Religion in Macau
During the period in which the city was under Portuguese rule (1557–1999) the Catholic Church became one of the dominant faiths, but nowadays it has greatly declined.
In Article 3:120, "the Macau Special Administrative Region embraces the principle of freedom of religion and belief; the government will not interfere in the internal workings of a religious body or organization and the believers are free to maintain ties and to develop relationships with overseas religious organizations outside Macau".
Its focus is the worship of the Shen (神 "expressions", "Gods"), that are the generative powers of nature, also including, in the human sphere, ancestors and progenitors of families or lineages, and divine heroes that made a significant imprinting in the history of the Chinese civilisation.
It has collected about 74 sayings from the Analects of Confucius, Mencius (Book) and other Confucian classics, in order to help students to memorize and recite them.
On the birthday of Confucius, which is celebrated on 27 August of the lunar calendar, the organization holds a ceremony of commemoration and sacrifice at which school students are invited to take part.
This diocese was established on 23 January 1576 by Pope Gregory XIII, and is currently limited in extent to the territory of the Special Administrative Region (MSAR) of the People's Republic of China.
At its foundation, the Diocese of Macau was given a wide jurisdiction over various ecclesiastical territories in the Far East, such as China, Japan, Vietnam and Malaysia (but not the Philippines).
[7] Although the Catholic Church is not the predominant religion in Macau, it continues to influence and engage in areas such as social work and education.
Morrison's main objective was to reach the Chinese living in Guangzhou and he started his missionary work there straight away.
It was registered with the Portuguese colonial government in 1905 and the church building was constructed at Hei Sha Huan.
When the Province of Chung Hua Sheng Kung Hui was established in 1912, Macau was included with Hong Kong and Guangdong.
Today there are about 4,000 practicing Protestants in Macau with an average of just 50 people participating and worshipping in services at each church.
[11] In 2020, the number of Jehovah's Witnesses was 394 active publishers, united in 5 congregations; 845 people attended annual celebration of Lord's Evening Meal in 2020.
Although the exact period and manner of its introduction is disputed, it is traditionally held that it was brought to the area by Arab and Persian traders.
During World War II, a large number of ethnic Hui Muslims fled to Macau to escape the devastation in the rest of the country.
Macau was one of the areas chosen for the Baháʼí Faith expansion plan known as the Ten Year Crusade.
On April 21, 1959, the first Local Spiritual Assembly was elected and by 1962 the religion had spread to the islands of Taipa and Coloane.
At the moment there are four Local Spiritual Assemblies with four hundred members in total, and are collectively known as the Macau Baháʼí Community.
