[2024 Religious Awareness Survey] Status of religious population and religious activities

The Korea Research regular survey, 'Public Opinion in Public Opinion', first began in January 2018. It was conducted once a month until February 1, and then once every two weeks thereafter. In each survey, it asks whether respondents have a religion and, if so, what it is.

If we estimate the religious population in 2024 by synthesizing the results of 1 surveys conducted from January to November 11 (22 people per survey, total number of respondents 1,000), 22,000% of the total population believe in Protestantism, 2024% believe in Buddhism, 20% believe in Catholicism, and 17% believe in other religions. And 11% of the total population do not believe in any religion. This is the same result as the religious population status estimated by synthesizing the 'Public Opinion in Public Opinion' survey in 2.

Looking at the annual religious population trends based on the results of the 'Public Opinion in Public Opinion' survey that began in 2018, there is no significant change in the Protestant, Buddhist, and Catholic religious populations. Since 2019, the proportion of Protestant believers has remained at 20% of the total, the proportion of Buddhist believers at 17%, and the proportion of Catholic believers at 11%. The proportion of people without a religious belief has also remained at around 50%.

Looking at the religious population by generation, gender, and region, men are mostly Protestant (18%), followed by Buddhism (16%) and Catholic (10%), and 55% do not have a religion. Women are also mostly Protestant (22%), followed by Buddhism (17%) and Catholic (12%), and 47% do not have a religion. The religious population ratio of women is higher than that of men.

In both Protestantism, Catholicism, and Buddhism, the percentage of believers increases with age. The percentage of Protestant believers by age group is 13% (18-29 years old) → 16% (30s) → 20% (40s) → 20% (50s) → 23% (60s) → 29% (70 years old and over). The percentage of believers in Buddhism also increases with age group from 8% → 11% → 14% → 20% → 23% → 22%, and in Catholicism from 7% → 9% → 9% → 9% → 14%. On the other hand, the percentage of people without a religion increases with age group. While 18 out of 18 people (29%) aged 10-7 have no religion, only 69% of people in their 60s and 38% of people aged 70 and over have no religion.

By region, the proportion of Protestant believers exceeds 20% in the metropolitan area, Chungcheong, and Gwangju/Jeolla regions. On the other hand, the proportion of Buddhist believers is high in Daegu/Gyeongbuk and Busan/Ulsan/Gyeongnam regions at 24% and 29%, respectively. The proportion of Catholic believers is relatively even at 7-10% in all regions except Busan/Ulsan/Gyeongnam (13%). The proportion of people without a religion is around 50% regardless of city or province.

As the religious population ages, the proportion of elderly believers in each religion is also high. Looking only at the proportion of believers over 60 years old among all believers, Catholicism is 47% (60% in their 23s, 70% over 24), Buddhism is 44% (60% in their 24s, 70% over 20), and Protestantism is 41% (60% in their 20s, 70% over 21). More than 10 out of 4 believers are over 60 years old, which is far higher than the proportion of the entire population over 60 years old (32%, 60% in their 17s, 70% over 15). On the other hand, the proportion of young people in their 2s and 30s among all believers is 23% for Protestantism (18% for 29-11 years old, 30% for 12s), 22% for Catholicism (18% for 29-10 years old, 30% for 12s), and 18% for Buddhism (18% for 29-8 years old, 30% for 10s), which falls short of the proportion of people in their 2s and 30s among the total population (31%, 18% for 29-16 years old, 30% for 15s).

The male-female ratio in the entire population aged 18 and over is almost the same at 49:51, but the ratio of Protestant and Catholic believers is 45:55, with more women. Buddhism is less so, but it also has a high ratio of female believers at 47:53. On the other hand, the ratio of men to women is 53:47 for those without a religion, with more men than women.

By region, 55% of Protestants nationwide and 58% of Catholics live in the metropolitan area, including Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi. Compared to the 51% of the entire population of Korea living in the metropolitan area, the proportion of believers in the metropolitan area is high. On the other hand, 37% of Buddhist believers live in the metropolitan area, while 40% live in the Yeongnam region, which is actually higher than the proportion of residents in the metropolitan area (Daegu and Gyeongbuk 14%, Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam 26%).

In summary, all three major religions have the common task of increasing the number of believers among men and the young generation, and Buddhism needs to expand its influence in the metropolitan area, while Protestantism and Catholicism need to expand their influence in non-metropolitan areas.

On November 2024-11, 8, and November 11-11, 22, we surveyed 25 adult men and women aged 18 and over nationwide to ask if there had been any changes in their religion. Of all respondents, 2,000% currently believe in the same religion as they did a year ago, in November 49. 1% did not believe in any religion a year ago and still do not believe in any religion now. Combined, 2023% say there has been no change in their religion.

7% of the total people have changed their religion. 1% of the total people had a religion a year ago but do not have one now. Conversely, 4% of the total people did not have a religion a year ago but do now. 1% of the total people answered that their current religion is different from their previous religion.

By religion, among those who were Protestants in November 1, a year ago, 2023% are currently non-religious, and 11% converted to another religion. Among those who were Catholics a year ago, 8% lost their faith, and 1% converted to another religion. Among those who were Buddhists a year ago, 1% currently have no religion, and 5% believe in a religion other than Buddhism.

Among those who did not have a religion a year ago, 1% said they do not currently have a religion, while 96% said they now have a religion.

Among those who currently have a religion, 31% participate in religious activities such as worship, mass, and Buddhist services every week. This is a similar figure to last year (29%). On the other hand, 1% participate less than once a month, and 21% do not participate in religious activities at all, meaning that about 19 out of 10 religious people are indifferent to religious activities. However, the number of people who are indifferent to religious activities is decreasing. The number of people who participate in religious activities less than once a month has decreased slightly every year since 4 (2021%), and the percentage of people who do not participate in religious activities also decreased by 26 percentage points compared to 2021 (24%). It is interpreted that the frequency of participation in religious activities is also increasing slightly as the impact of COVID-5 is overcome.

Comparing by religion, more than half (55%) of Protestant believers participate in religious activities every week, maintaining a similar level to last year (54%). Including those who participate 2-3 times a month (18%), more than 10 out of 7 believers participate in religious activities at least twice a month. On the other hand, 2% of Protestant believers responded that they do not participate in religious activities at all.

Among Catholics, 27% participate in religious activities every week, and 2% participate 3-14 times a month. About 10 out of 4 people participate in religious activities more than twice a month. On the other hand, 2% participate less than once a month, and 21% do not participate at all, meaning that more than half of the believers do not participate in religious activities even once a month.

Among Buddhist believers, only a small number (4%) participate in religious activities every week. The majority participate in religious activities infrequently, about once a month (21%) or less (41%), and 19% of believers do not participate in religious activities at all. However, the percentage of believers who do not participate in religious activities is somewhat lower than last year (33%).

In summary, the majority of Protestant believers are actively participating in religious activities. Catholic believers are divided into those who attend frequently and those who do not attend at all, and most Buddhist believers are passive in participating in religious activities.

Among those who have a religion, 58% say that ‘religious activities are important in my life’ (20% very important, 38% somewhat important). This is a 51% point increase from last year (7%). On the other hand, those who say ‘religious activities are not important in my life’ decreased by 38% points from a year ago to 1% (7% not important at all, 9% somewhat unimportant).

Among the three major religions, the change in perception of Protestant believers is the greatest. Among Protestant believers, 3% evaluate religious activities as important in their lives (very important 81%, somewhat important 38%). This is an 44% point increase from last year (70%) and is also higher than Catholic and Buddhist believers. Among Catholic believers, 11% (very important 53%, somewhat important 12%) evaluated religious activities as important in their lives, which is similar to last year (42%), and among Buddhist believers, only 52% answered that religious activities are important, which continues to be low compared to other religions (very important 33%, somewhat important 4%).

The perception that religious activities are important in one's life is higher among women (53%) than men (62%), and among those in their 40s or older (51%) than among those in their 50s or younger (62%). Not only are there more believers among women than men, and among the older age groups than among the younger age groups, but they also perceive the importance of religious activities to a greater degree.

Among those who participate in religious activities weekly, 96% perceive religious activities as important in their lives, and 56% of those who rate them as “very important.” On the other hand, among those who participate in religious activities 1-3 times a month, 68%, and among those who participate in religious activities less than once a month or do not participate at all, only 1% perceive religious activities as important in their lives.