In short
Only 38% of Filipinos attended religious services weekly in 2023, down from 46% in 2020 and from 44% in 2019, according to Social Weather Stations. Beyond the weekly worshippers, 24% attend twice or more a month, 20% once a month, and just 3% never attend. The country remains overwhelmingly religious: 79% of Filipino respondents identify as Catholic. The picture is one of a deeply Catholic nation where regular weekly attendance has softened while near-universal religious identity endures.
- Only 38% of Filipinos attended religious services weekly in 2023, down from 46% in 2020 (Social Weather Stations).
- 44% of Filipinos attended weekly in 2019, before the figure fell to 38% by 2023 (Social Weather Stations).
- In 2023, 24% attend twice or more a month, 20% once a month, and only 3% never attend (Social Weather Stations).
- 79% of Filipino respondents identify as Catholic, keeping the country one of the most Catholic in the world (Social Weather Stations).
The Philippines is one of the most religious countries in the world and by far the largest Catholic-majority nation in Asia. Yet the way Filipinos practice their faith has been shifting. Social Weather Stations, the leading Philippine public-opinion research institute, tracks how often people attend religious services in nationally representative surveys. Its data show that only 38% of Filipinos attended weekly in 2023, down from 46% in 2020 and 44% in 2019. Even so, near-universal religious identity endures: about 79% of Filipino respondents identify as Catholic. The figures below draw entirely on Social Weather Stations, the most authoritative source on church attendance and religious practice in the Philippines.
Key findings at a glance
| Metric | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly religious service attendance | 38% | 2023 | Social Weather Stations |
| Weekly attendance | 46% | 2020 | Social Weather Stations |
| Weekly attendance | 44% | 2019 | Social Weather Stations |
| Attend twice or more a month | 24% | 2023 | Social Weather Stations |
| Attend once a month | 20% | 2023 | Social Weather Stations |
| Never attend | 3% | 2023 | Social Weather Stations |
| Identify as Catholic | 79% | 2023 | Social Weather Stations |
Weekly attendance has fallen
The clearest trend in Philippine religious practice is the decline in weekly church attendance. Before the pandemic, a little under half of Filipinos attended religious services every week. That share rose slightly by 2020 but then fell sharply, and by 2023 fewer than four in ten Filipinos were attending weekly.
Only 38% of Filipinos attended religious services weekly in 2023, down from 46% in 2020, according to Social Weather Stations.
In 2019, 44% of Filipinos attended religious services weekly, before the figure fell to 38% by 2023, according to Social Weather Stations.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly attendance | 44% | 2019 | Social Weather Stations |
| Weekly attendance | 46% | 2020 | Social Weather Stations |
| Weekly attendance | 38% | 2023 | Social Weather Stations |
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How often Filipinos attend: the full breakdown
Weekly attendance is only part of the story. Many Filipinos who do not attend every week still worship regularly, once or twice a month. Very few never attend at all, which underlines how deeply religious practice remains woven into everyday Filipino life even as weekly attendance softens.
In 2023, 24% of Filipinos attended religious services twice or more a month, according to Social Weather Stations.
In 2023, 20% of Filipinos attended religious services once a month, according to Social Weather Stations.
In 2023, only 3% of Filipinos never attended religious services, according to Social Weather Stations.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attend weekly | 38% | 2023 | Social Weather Stations |
| Attend twice or more a month | 24% | 2023 | Social Weather Stations |
| Attend once a month | 20% | 2023 | Social Weather Stations |
| Never attend | 3% | 2023 | Social Weather Stations |
Still overwhelmingly Catholic
The softening of weekly attendance has not changed the religious identity of the country. The Philippines remains overwhelmingly Catholic, a legacy of more than three centuries of Spanish rule, and the large majority of Filipino survey respondents identify with the Catholic Church.
About 79% of Filipino respondents identify as Catholic, keeping the country one of the most Catholic in the world, according to Social Weather Stations.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identify as Catholic | 79% | 2023 | Social Weather Stations |
| Attend religious services weekly | 38% | 2023 | Social Weather Stations |
| Never attend religious services | 3% | 2023 | Social Weather Stations |
How we compiled these statistics
Every number on this page comes from Social Weather Stations, the leading Philippine public-opinion research institute, and is dated to the year the data were collected. Social Weather Stations conducts nationally representative surveys of Filipino adults that track how often people attend religious services and which faith they identify with. The attendance figures compare weekly practice across 2019, 2020, and 2023, and the frequency breakdown and the Catholic share reflect the 2023 survey. Where data years differ, we label each figure with the year it was collected.
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