Religion in the Philippines is predominated by Christianity, with Catholicism being its largest denomination. Sizeable minorities adhering to Islam, Dharmic religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism), and indigenous Philippine folk religions like Anitism are also present.

The country is officially secular and its constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Before the arrival of Spanish missionaries, the various ethnic groups residing in the territory of modern-day Philippines practiced a variety of faiths.

Overview

According to the 2020 census combining all Christian categories, 91.5% of the population is Christian; 79% belong to the Catholic Church while 13% belong to Protestantism and other denominations such as Iglesia ni Cristo, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Philippine Independent Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Apostolic Catholic Church, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, Members Church of God International, and Pentecostals.Indigenous Philippine folk religions (collectively referred to as Anitism or Bathalism), the traditional religion of Filipinos which predates Philippine Christianity and Islam, is practiced by an estimated 2% of the population,Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project: Philippines . Pew Research Center. 2010. made up of many indigenous peoples, tribal groups, and people who have reverted into traditional religions from Catholic/Christian or Islamic religions. These religions are often syncretized with Christianity and Islam. Buddhism is practiced by % of the Philippine population by the Japanese-Filipino community, and, together with Taoism and Chinese folk religion, is also dominant in Chinese communities. There are also smaller number of followers of Sikhism, Hinduism as well. Irreligion in the Philippines is very low, with % of the Philippine population self-reporting in 2020 as having no religion.According to the 2015 census, Evangelicals comprised 2% of the population. It is particularly strong among American and Korean communities, Northern Luzon especially in Cordillera Administrative Region, Southern Mindanao and many other tribal groups in the Philippines. Protestants both mainline and evangelical have gained significant annual growth rate up to 10% since 1910 to 2015.

About 6.4% of the population of the Philippines is Muslim as of 2020, making Islam the second largest religion in the country. The majority of Muslims live in parts of Mindanao, Palawan, and the Sulu Archipelago – an area known as Bangsamoro or the Moro region.RP closer to becoming observer-state in Organization of Islamic Conference . (May 29, 2009). The Philippine Star. Retrieved 2009-07-10, "Eight million Muslim Filipinos, representing 10 percent of the total Philippine population, ...". Some have migrated into urban and rural areas in different parts of the country, and are highly visible in and around Metro Manila (especially in the 'Muslim Town' district of Quiapo in Manila, Baclaran in Parañaque, parts of Las Piñas, and Maharlika in Pasig), Metro Cebu, Baguio and the Calabarzon region (notably in urbanized towns and cities in Cavite, Laguna, and Batangas). Most Muslim Filipinos practice Sunni Islam according to the Shafi'i school. There are some Ahmadiyya Muslims in the country.

Freedom of religion Freedom of religion in the Philippines is guaranteed by the Constitution under Section 5 of Article III (Bill of Rights), which states that "No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights". In 2024, Freedom House gave the country a 4 out of 4 score for religious freedom.

Demographics

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported in February 2023 that, based on the 2020 census, |2}}% of the total Filipino population were Catholics, 10.8%–11% were Protestants and % were Muslims.

+ Population by religious affiliation (2010–2020) Affiliation Number (2010) Percentage (2010) Number (2020) Percentage (2020) Catholic 74,211,896 85,645,362 Islam 5,127,084 6,981,710 Evangelical (PCEC-affiliated and other Evangelicals) 3,483,849 5,246,914 Protestant (NCCP-affiliated and other Protestants) 2,771,155 2,995,642 Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) 2,251,941 2,806,524 Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) 681,216 862,725 Jehovah's Witnesses (JW) 410,957 457,245 Church of Christ 258,176 429,921 Jesus is Lord Church (JILCW) 207,246 333,506 Tribal religion 177,417 251,548 Latter-day Saints 133,814 175,004 Other religious affiliations (including smaller churches) 2,306,657 2,421,825 None 73,248 43,931 Not reported 3,322 15,186 Total 92,097,978 108,667,043 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

Christianity

Christianity arrived in the Philippines with the landing of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain, who was then Prince of Girona and of Asturias under his father, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor who, as Charles I, was also King of Spain. Missionary activity during the country's colonial rule by Spain and the United States led the transformation of the Philippines into the first and then, along with East Timor, one of two predominantly Catholic nations in East Asia, with approximately 88.66% of the population belonging to the Christian faith.

Catholicism

Catholicism (; ) is the predominant religion and the largest Christian denomination in the Philippines comprising 78.8% of the population (or 85,645,362 million adherents) in 2020. It served as the country's state religion over most of the archipelago during the Spanish colonial period, under the Spanish Constitution of 1876. Spanish efforts to convert many on the islands were aided by the lack of a significant central authority, and by friars who learnt local languages to preach. Some traditional animistic practices blended with the new faith. Catholicism's status as state religion continued under the short-lived Malolos Republic. The American colonial government established a policy of separation of church and state, eventually ending prospects of establishing a state religion in the Philippines.

The Catholic Church has great influence on Philippine society and politics. It was instrumental in rallying public support for the bloodless People Power Revolution of 1986. Then-Archbishop of Manila and de facto Primate of the Philippines, Cardinal Jaime Sin appealed to the public via radio to congregate along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue in support of rebel forces against the dictatorship of President Ferdinand E. Marcos. Some seven million people responded to the call between February 22–25, and the non-violent protests successfully forced Marcos and his family out of power and into exile in Hawaii.

Several Catholic holidays are culturally important as family occasions, and are observed in the civil calendar. Chief among these are Christmas, which includes celebrations of the civil New Year, and the more solemn Holy Week, which may occur in March or April. Every November, Filipino families celebrate All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day as a single holiday in honour of the saints and the dead, visiting and cleaning ancestral graves, offering prayers, and feasting. As of 2018, Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 was added as a special non-working holiday. The Catholic church in the Philippines is unique for being by granted by the Roman Pontiff, the Cerulean Indult, the privilege to wear the liturgical color of Cerulean or Celeste, in honor of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, a privilege, not shared by most other Latin-Rite Catholics, except those under the ambit of the Spanish Empire where it also doubly serves as the color of Native American Royalty even though the indult had initially fallen out of use due to wars of independence against Spain, the primary supporter of the Immaculate Conception, but was restored to all former Spanish-territories following the First Provincial Council of Manila as the Philippines earned it through reverting to, or staying loyal towards Catholicism, even though the church was divided on the issue of Philippine independence, amidst the schisms produced by the Philippine Independent Church as well as other break away Protestant and Masonic influenced churches, after Spanish Colonialism was replaced by the American Imperialism.

Philippine Independent Church

The Philippine Independent Church (officially in Philippine , IFI; colloquially known as the Aglipayan Church) is an independent Christian denomination in the form of a nationalist church in the Philippines. Its revolutionary nationalist schism from the Catholic Church was proclaimed in 1902 by the members of the Unión Obrera Democrática Filipina due to the mistreatment towards the Filipinos by Spanish priests and partly influenced by the execution of nationalist José Rizal under Spanish colonial rule.

Isabelo de los Reyes was one of the initiators of the separation, and suggested that former Catholic priest Gregorio Aglipay be the head of the church. It is also known as the "Aglipayan Church" after its first Obispo Maximo, Gregorio Aglipay.

Commonly shared beliefs in the Aglipayan Church are the rejection of the Apostolic Succession solely to the Petrine Papacy, the acceptance of priestly ordination of women, the free option of clerical celibacy, the tolerance to join Freemasonry groups, and the advocacy of contraception and same-sex civil rights among its members. Many saints canonised by Rome after the schism are also not officially recognised by the Aglipayan church and its members, but they recognise the popes that have been universally canonised as saints before the schism.

In 2020, the Philippine Independent Church had around adherents (% of the Philippine population). Aglipayans in the Philippines claim to number at least 6 to 8 million members, with most from the northern part of Luzon, especially in the Ilocos Region and in the parts of Visayas like Antique, Iloilo and Guimaras provinces. Congregations are also found throughout the Philippine diaspora in North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia. With the exception of the Unitarian Iglesia ni Cristo, the church is the second-largest single Christian denomination in the country after the Catholic Church (some 80.2% of the population). It has 48 dioceses plus the 2 dioceses outside the Philippines such as the Diocese of Tampa (USA) and the Diocese of Western USA, Western Canada, and the Pacific Islands. It has Fellowship congregations in the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Singapore. IFI is in full communion with the Anglican Churches and The Episcopal Church.

Iglesia ni Cristo

(; ) is the largest entirely locally initiated religious organisation in the Philippines comprising roughly 2.6% of religious affiliation in the country.Sanders, Albert J., "An Appraisal of the Iglesia ni Cristo," in Studies in Philippine Church History, ed. Anderson, Gerald H. (Cornell University Press, 1969) Felix Y. Manalo officially registered the church with the Philippine Government on July 13, 1914Palafox, Quennie Ann J. 'First Executive Minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ)' "National Historical Institute" and because of this, most publications refer to him as the founder of the church. Felix Manalo claimed that he was restoring the church of Christ that was lost for 2,000 years. He died on April 12, 1963, aged 76.