How people in South and Southeast Asia view religious diversity and pluralism
Nearly all adults in the six countries surveyed say diversity has either a positive or a neutral impact on their country.
Nearly all adults in the six countries surveyed say diversity has either a positive or a neutral impact on their country.
A rising share of Asian Americans say they have no religion (32%), but many consider themselves close to one or more religious traditions for reasons such as family or culture. Christianity is still the largest faith group among Asian Americans (34%).
Read about some of the ways focus group participants with ties to different faith traditions explain the complex relationship of religion and culture in their lives.
Overall, 56% of Singaporean adults say that having people of different religions, ethnic groups and cultures makes the country a better place to live.
Only 35% of Israelis believe that Israel and an independent Palestine can coexist peacefully, down from 44% in 2017.
Most people in all six South and Southeast Asian countries surveyed say they believe in God or unseen beings.
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.
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.
Most U.S. adults are neutral toward several religious groups, though Americans tend to rate their own religious group positively. More than a third of Americans hold unfavorable views of multiple religious groups.
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.