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 Buddhism and Folk Religions
Though Buddhism originated in India, it has a long history and tradition in China and today is the country's largest institutionalized religion.
Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism were the three main philosophies and religions of ancient China, which have individually and collectively influenced ancient and modern Chinese society.
Over the past four decades, Christianity has grown faster in China than anywhere else in the world. Daryl Ireland, a Boston University School of Theology research assistant professor of mission, estimates that the Christian community there has grown from 1 million to 100 million.
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.
Accurate data on Chinese Christians is difficult to access. There are estimates that say Christianity is the fastest growing religion in China. There were some four million before 1949 (three million Catholics and one million Protestants).
Of the world's major religions, Christianity is the largest, with more than two billion followers. Christianity is based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and is approximately 2,000 years old.
Christianity. The world's largest religion, Christianity, is practiced by about 2.4 billion people. The country with the highest number of practicing Christians is the United States, with a Christian population of 253 million.
Christianity and Islam are the two largest religions in the world, with 2.8 billion and 1.9 billion adherents, respectively.
Christianity. Australia's major religion is Christianity with the major denominations, in order of size, being Catholic, Anglican, Uniting Church, Eastern Orthodox, Presbyterian and Reformed, Baptist and Pentecostal. 30% of the Australian population reported that they were either Anglican or Catholic in the 2021 Census ...
Islam has been practiced in China since the 7th century CE. Muslims are a minority group in China, representing 1.6 to 2 percent of the total population (21-28 million people) according to various estimates.
The Japanese religious tradition is made up of several major components, including Shinto, Japan's earliest religion, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Christianity has been only a minor movement in Japan.
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.
According to a 2021 Gallup Korea poll, 60% identify with no religion, 17% with Protestantism, 16% with Buddhism, 6% with Catholicism, and 1% with other religions.
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. Born on the Nepali side of the present day Nepal-India border, Siddhartha Gautama was a prince around the fifth century B.C.E.
As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus. Hinduism has been called the world's oldest religion still practised, though some debate remains.
Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism are always included in the list, being known as the "Big Five".
Islam: The Final Religion
❖ Islam is the universal religion for all mankind. ❖ 'Islam' means submission to the will and law of God. ❖ The other meaning of the word is peace (through God). ❖ A Muslim willingly submits to the will and laws of God.
The start of Islam is marked in the year 610, following the first revelation to the prophet Muhammad at the age of 40. Muhammad and his followers spread the teachings of Islam throughout the Arabian peninsula.
Christianity began in the 1st century after the birth of Jesus as a Judaic sect with Hellenistic influence, in the Roman province of Judea. The disciples of Jesus spread their faith around the Eastern Mediterranean area, despite significant persecution.
The belief that "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God" is central to Islam. This phrase, written in Arabic, is often prominently featured in architecture and a range of objects, including the Qur'an, Islam's holy book of divine revelations.
Hinduism is Australia's fastest growing religion. The diversity of modern Australia connects us to every part of the world, including South Asia.
The government recognizes five official religions – Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Protestantism, and Catholicism.
According to the stela, unearthed in the early 1600s, Christianity came to China in A.D. 635, when a Nestorian monk named Aluoben entered the ancient capital of Chang'an -- now modern-day Xi'an -- in central China.