Buddhism’s Recent Decline in East Asia
Buddhism is the only major religion in the world with a falling number of adherents. The decline is especially pronounced in East Asia, including China, South Korea and Japan.
Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project
The Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures project, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, John Templeton Foundation and Templeton Religion Trust, is an effort by Pew Research Center to understand religious change and its impact on societies around the world. It includes three main lines of research: a series of international surveys on religion in various regions; an ongoing demographic study of religion around the world; and an annual coding project that examines restrictions on religion in 198 countries and territories.
Religious Diversity Around the World
Catholicism Has Declined in Latin America Over the Past Decade
Key Findings From the Global Religious Futures Project
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Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project
Publications
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Rituals honoring deceased ancestors vary widely in East and Southeast Asia
Among the places surveyed, people in Japan (85%) and Vietnam (84%) are most likely to say they have a family gravesite.
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6 facts about religion and spirituality in East Asian societies
Many people in the region – including the religiously unaffiliated – hold religious or spiritual beliefs and engage in traditional rituals.
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Religion and Spirituality in East Asian Societies
Few are religiously affiliated, but many in the region hold religious or spiritual beliefs and engage in traditional rituals.
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Key findings about religious restrictions around the world in 2021
The most common kinds of government restrictions on religion in 2021 included harassment of religious groups and interference in worship.
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Globally, Government Restrictions on Religion Reached Peak Levels in 2021, While Social Hostilities Went Down
In 2021, government restrictions on religion – laws, policies and actions by state officials that limit religious beliefs and practices – reached a new peak globally. Harassment of religious groups and interference in worship were two of the most common forms of government restrictions worldwide that year.
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Buddhism, Islam and Religious Pluralism in South and Southeast Asia
In Thailand, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, more than 90% of Buddhists see strong links between their religion and country. In the neighboring countries of Malaysia and Indonesia, nearly all Muslims say being Muslim is important to being truly part of their nation.
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Measuring Religion in China
Only one-in-ten Chinese adults formally identify with a religion, but surveys indicate that religion plays a much bigger role in China when the definition is widened to include questions on spirituality, customs and traditional beliefs.
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Key Findings From the Global Religious Futures Project
The Global Religious Futures (GRF) project is jointly funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and The John Templeton Foundation. Here are some big-picture findings from the GRF, together with context from other Pew Research Center studies.
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How COVID-19 Restrictions Affected Religious Groups Around the World in 2020
Nearly a quarter of countries used force to prevent religious gatherings during the pandemic; other government restrictions and social hostilities related to religion remained fairly stable.
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India’s Sex Ratio at Birth Begins To Normalize
India’s artificially wide ratio of baby boys to baby girls – which arose in the 1970s from the use of prenatal diagnostic technology to facilitate sex-selective abortions – now appears to be narrowing. Son bias has declined sharply among Sikhs, while Christians continue to have a natural balance of sons and daughters.
