Few East Asians consider religion very important in their lives, but many make offerings to ancestors and believe in god or unseen beings | Pew Research Center

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June 3, 2024

Religion and Spirituality in East Asian Societies

Few East Asians consider religion very important in their lives, but many make offerings to ancestors and believe in god or unseen beings

Few East Asians consider religion very important in their lives, but many make offerings to ancestors and believe in god or unseen beings

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Few East Asians consider religion very important in their lives, but many make offerings to ancestors and believe in god or unseen beings

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Religion and Spirituality in East Asian Societies
Religious disaffiliation in East Asia and Vietnam compared with select countries
Few East Asians consider religion very important in their lives, but many make offerings to ancestors and believe in god or unseen beings
The most common religion in Hong Kong, South Korea and Vietnam is ‘no religion’
53% of adults in Hong Kong and South Korea have changed their religious identity since childhood
Many in East Asia who no longer identify with religion were raised Buddhist
Buddhism has lost adherents to ‘religious switching’ in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea
Rates of religious switching in East Asia higher than elsewhere in the world
Religious disaffiliation rates in East Asia are among the world’s highest
People in the region are more likely to engage with the spiritual world than to say religion is very important in their lives
At least half of religiously unaffiliated adults in the places surveyed report recently offering food or drink to care for their ancestors
In East Asia, most Buddhist-to-unaffiliated switchers and lifelong religiously unaffiliated adults have recently burned incense