Is the Catholic Church gradually losing its grip among Filipinos?
The Catholic Church continues to grow In absolute numbers, making the Philippines the largest Catholic country in Asia. But as percent of population its numbers have gradually shrunk over the last decade, data from the last three population census of the Philippine Statistics Authority showed.
Policy and decision makers closely watch and try to understand changing demographics and use them as a guide to planning and policy development. Politicians also use demographics to identify potential voting blocks, such as the Iglesia ni Cristo, that could swing the result, especially in a closely-contested elections.
The population surveys showed that the percentage of Filipinos who claim they belong to the Roman Catholic Church has slipped to 78.8 percent in 2020 from 79.5 percent in 2015 and 80.6 percent in 2010. Over those three surveys, the estimated population stood at 108.7 million, 100.9 million, and 92.3 million, respectively.
This percentage decline was in contrast to the rising trend among those who claim Islamic affiliation, which showed population share of 6.4 percent in 2020, 6.0 percent in 2015, and 5.6 percent in 2010. In absolute numbers, those percentages translate to 6.98 million, 6.1 million, and 5.16 million, respectively.
Iglesia ni Cristo, which was the third largest group, showed a mixed trend, claiming percentage shares of 2.6 percent or 2.81 million in 2020, 2.7 percent or 2.72 million in 2015, and 2.4 percent or 2.21 million in 2010.
Other religious groups, including charismatic groups and other evangelical Churches, account for shares of 12.2 percent in 2020, 11.8 percent in 2015, and 11.4 percent in 2010.
Over 90% of Filipinos living in the Bicol region as well as Central and Eastern Visayas are affiliated with the Catholic Church, while in regions of Mindano the percentage of Catholics among the population is 73 percent or less. Over 88 percent of those living in Metro Manila are Catholics.
