Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 28) — A survey by the Social Weather Stations revealed that 38% of Filipinos consider themselves very religious.
Based on the poll conducted in November 2020, 50% of the respondents said they are moderately religious, 10% slightly religious and 2% not religious at all.
By religion, the percentage is highest among members of the Iglesia ni Cristo (56%), followed by other Christian denominations (46%), Muslims (44%), and Catholics (36%).
While Christians celebrate the Easter season, Muslims are currently observing Ramadan, a month of fasting, prayer, and reflection for its members.
Despite this, latest figures are actually lower compared to the survey conducted in June 2016, the last time SWS conducted a poll on religiosity.
“Overall, the June 2016 survey found 40% of Filipino adults rating themselves as very religious, 54% moderately religious, and 5% not very religious. None of the respondents then rated themselves as not religious at all,” it said.
More members of the Iglesia ni Cristo also rated themselves as very religious during the said period at 66%, followed by Muslims (62%), other Christian denominations (43%), and Catholics (37%).
By area, religiosity is highest in Visayas at 45%, followed by Mindanao with 38%, Balance Luzon with 37%, and Metro Manila with 32%.
In terms of education level, 45% of those who said they are very religious were college graduates, 42% were non-elementary graduates, 38% were elementary graduates, and 35% were junior high school graduates.
The survey also said that frequency of praying rises with religiosity.
Among Muslims, praying the Salah at least a few times a day is high among those who are very religious (89%), while 81% who do such are moderately religious, and 35% consider themselves slightly religious.
For non-Muslims, 70% of those very religious pray at least once a day, 67% for somewhat religious and 64% for slightly religious.
The survey was conducted from November 21 to 25 through face-to-face interviews of 1,500 adults nationwide. It had sampling error margins of ±2.5% for national percentages, ±4% for Balance Luzon, and ±6% for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
