{"id":69827,"date":"2023-08-30T09:38:24","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T14:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2023\/08\/30\/buddhism\/"},"modified":"2025-05-19T11:14:37","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T15:14:37","slug":"buddhism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2023\/08\/30\/buddhism\/","title":{"rendered":"3. Buddhism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Monks participate in a traditional mendicants\u2019 walk \u2013 a Buddhist tradition of begging for donations \u2013  to mark Buddha\u2019s birthday in Hangzhou, China, in 2018. (AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Buddhism (Fojiao <\/em>\u4f5b\u6559) is the largest officially recognized religion in China. The share of Buddhists in China ranges from 4% to 33%, depending on the measure used and whether it is based on surveys that ask about formal affiliation with Buddhism or beliefs and practices associated with Buddhism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Table<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The share of Chinese adults who formally identify (zongjiao xinyang<\/em> \u5b97\u6559\u4fe1\u4ef0) with Buddhism is about 4%, representing about 42 million adults, according to the 2018 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS).[39. numoffset=”39″ The 2018 CGSS was conducted in 28 of mainland China’s 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. The 2021 CGSS was reported from 19 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. In the 2021 CGSS, like the 2018 CGSS, 4% of respondents identified as Buddhist.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But 33% of Chinese adults, representing about 362 million adults, believe in (xiangxin<\/em> \u76f8\u4fe1) Buddha (fo<\/em> \u4f5b)<\/em> and\/or a bodhisattva (pusa <\/em>\u83e9\u8428), according to the 2018 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) survey \u2013 though this number also includes many people who believe in other religious figures as well, such as Jesus Christ or Taoist immortals.[40. In China, both \u201cBuddha\u201d and \u201cbodhisattva\u201d are commonly used to refer to Buddhist deities.] <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buddhism in China has three main branches. Han Buddhism, or Chinese Buddhism<\/a>, accounts for the vast majority of the country\u2019s Buddhists, as measured by the number of registered temples. (Refer to “Geographic distribution of Buddhist temples”<\/a> for more detail.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tibetan Buddhism<\/a> and Theravada Buddhism<\/a> are practiced primarily by ethnic minorities in the Tibetan Plateau, Inner Mongolia and along the southern borders with Myanmar, also called Burma, and Laos. In China, the word \u201cBuddhism\u201d typically refers to Han Buddhism.<\/p>\n\n\n

History of Buddhism in China<\/div>