Christians, and about 30% were unaffiliated to any religion.
Steady declines:
The proportion of Australians identifying Christianity as their religion has been declining over the last century – from 96% in 1911 to 61.1% in the 2011 Census. Over the last decade, Christianity in Australia has declined from 68% to 61.1%.
Hinduism is the fastest growing religion in Australia mostly through immigration. Hinduism is also one of the most youthful religions in Australia, with 34% and 66% of Hindus being under the age of 14 and 34 respectively. Hindu Temple in Melbourne.
Melbourne is considered by some to be the best city to live in Australia, and has even been ranked as the world's most livable city more than once. It's home to a thriving live music scene, late-night bars and laneways dotted with cafés and coffee shops.
Islam, Malaysia's official religion, is followed by about three-fifths of the population.
Malaysia is a multireligious country, whose official religion is Islam. As of the 2020 Population and Housing Census, 63.5 percent of the population practices Islam; 18.7 percent Buddhism; 9.1 percent Christianity; 6.1 percent Hinduism; and 2.7 percent other religion or gave no information.
The Catholic branch of Christianity is the dominant religion in Mexico, representing 78% of the total population as of 2020.
Of course, Jesus was a Jew. He was born of a Jewish mother, in Galilee, a Jewish part of the world. All of his friends, associates, colleagues, disciples, all of them were Jews. He regularly worshipped in Jewish communal worship, what we call synagogues.
The United States has been called a Protestant nation by a variety of sources. In 2019, Christians represent 65% of the total adult population, 43% identifying as Protestants, 20% as Catholics, and 2% as Mormons.
Statistics commonly measure the absolute number of adherents, the percentage of the absolute growth per-year, and the growth of converts in the world. Studies in the 21st century suggest that, in terms of percentage and worldwide spread, Islam is the fastest-growing major religion in the world.
So generally Buddhists celebrate Christmas but not in Christianity way. They have their own way to celebrate Christmas. So Buddhists often see Jesus as an avatar of being blessed to our beloved Earth.
Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism who later became known as “the Buddha,” lived during the 5th century B.C. Gautama was born into a wealthy family as a prince in present-day Nepal. Although he had an easy life, Gautama was moved by suffering in the world.