--- title: "5 facts about Catholicism in the Philippines" description: "Next weekend, Pope Francis will make his first visit to the home of Asia’s largest Catholic population, the Philippines. The pontiff, who also will be making a stop in Sri Lanka, is very popular in the Philippines and should expect an enthusiastic welcome during his five-day visit. The Philippines’ Catholic majority has its origins in […]" date: "2015-01-09" authors: - name: "Michael Lipka" job_title: "Associate Director, Research" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/michael-lipka/" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/01/09/5-facts-about-catholicism-in-the-philippines/" categories: - "Catholicism" - "International Religious Freedom & Restrictions" - "Religious Freedom & Restrictions" - "Religious Leaders & Institutions" --- # 5 facts about Catholicism in the Philippines [![Catholic faithfuls in pose in front of a cardboard stand-up photograph of Pope Francis in suburban Manila, 2014. AFP/Getty Images](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2015/01/FT_15_01_08_popePhilippinesPhoto.jpg)](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2015/01/FT_15_01_08_popePhilippinesPhoto.jpg) *Catholic faithfuls in pose in front of a cardboard stand-up photograph of Pope Francis in suburban Manila, 2014. (AFP/Getty Images)* Next weekend, Pope Francis will make his first [visit to the home of Asia’s largest Catholic population, the Philippines](http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/travels/2015/outside/documents/papa-francesco-sri-lanka-filippine-2015.html). The pontiff, who also will be making a stop in Sri Lanka, is very popular in the Philippines and should expect an enthusiastic welcome during his five-day visit. The Philippines’ Catholic majority has its origins in the islands’ long period as a Spanish colony, and [popes have made the more than 6,000-mile trip](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2014/05/23/a-half-century-of-well-traveled-popes/) from the Vatican a few times before. [Pope Paul VI visited the country](http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/travels/sub-index/index_asia.htm) in 1970, and St. John Paul II [traveled to the Philippines twice](http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/travels/index.htm) as pope (in 1981 and 1995). Here are five facts about Filipinos and their attitudes toward religion: 1**Very few countries are home to more Catholics than the Philippines.** As of 2010, there were about 76 million Catholics living in the Philippines – [roughly the same as the number living in the United States](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2013/02/13/the-global-catholic-population/). The two countries have the world’s third- and fourth-largest Catholic populations, behind Brazil and Mexico. About [eight-in-ten Filipinos (81%) are Catholic](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2011/12/19/table-christian-population-in-numbers-by-country/); a [somewhat smaller share of Filipino Americans](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/07/19/asian-americans-a-mosaic-of-faiths-overview/) (65%) identify as Catholic. 2 **Pope Francis is extremely popular in the Philippines**. Nearly nine-in-ten Filipinos overall (88%) – including 95% of Filipino Catholics – [say they view the pope favorably](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2014/12/11/pope-francis-image-positive-in-much-of-world/). In fact, more than half of the country’s people (56%) view Francis *very* favorably. 3 Pope Francis plans to visit Tacloban, a city devastated by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. Later this year, Francis will reportedly focus on environmental issues and[ publish a papal encyclical urging action on climate change](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/27/pope-francis-edict-climate-change-us-rightwing). About **a third of Filipinos (34%) see pollution and environmental problems as the **[**greatest threat to the world**](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2014/10/16/greatest-dangers-in-the-world/); no other problem mentioned in the survey (including religious and ethnic hatred and nuclear weapons) is viewed with such alarm by as many people in the Philippines. 4 Many Filipinos have [conservative views on social issues](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2014/04/15/global-morality/table/abortion/), some of which are strongly in line with Catholic Church teachings. For example, two-thirds (67%) say that getting a divorce is morally unacceptable – three times the share of Americans who say this (22%). **Filipinos overwhelmingly view having an abortion as immoral (93%)**; no country among the 40 surveyed is more universally opposed to abortion on moral grounds. 5Throughout several years of [Pew Research studies on global restrictions on religion](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2014/01/14/religious-hostilities-reach-six-year-high/), **the Philippines consistently has displayed a “low” level of government restrictions on religion**. In 2012, the most recent year for which data are available, the country had a “moderate” level of social hostilities involving religion, although the Islamist militant group Abu Sayyaf [has been active in recent years](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-22664820).