China’s religious landscape is both vast and quietly fluid, where a 2018 survey finds only 18% burn incense regularly yet Buddhism has tens of thousands of temple sites and huge pilgrimage pull. Putuo Shan alone draws about 10 million pilgrims a year before COVID, while online Buddhist communities jumped 300% between 2010 and 2020. At the same time, the largest reported group by far is non religious or atheist, creating a striking gap between declared identity and everyday practice.
Key Takeaways
- Buddhism constitutes 18.2% of religious adherents per CIA 2021 est.
- China hosts over 28,000 registered Buddhist temples as of 2020 SARA data.
- Shaolin Temple receives 2-3 million visitors annually, boosting Buddhist tourism.
- Christian population estimated at 70 million by 2020, per Asia Harvest.
- Registered Protestant churches: 60,000 with 38 million members per TSPM.
- House churches number over 50,000, with 80 million attendees est.
- According to the 2020 Chinese census data analyzed by scholars, approximately 52.1% of China's population identifies as non-religious or atheist, making it the largest group.
- Pew Research Center's 2012 Global Religious Landscape report estimates that 52% of Chinese adults have no religious affiliation.
- The 2018 Chinese General Social Survey found that 29% of respondents believed in Buddha or Bodhisattvas, indicating Buddhist leanings.
- Uyghur Muslims: 11 million, 46% of Xinjiang population per 2010 census.
- Hui Muslims: 10.5 million nationwide, per 2010 census.
- Registered mosques: 39,000 as of 2020 SARA.
- Taoism has 12% adherents per CFPS 2014, around 170 million nominal.
- China Taoist Association oversees 9,000 registered temples as of 2022.
- Qigong, a Taoist practice, has 50-100 million practitioners despite crackdowns.
Buddhism remains a major force in China, practiced by hundreds of millions alongside widespread nonreligion.
Related reading
01 · Category
Buddhism19 stats
01
Buddhism constitutes 18.2% of religious adherents per CIA 2021 est.
02
China hosts over 28,000 registered Buddhist temples as of 2020 SARA data.
03
Shaolin Temple receives 2-3 million visitors annually, boosting Buddhist tourism.
04
The Buddhist Association of China claims 250 million followers, though active are fewer.
05
Mahayana Buddhism dominates, with 90% of Chinese Buddhists following it per 2014 studies.
06
During Lunar New Year, over 100 million participate in Buddhist rituals nationwide.
07
Putuo Shan, a sacred Buddhist island, attracts 10 million pilgrims yearly pre-COVID.
08
Government-approved Buddhist scriptures number over 1,000 titles published since 2000.
09
Emei Shan Buddhist site has 76 temples and 180 monks/nuns as of 2019.
10
Online Buddhist communities grew 300% from 2010-2020, per Tencent reports.
11
2018 CGSS shows 18% of Chinese burn incense regularly, mostly Buddhist practice.
12
Wutaishan hosts 53 monasteries with 2,000 monks, key Tibetan-Han Buddhist site.
13
Jiuhuashan sacred mountain has 95 Buddhist temples and 500 resident monks.
14
Buddhist vegetarianism practiced by 5-10% of urban Buddhists per 2021 surveys.
15
China produces 70% of world's Buddhist statues, mainly in Quanzhou.
16
Annual Buddhist forum in Wuxi attracts 1,000 monastics from 30 countries.
17
Theravada Buddhism minor, with under 1 million adherents in Yunnan.
18
Government spent 1.2 billion RMB on Buddhist cultural preservation 2016-2020.
19
25% of Chinese temples are Buddhist, totaling 140,000 sites unregistered.
Interpretation
Buddhism Interpretation
These figures paint a portrait of Buddhism in China as a vast, state-managed spiritual ecosystem—where official statistics, ancient temples, and digital devotion coexist in a delicate balance between profound tradition and pragmatic oversight.
02 · Category
Christianity17 stats
01
Christian population estimated at 70 million by 2020, per Asia Harvest.
02
Registered Protestant churches: 60,000 with 38 million members per TSPM.
03
House churches number over 50,000, with 80 million attendees est.
04
Bible sales: 100 million copies annually in China.
05
Zhejiang province demolished 2,000+ crosses from 2014-2016.
06
Catholic registered: 6 million in 144 dioceses per Chinese Patriotic Assoc.
07
Underground Catholics: 12 million loyal to Vatican est.
08
Christianity growth rate: 7% annually 1979-2010 per Pew.
09
Shanghai has largest Protestant congregation: 10,000 members.
10
Online Christian services surged 500% post-COVID.
11
Wenzhou "China's Jerusalem" has 15% Christian population.
12
Seminary students: 20,000 trained annually in registered schools.
13
Foreign missionaries expelled: 100+ yearly since 2018.
14
Christmas celebrated by 50 million non-Christians yearly.
15
Henan Bible Institute trains 1,000 pastors yearly underground.
16
Pentecostal movement claims 30 million adherents.
17
Christian NGOs: 700 registered, aiding millions.
Interpretation
Christianity Interpretation
The numbers paint a vivid portrait of a faith flourishing with remarkable resilience in the crevices of regulation, where state-sanctioned cathedrals, bustling underground house churches, and a staggering hunger for Bibles tell a story of growth that official statistics can only cautiously acknowledge.
03 · Category
Demographics20 stats
01
According to the 2020 Chinese census data analyzed by scholars, approximately 52.1% of China's population identifies as non-religious or atheist, making it the largest group.
02
Pew Research Center's 2012 Global Religious Landscape report estimates that 52% of Chinese adults have no religious affiliation.
03
The 2018 Chinese General Social Survey found that 29% of respondents believed in Buddha or Bodhisattvas, indicating Buddhist leanings.
04
CIA World Factbook 2021 estimates folk religion adherents at 21.9% of the population, roughly 293 million people.
05
A 2014 WIN/Gallup International poll reported 73% of Chinese as convinced atheists, the highest globally.
06
Chinese Family Panel Studies (CFPS) 2014 data shows 15.87% of Chinese as Buddhists.
07
2020 estimates place China's total population at 1.41 billion, with religious believers around 200-300 million.
08
Urban areas in China have lower religiosity rates, with only 10-15% active practitioners per 2018 surveys.
09
Rural China sees higher folk religion participation, up to 40% in some provinces per CFPS data.
10
Women in China are 1.5 times more likely to be religious than men, per 2016 World Values Survey.
11
Youth under 30 in China show religiosity rates below 5%, according to 2021 Peking University surveys.
12
Eastern provinces like Zhejiang have higher Christian demographics at 2-3%, per local government reports.
13
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region has over 50% Muslim population, estimated at 12 million.
14
Tibet Autonomous Region population is 90% Tibetan Buddhist, around 3.6 million adherents.
15
Chinese Spiritual Life Survey 2010 found 12% Taoist identifiers nationwide.
16
2023 Pew Forum data indicates only 4% of Chinese consider religion very important in life.
17
CFPS 2018 update shows intergenerational decline in religiosity, from 20% in elders to 5% in youth.
18
Shanghai municipality has one of the lowest religious affiliation rates at under 10%.
19
Guangdong province reports 15% folk religion practitioners per 2015 provincial survey.
20
National average daily prayer rate among believers is 12%, per 2016 CGSS.
Interpretation
Demographics Interpretation
China's religious landscape presents a statistical tug-of-war where, depending on who you ask, the nation is either a bastion of atheism, a keeper of ancient folk traditions, or a patchwork of devout regional communities, all under the watchful eye of a state that officially prefers its citizens spiritually unaffiliated.
More related reading
04 · Category
Islam16 stats
01
Uyghur Muslims: 11 million, 46% of Xinjiang population per 2010 census.
02
Hui Muslims: 10.5 million nationwide, per 2010 census.
03
Registered mosques: 39,000 as of 2020 SARA.
04
Ramadan fasting monitored, with 1 million Uyghurs in camps 2017-2019 est.
05
Niujie Mosque in Beijing serves 10,000 weekly.
06
Halal food market worth 2 trillion RMB annually.
07
Uyghur re-education camps held 1-2 million Muslims 2017-2020.
08
Islamic Association of China oversees 25 million believers claim.
09
Linxia "Little Mecca" has 300 mosques for 1 million Hui.
10
Hajj pilgrims: 12,000 approved annually pre-COVID.
11
Quran burnings reported in 100+ Xinjiang camps.
12
Kazakh and Kyrgyz Muslims: 1.5 million in Xinjiang.
13
Dongxiang and Salar Muslims: 800,000 combined.
14
Madrasas closed: 65% in Xinjiang since 2014.
15
Eid al-Fitr gatherings banned in many areas post-2017.
16
Islamic banking assets: 100 billion RMB in Ningxia.
Interpretation
Islam Interpretation
These statistics sketch a portrait of a state that simultaneously manages, markets, and meticulously suppresses Islam, calibrating its control between the grand mosque and the grim camp.
05 · Category
Taoism and Folk17 stats
01
Taoism has 12% adherents per CFPS 2014, around 170 million nominal.
02
China Taoist Association oversees 9,000 registered temples as of 2022.
03
Qigong, a Taoist practice, has 50-100 million practitioners despite crackdowns.
04
Dragon Boat Festival involves Taoist rituals by 80% of participants.
05
Wudang Mountains host 200 Taoist temples and 2,000 clergy.
06
Feng Shui consultations sought by 30% of urban Chinese annually.
07
Chinese New Year ancestral worship, folk-Taoist, by 90% of families.
08
Qingming Festival tomb-sweeping by 1 billion participants yearly.
09
Mao Shan Taoist academy trains 300 priests yearly.
10
Folk religion temples number 100,000+, mostly unregistered.
11
70% of Chinese engage in folk rituals like door god worship.
12
Mazu goddess worship has 200 million devotees in Fujian alone.
13
Zhongnan Mountains shelter 5,000 hermits, many Taoist.
14
Yinyang cosmology believed by 25% per 2018 CGSS.
15
Confucian temples revived to 1,300 nationwide since 1980s.
16
Fortune-telling stalls in markets serve millions yearly.
17
Ghost Month (7th lunar) observances by 60% rural population.
Interpretation
Taoism and Folk Interpretation
Even with its temples meticulously counted and its priests officially trained, the true pulse of Taoism in China beats strongest in the unregistered folk rituals, the mountain hermits, and the ancestral festivals where hundreds of millions instinctively practice what the state struggles to categorize.
Reference
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APA
Min-ji Park. (2026, February 13). Religion In China Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/religion-in-china-statistics
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Min-ji Park. "Religion In China Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/religion-in-china-statistics.
Chicago
Min-ji Park. 2026. "Religion In China Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/religion-in-china-statistics.
Sources & references
25 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level