Philippines is becoming less Catholic percentagewise. Other Christian and religious affiliations have grown fast
According to the recently released government statistics, the Philippines is becoming less and less Catholic compared to the entire population.
In 1990, Catholics were 82.9%, and by 2020 we were down to 78.8%. Surely the downward trend is continuing until we wake up.
Moslems have grown from 4.6% to 6.4%, mainly because of their large families, something that the Catholic Catechism and the Popes have been saying as something that God wants and science has seen as "key to the happiness":
- “Sacred Scripture and the Church's traditional practice see in large families a sign of God's blessing and the parents' generosity” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 2373)
- A five-year study found that the parents of large families are "the most satisfied of all"--there is more joy going around, and the children have a greater sense of responsibility and receive more inputs.
Only 3% of Catholics said that evangelizing is important compared to 85% of Evangelicals! In PH, Protestants are growing very fast! Priests, teachers, lay leaders, parents here in PH have to speak much more about the great importance and urgency for Catholics to evangelize: to bring the people around them to love Christ and truly live a holy, actively evangelizing life. Pope Francis stresses: "Every Christian is called to be a missionary and witness to Christ." Jesus' last words: "Make disciples of all nations." We cannot be complacent!
The time to wake up is now.
***
Religion |
Percentage of
population |
|
|
1990 |
2020 |
Roman
Catholics |
82.9 |
78.8 |
Islam |
4.6 |
6.4 |
Iglesia ni
Cristo |
2.6 |
2.6 |
Aglipay/Iglesia
Filipina Independiente |
2.3 |
1.4 (.8+.6) |
Protestants/Christian
Groups/Other Religious Affiliations |
5.4 |
10.7 Other religious affiliations (8.2), Seventh Day Adventist (.8), Bible Baptist (.5), UCCP (.4), Jehovah's Witness (.4), Church of Christ (.4) |
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