Religion in Hong Kong is characterised by a multi-faith diversity of beliefs and practices. Most of the Hong Kong people of Chinese descent practice Chinese folk beliefsShun-hing Chan. Rethinking Folk Religion in Hong Kong: Social Capital, Civic Community and the State. Hong Kong Baptist University. – which may include Confucian and Taoist doctrines and ritual traditions – or Buddhism, mostly of the Chinese variety.
According to official statistics for the year 2024 among the Hong Kong people who belong to an organised religion there are: over 1 million Buddhists, over 1 million Taoists, 1.04 million Protestants, 392,000 Catholics, 300,000 Muslims, 100,000 Hindus, 15,000 Sikhs, and other smaller communities.Hong Kong: The Facts – Religion and Custom HKSAR Government Home Affairs Bureau, May 2016. Hong Kong had a population of 7.53 million in 2024.
The great majority of the population mostly follow Chinese traditional religions, which include the worship of local gods and ancestors. Also, in many cases people avoid declaring their religious affiliation in surveys. Traditional Chinese religions were not encouraged during the British rule over Hong Kong, which strongly favoured Christianity. With the end of British colonial rule and the return of sovereignty over the city-state to China, there is a revival of Buddhist and Chinese folk religions.
Main religions
Chinese folk beliefs
Chinese folk religion was the indigenous religion of the Han Chinese. 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.
Traditionally, Hong Kong Chinese practised Daoist or folk religious traditions, along with some Buddhist practices and ancestral worship. In recent decades urban residential areas seldom have neighbourhood temples. Bosco argues that modern postindustrial life styles do not comport well with traditional practices. Many residents fail to recognize their practices as religious. Instead they regard many traditional practices and rituals, such as neighbourhood processions, as part of the unremarkable heritage representing traditional Hong Kong culture. Consequently, religion is often overlooked in Hong Kong. One result, says Bosco, is that diversity and tolerance are the characteristics that most mark the Hong Kong religious landscape.Joseph Bosco, "Chinese popular religion and Hong Kong identity," Asian Anthropology (April 2015) 14#1 pp 8–20.
Some of the Popular Chinese Deities Kwun Yam () Kwan Tai () Tin Hau () Pak Tai () Wong Tai Sin () Che Kung () Hung Shing Tai Wong () Yeung Hau Tai Wong ()
Taoism
Taoism is a religious philosophy and ritual tradition that emphasises living in harmony and union with the Tao, the principle of nature. Notable Taoist temples in Hong Kong include the Wong Tai Sin Temple located in the Wong Tai Sin District in Kowloon. This popular temple is dedicated to Wong Tai Sin.
Confucian philosophy
Confucianism, based on the teachings of Confucius who lived in ancient China from 551 to 479 BC, is mainly a holistic moral code for human relations with emphasis on the importance of tradition and rites. The major festival of Confucianism in Hong Kong is Confucius' Birthday that falls on the 27th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. Confucians in Hong Kong established the Confucian Academy in 1930 and have been deeply involved in education and promoting Confucianism to the public. They run a number of local schools with an objective of promoting the teachings of Confucius.
Buddhism
Buddhism has a considerable number of adherents in Hong Kong. Among the most prominent Buddhist temples in the city there are the Chi Lin Nunnery in Diamond Hill, built in the Tang dynasty's architectural style; and the Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island, famous for the outdoor bronze statue, Tian Tan Buddha, which attracts a large number of visitors during the weekends and holidays.
Buddhist organisations and temples in Hong Kong have long been involved in social welfare and education. The Buddhist Association of Hong Kong operates a dozen primary and secondary schools, and elderly homes as well as centres for youth and children in Hong Kong.
The leadership of mainstream Buddhists organisations have aligned themselves with the establishment in Hong Kong. For example, high-ranking Buddhist Association's executives have openly endorsed the re-election of the city's former Chief Executive Donald Tsang. Several of the association's members were on the Drafting Committee of the Basic Law.
Under the leadership of the former Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa, the Hong Kong government formally recognised the influence of Buddhism in Hong Kong. In 1997 the government designated Buddha's Birthday as a public holiday, which replaced the Queen's birthday holiday. Tung himself is a Buddhist and participated in major, widely publicised Buddhist activities in Hong Kong and China.
Academic studies and research of Buddhism in Hong Kong have thrived over the past decades. The University of Hong Kong has a Centre of Buddhist Studies.HKU.HK. "HKU.hk." Centre of Buddhist Studies. Retrieved on 6 March 2008. The Chinese University of Hong Kong also has a Centre for the Study of Humanistic Buddhism.Cuhk.edu.hk. "Cuhk.edu.hk." CUHK Sets up Centre for the Study of Humanistic Buddhism. Retrieved on 6 March 2008.
The Soka Gakkai International has an estimated 50,000 members in Hong Kong. The local association is called Soka Gakkai International of Hong Kong (HKSGI) and it promotes peace, culture and education based on the principles of Nichiren Buddhism.
Abrahamic religions
Christianity
Christianity is one of the most influential religions in Hong Kong. It gained influence partially due to its existence Hong Kong under British Crown rule from 1841 to 1997, and the work of many Western mission agencies from many countries. The Anglican Church held a nominal privileged status through the influence of the British colonial government.
After the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong to the China in 1997, governmental support from the Church of England was reduced. In China, the ruling Communist Party distrusts missions and humanitarian entities with international religious ties, like religious organizations with missionary connected objectives. China officially supports state atheism and views all religion including Christianity as potentially subversive. The government has in the past closed many churches and schools on the mainland and continues to practice religious persecution of minority religious groups. Since 2010, mainland China has gradually limited Hong Kong's Christian communities' ability to organize their churches in mainland China. Chinese officials have barred mainland residents from attending certain religious conferences in Hong Kong and sought increased oversight of mainland programs run by Hong Kong religious workers.Javier C. Hernández And Crystal Tseaug, Hong Kong Christian Groups Feel New Scrutiny From Mainland The New York Times 27 August 2015
Catholicism
The Catholic Church in Hong Kong was established as an apostolic prefecture in 1841 and as an Apostolic Vicariate in 1874. It became a diocese in 1946. About 392,000 Hong Kong people are Catholics as of 2024, many of them immigrants from the Philippines.
Masses are conducted in Cantonese, with around three-fifths of the parishes providing services in English and in Tagalog (for the Filipino community) in some cases.
The diocese has established its own administrative structure while maintaining close links with the Pope and other Catholic communities around the world. The assistant secretary-general of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences has his office in Hong Kong. The diocese runs around 320 Catholic schools and kindergartens which have about 286,000 pupils. The Catholic Board of Education of Hong Kong assists this area. Medical and social services include about six hospitals, 15 clinics, 13 social centres, 15 hostels, 12 homes for the aged, 15 rehabilitation service centres and many self-help clubs and associations. Caritas—which runs many youth and social organisations and a hospital—is the official social welfare arm of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong.
To reach people through the media, the diocese publishes two weekly newspapers: Kung Kao Po and Sunday Examiner. In addition, the Diocesan Audio-Visual Centre produces tapes and films for use in schools and parishes and, overall, the Hong Kong Catholic Social Communications Office acts as an information and public relations channel for the diocese.
Protestantism
The presence of the Protestant community dates back to 1841.
According to the data of HKSAR government, about 1,040,000 Protestants live in Hong Kong as of 2024; major denominations are Adventists, Anglicans, Baptists, Lutherans, the Christian and Missionary Alliance, the Church of Christ in China, Methodists, Pentecostals and the Salvation Army.
Protestant organisations operate three post-secondary institutions: the Chung Chi College at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Baptist University and Lingnan University. They run around 144 secondary schools, 192 primary schools, 273 kindergartens and 116 nurseries.
The Protestant community operates about 16 theological seminaries and Bible institutes, 16 publishing houses and 57 bookshops. They run seven hospitals, 18 clinics and 59 social service organisations, 74-day care centres, 17 children's homes, 35 homes for the elderly, 106 elderly centres, two schools for the blind and deaf, 47 training centres for the mentally handicapped and 15 camp sites.
Two weekly newspapers, The Christian Weekly and The Christian Times, are run by Protestants. Two ecumenical bodies facilitate cooperative work among the Protestant churches in Hong Kong. The older one, dating from 1915, is the Hong Kong Chinese Christian Churches Union. The other one is the Hong Kong Christian Council, formed in 1954.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had 24,496 recorded members in Hong Kong in 2025, as well as 27 active congregations"The Church in Hong Kong." www.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved on 18 March 2026.
The LDS Church first sent missionaries to Hong Kong in 1853 but did not establish headquarters until 1949. In 1996 the Church completed the Hong Kong China Temple in Kowloon. In 2005 the Church Administration Building Hong Kong was opened. The geographical administrative area for the China Hong Kong LDS Mission includes all of China.
Orthodoxy
The Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia () is the only church of Eastern Christianity in Hong Kong. It was set up in November 1996 by the decision of the Holy Great Synod of Constantinople. It is now under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
Islam
There were over 300,000 Muslims in Hong Kong in 2016, most of them are domestic workers from Indonesia and also South Asian Muslims. Four main mosques and seven madrasas are run by Khatme Nubuwwat Islamic Council, and are used daily for prayers. The Khatme Nubuwwat Islamic Council is located in Sham Shui Po, and is headed by Qari Muhammad Tayyab Qasmi.
The oldest mosque in the city is the Shelley Street Mosque, which was built in the 1840s and rebuilt in 1915. The Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Centre on Nathan Road opened in 1984. The Masjid and Islamic Centre on Oi Kwan Road in Wan Chai was opened in September 1981. The Cape Collinson Muslim Cemetery also has a mosque.