Religion in Hong Kong

Religion in Hong Kong is characterised by a multi-faith diversity of beliefs and practices.

Most of the Hong Kong people of Chinese descent practice Chinese folk religion^[2] – which may include Confucian and Taoist doctrines and ritual traditions – or Buddhism, mostly of the Chinese variety.

According to official statistics for the year 2016 among the Hong Kong people who belong to an organised religion there are: over 1 million Buddhists, over 1 million Taoists, 480,000 Protestants, 379,000 Catholics, 300,000 Muslims, 100,000 Hindus, 12,000 Sikhs, and other smaller communities.^[3] Hong Kong had a population of 7.34 million in mid-2016.^[4]

The great majority of the population mostly follow Chinese traditional religions, which include the worship of local gods and ancestors. Also, in many cases people avoid declaring their religious affiliation in surveys. Traditional Chinese religions were not encouraged during the British rule over Hong Kong, which strongly favoured Christianity.^[2] With the end of British colonial rule and the return of sovereignty over the city-state to China, there is a revival of Buddhist and Chinese folk religions.^[2]