The Many Faces of Religion in Hong Kong

Hong Kong folk are great consumers: the latest high-profile brands are pursued with vigour, everyday prices are obsessed over, salaries and compensation are bandied about, the stock market and housing prices are followed closely, money-making opportunities are discussed at every turn...you might be forgiven for thinking that the religion of Hong Kong was making (more) money. 

The position is rather more complicated. Hong Kong people are materialistic and spiritual at the same time, seeing no dichotomy in jointly pursuing gods and gilt.

It looks like, based on statistics from the last ten years and statements by HK agencies, that about half the population of Hong Kong belong to recognised and organised religious traditions. (That compares with about 68% self-categorised followers in the UK).

Using a survey from 2010 quoted on Wikipedia, the numbers stack up as follows:

Buddhists 21%
Taoists 14
Protestants 7
Catholics 5
Moslems 3
Total 50%

Interior of Catholic Cathedral

There are 600 Buddhist and Taoist temples, 800 Christian churches, five mosques, three synagogues, one Hindi temple and one Sikh one in the Territory...so the faiths of the major population groups are well catered for.

What of the remainder of the population, the other 50% who do not follow an organised religion? It is believed that the vast majority of these follow what is described as 'traditional religious practise' or 'Chinese Folk Religion,' a blend or 'pick and mix' of elements of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. Folk here are immensely practical and give more than a nod to superstition, so belief follows results.

Altar to Guan Yu in restaurant. Guan Yu is worshipped by restauranteurs, police...and triad members!

Public expressions of worship range from attendance at the old traditional temples such as Man Mo or the Anglican Cathedral, to the more recent Wong Tai Sin or the plethora of evangelical churches, to miniature shrines outside businesses and homes, to elaborate shrines in flats.

 





shrine outside business





shrine outside business

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

shrines outside ordinary home in Cheung Chau

On the streets, among the multitude of in-your-face salesmen (for mobile phones, phone plans, tours, copy watches and tailoring shops) there are clusters of earnest Jehovah's Witnesses mutely offering copies of the Watchtower, occasional Buddhist monks begging for alms, and other groups making occasional public appearances, including the outlawed-in-China Falun Gong sect.

Yes, possessions are vital but the world beyond is not overlooked.