Irreligion in the Philippines: Difference between revisions

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In the Philippines, [[atheist]]s and [[agnostic]]s are not officially counted in the census of the country, although the [[Philippine Statistics Authority]] in 2020 reported that 43,931 Filipinos (or {{#expr:43931/108667043*100 round 5}}% of the total Philippine population) have no [[religious affiliation]] or have answered "none".<ref name="PSAGovPH-2020Census-Religion" /> Additionally, a study by the Dentsu Communication Institute in [[Japan]] indicated that around 11 million or 11% of Filipinos are irreligious.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rodriguez |first=Fritzie |date=2015-06-04 |title=On being godless and good: Irreligious Pinoys speak out |url=https://www.rappler.com/moveph/95240-secular-humanism-philippines-religion/ |access-date=2024-06-16 |website=RAPPLER |language=en-US}}</ref> Since 2011, the non-religious increasingly organized themselves, especially among the youth in the country.<ref>{{cite news |title= Atheists Searching For Their Place in Heavily Catholic Philippines |publisher=[[The Jakarta Globe]] |date=2012-04-24 |url=http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/archive/atheists-searching-for-their-place-in-heavily-catholic-philippines/ |author=Webadmin |access-date=2013-09-26}}</ref> There is a stigma attached to being an [[atheist]] in the Philippines, and this necessitates many Filipino atheists to communicate with each other via the [[Internet]], for example via the Philippine Atheism, Agnosticism and Secularism, Inc. formerly known as [[Philippine Atheists and Agnostics Society]].<ref name="abs">{{cite web|url=http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/03/19/11/pinoy-atheists-and-agnostics-have-coming-out-event |title=Pinoy atheists and agnostics to have 'coming out' event |publisher=[[ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs|ABS-CBN News]] |date=2011-03-19 |access-date=2013-09-26}}</ref>

==Growth==

The number of atheists has risen consistently since the 1990s, as has the number of people considering it, church attendance, and overall religiously. One in eleven Filipino Catholics consider leaving the Church, only 37% attend church every week, and only 29% consider themselves strongly religious.<ref name="French">{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/03/new-atheists-philippines/518175/ |title=The New Atheists of the Philippines |last=French |first=Michael|website=[[The Atlantic]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sws.org.ph/swsmain/artcldisppage/?artcsyscode=ART-20151214130743 |title=9% of Catholics sometimes think of leaving the Church}}</ref> Overall, anti-Catholic sentiment is a growing trend in the Philippines,{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} with former president [[Rodrigo Duterte]] being an outspoken critic of the church for its [[Catholic Church sexual abuse cases|sex scandals]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/789059/duterte-vows-to-expose-church-abuses |title= Duterte vows to expose Church abuses}}</ref> and allegations of corruption.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/865123/duterte-catholic-church-full-of-shit |title=Duterte: Catholic Church 'full of shit}}</ref>

According to both Catholics and Atheists, belief in the Catholic Church is linked to poverty more than it is religious conviction, many go to Church out of desperation and need for hope, and some atheists, such as Miss. M, founder of HAPI, believe that starting secular outreach institutions will help Filipinos shed reliance on the Church and put their future in their own hands.

{{blockquote |text= When I asked some of the worshippers there why religion is so important to them, poverty was a common answer |author=Michael French}}

{{blockquote |text=Its very important because we are very poor, so that's the only thing we cling on to, the hope, every time we suffer, we all say, 'That's okay because it's the will of God.' |author= Antonia Deligero<ref name="French">{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/03/new-atheists-philippines/518175/ |title=The New Atheists of the Philippines |last=French |first=Michael|website=[[The Atlantic]] }}</ref>}}

{{blockquote |text=My mother would go to church to ask for food and clothing and money, most Filipinos think that God provides. It will give a lot of people common sense when we let them know that there really is no God. |author= Marissa Torres Langseth (Miss. M)<ref name="French">{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/03/new-atheists-philippines/518175/ |title=The New Atheists of the Philippines |last=French |first=Michael|website=[[The Atlantic]] }}</ref>}}

==Persecution and discrimination==

Filipino atheists are often harassed for their disbelief, and according to one atheist it's "how Filipinos think. They view atheists as [[Satanist]]s".<ref name="French">{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/03/new-atheists-philippines/518175/ |title=The New Atheists of the Philippines |last=French |first=Michael|website=[[The Atlantic]] }}</ref>

==Organizations==

*Humanist Alliance Philippines, International [https://hapihumanist.org]

*[[Philippine Atheism, Agnosticism, and Secularism Inc.]][https://patasinc.org]

*Filipino Freethinkers [https://filipinofreethinkers.org]

==Prominent figures==

*Red Tani<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ffrf.org/about/getting-acquainted/item/13729-red-tani-freethinking-filipino |title= Red Tani: freethinking Filipino}}</ref>

*Marissa Torres Langseth

According to the 2020 census, the religious distribution of the country's population was as follows:

{{mw-datatable}}

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders mw-datatable" style="text-align:right;"

|+ Population by religious affiliation (2020)

! scope="col" | Affiliation

! scope="col" | Number

! scope="col" | Percentage

|-

! scope="row" | [[Catholic Church in the Philippines|Roman Catholic]]{{efn|name=2020CatholicCharismatic|excluding [[Charismatic Catholicism|Catholic Charismatic]] numbering 74,096 persons (0.07%)}}

| 85,645,362

| 78.8

|-

! scope=row | [[Islam in the Philippines|Islam]]

| 6,981,710

| 6.4

|-

! scope=row | [[Iglesia ni Cristo]]

| 2,806,524

| 2.6

|-

! scope="row" | [[Philippine Independent Church]] <!-- Aglipay + Iglesia Filipina Independiente -->

| {{formatnum:{{#expr:818916 + 640076}}}} <!-- Aglipay + Iglesia Filipina Independiente -->

| {{#expr:0.8 + 0.6}} <!-- Aglipay + Iglesia Filipina Independiente -->

|-

! scope=row | [[Seventh-day Adventist]]

| 862,725

| 0.8

|-

! scope="row" | [[Baptist Church|Bible Baptist Church]]

| 540,364

| 0.5

|-

! scope="row" | [[United Church of Christ in the Philippines]]

| 470,792

| 0.4

|-

! scope="row" | [[Jehovah's Witnesses]]

| 457,245

| 0.4

|-

! scope="row" | Church of Christ

| 429,921

| 0.4

|-

! scope="row" | Other religious affiliations

| 8,954,291

| 8.2

|-

! scope="row" | ''None''

| 43,931

| 0

|-

! scope="row" | ''Not reported''

| 15,186

| 0

|- class="sortbottom" style="font-weight:700; border-top-style:double;"

! scope="row" style="font-weight:700;" | Total

| style="background-color:#eaecf0;" | 108,667,043

| style="background-color:#eaecf0;" | 100%

|- class="sortbottom" style="font-size:90%;"

! scope="row" colspan="5" style="text-align:right;" | Source: [[Philippine Statistics Authority]]<ref name="PSAGovPH-2020Census-Religion">{{Cite press release |last=Mapa |first=Dennis S. |date=February 22, 2023 |title=Religious Affiliation in the Philippines (2020 Census of Population and Housing) |url=https://psa.gov.ph/content/religious-affiliation-philippines-2020-census-population-and-housing |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310184554/https://psa.gov.ph/content/religious-affiliation-philippines-2020-census-population-and-housing |archive-date=March 10, 2023 |access-date=March 12, 2023 |website=[[Philippine Statistics Authority]]}}</ref>

|}

{{Clear}}

==See also==

*[[Hinduism in the Philippines]]

*[[Buddhism in the Philippines]]

==Notes==

{{notelist}}

[[Category:Religion in the Philippines]]

{{Philippines-stub}}