Religion in Asia

Asia is the birthplace of 11 major religions: Judaism, Hinduism, Taoism, Shintoism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and the Baháʼí Faith.

Demographically, it is the largest religion in India (80%), Nepal (85%), and the island of Bali (87%),[3] with strong minorities in the Asian nations of Bhutan, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Afghanistan.

[5] It is the predominant religion and hold the majority population in Thailand (95%), Myanmar (89%), Cambodia (98%),[5][6] Sri Lanka (70%), Laos (67%), Mongolia (54%), Japan (20%.

Before the advent of Islam, Buddhism was one of the most widely practiced religions in Central Asia, Afghanistan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Jains have an ancient tradition of scholarship and have the highest degree of literacy for a religious community in India.

The religion professes its roots in the area of Punjab region, in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent.

This system of religious philosophy and expression has been traditionally known as the Gurmat (literally the counsel of the gurus) or the Sikh Dharm.

There is also a large concentration of Sikhs in Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Kuwait and U.A.E.

[23] Outside of Israel there are small diaspora communities of Jewish people living in Turkey (17,400),[24] Azerbaijan (9,100),[25] Iran (8,756),[26] India (5,000) and Uzbekistan (4,000).

There are also a large populations of expatriate workers which include a sizeable Christian communities live in Arabian Peninsula numbering more than 3 million.

[52] Islam is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion articulated by the Qur'an, a book considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of God (Allāh) and by the teachings and normative example (called the Sunnah and composed of hadith) of Muhammad, considered by them to be the last prophet of God.

[55] South and Southeast Asia are home of the most populous Muslim countries, with Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Malaysia having more than 100 million adherents.

India's Muslim population is 14% of the total, approximately 200 million people, which grew because of pluralist mindset of native Indian religions.

[62] Also Sri Lanka's Muslims make up 10 percent of the population, or approximately 2.5 million people Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Kuwait, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Maldives, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon are the 27 Muslim majority states in Asia with most having Sharia as constitution and being non-secular with ban on recognition of other religions.

[68] Druze are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group[69] originating in Western Asia who self-identify as The People of Monotheism (Al-Muwaḥḥidūn).

Confucianism is a complex of moral, social, political, philosophical, and religious concerns that permeated the culture and history of East Asia.

[97] Taoist propriety and ethics vary according to the particular school, but in general tends to emphasize wu-wei (action through non-action), "naturalness", simplicity, spontaneity, and the Three Treasures: compassion, moderation, and humility.

Still, these earliest Japanese writings do not refer to a unified "Shinto religion", but rather to disorganized folklore, history, and mythology.

Shinto today applies to the public shrines suited to various purposes such as war memorials, harvest festivals, romance, and historical monuments, as well as various sectarian organizations.

Shinto is the largest religion in Japan, practiced by nearly 80% of the population, yet only a small percentage of these identify themselves as "Shintoists" in surveys.

[99] According to surveys carried out in 2006 and 2008 show that 3% to 3.9% of the population of Japan are members of Shinto sects and derived religions.

Shamans hold gut, or services, in order to gain good fortune for clients, cure illnesses by exorcising negative or 'bad' spirits that cling to people, or propitiate local or village gods.

Vietnamese folk religion is not an organized religious system, but a set of local worship traditions devoted to the thần, a term which can be translated as "spirits", "gods" or with the more exhaustive locution "generative powers".

Đạo Mẫu is a distinct form of Vietnamese folk religion, giving prominence to some mother goddesses into its pantheon.

Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster (also known as Zarathustra, in Avestan), probably founded some time before the 6th century BC.

The term Zoroastrianism is, in general usage, essentially synonymous with Mazdaism, i.e., the worship of Ahura Mazda, exalted by Zoroaster as the supreme divine authority.

[113] According to a Pew Research Center survey in 2012 religiously unaffiliated (including agnostics and atheists) make up about 21.2% of Asia population.

[114] According to the same survey, the religiously unaffiliated are the majority of the population in four Asian countries/territories: North Korea (71%), Japan (57%), Hong Kong (56%), and Mainland China (52%).

[115] However, this percentage may be significantly greater (up to 80%) or smaller (down to 30%) in reality, because some Chinese define religion differently.