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. 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.
Most Filipino adults – more than 90 million – are Catholic. The country is home to the world’s third-largest Catholic population, behind only Brazil and Mexico, according to the Vatican’s 2021 Statistical Yearbook of the Church.
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.
Here are five facts about religion in the Philippines, based on data from Center surveys.
Most Filipino adults (92%) identify religiously as Christian – including 76% who identify as Catholic. A smaller share (12%) say they are Protestant, as of a spring 2026 Center survey.
Most Filipino Catholics are lifelong Catholics, according to a 2024 Center survey, meaning they were raised Catholic and continue to identify that way as adults.
| Catholic | Protestant | Other Christian | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 83% | 6% | 5% |
| 2017 | 83% | 7% | 4% |
| 2018 | 78% | 13% | 3% |
| 2019 | 76% | 9% | 4% |
| 2024 | 80% | 11% | 4% |
| 2026 | 76% | 12% | 3% |
The vast majority of Filipino Catholics (79%) say they have a favorable view of Pope Leo XIV, according to our 2026 survey. This includes 43% who express a very favorable opinion of him.
Catholics ages 18 to 49 are more likely than those ages 50 and older to say they view Leo either somewhat or very favorably. However, 19% of Filipino Catholics ages 50 and older say they’ve never heard of Leo or decline to answer, compared with 7% of those ages 18 to 34.
| Favorable | Unfavorable | Did not answer | Group | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Catholics | 79% | 9% | 12% | 1 |
| Ages 18-34 | 86% | 7% | 7% | 2 |
| 35-49 | 81% | 9% | 11% | 2 |
| 50+ | 67% | 14% | 19% | 2 |
Nearly all Filipino adults (99%) say they believe in God, according to our 2024 survey. This includes 100% of Protestants and 99% of Catholics.
However, Filipino Protestants and Catholics differ more in their beliefs about the spirits of their ancestors. While 56% of Catholics believe that the spirits of ancestors can help or hurt them, 26% of Protestants say the same.
The Philippines has one of the highest rates of prayer among the three dozen countries we surveyed in 2024. About eight-in-ten Filipino adults (79%) say they pray daily, including most Catholics (77%) and Protestants (88%).
However, larger differences emerge on some other religious practices. For example, Filipino Catholics are roughly three times as likely as Protestants to say they light incense or candles for spiritual or religious reasons (76% vs. 27%).
Most Filipinos (82%) say the Bible should have either a great deal or a fair amount of influence on the laws of the Philippines. Large majorities of both Catholics and Protestants say this.
The groups differ, though, on how to proceed when the Bible and the will of the people conflict. When we ask those who say the Bible should have at least a fair amount of influence on national laws how they think this type of conflict should be handled, 63% of Protestants say the Bible should have more influence than the will of the people.
Only 31% of Filipino Catholics take the same position, while 49% say that the will of the people should prevail.
| % of Filipino adults who say the Bible should have a great deal/a fair amount of influence on the laws of their country | % of Filipino adults who say the Bible should have not too much/no influence at all on the laws of their country | |
|---|---|---|
| All adults | 82% | 18% |
| Catholics | 81% | 19% |
| Protestants | 87% | 13% |
| % who say that, when the Bible and the will of the people conflict, the Bible should have more influence on the laws of their country | % who say that, when the Bible and the will of the people conflict, the will of the people should have more influence on the laws of their country | |
| All adults | 37% | 45% |
| Catholics | 31% | 49% |
| Protestants | 63% | 23% |
Note: Here are our survey questions and responses about Pope Leo XIV, as well as our most recent data on religious affiliation in the Philippines from a 2026 survey.
