Religion in the Philippines
Religion in the Philippines is spiritual beliefs practiced by Philippine citizens. Religion holds a central place in the life of the majority of Filipinos.
Religion in the Philippines includes Jewish, Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists, Protestants and animists.
Christianity and Islam have been super imposed on ancient traditions and acculturated. Animism in the other hand lacks better terminology can be used to describe the indigenous spiritual traditions practiced by people in the Philippines during pre-colonial times. Judaism as of 2005 the number of Jews at the very most is 500.
Buddhism in the Philippines is largely confined to the Filipino-Chinese, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Korean and Vietnamese communities.
Several Schools of Buddhism in the Philippines:
ï Mahayana
ï Vajrayana
ï Theravada Buddhist
Christianity arrived in the Philippines with the landing of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. Roman Catholicism in the Philippines is the predominant religion and the largest Christian denomination estimately to have 81-85% of the population.
Orthodox Church
Orthodoxy has been continuously in the Philippines for more than 200 years. Protestantism arrived in the Philippines with the coming of the Americans at the turn of 20th century.
Islam reached the Philippines in the 14th century with the arrival of the Malaysí and Javanese merchants and Arab merchants from Malaysia and Indonesia although the spreading of Islam in the Philippines is due to the strength of Muslim India. Hinduism also existed in the Philippines for centuries. Atheism and Agnosticism also has small percentages in the population.
