Religious Demography
Malaysia has a population of just over 27 million. As of the last Population and Housing Census, 60.4 percent of the population practices Islam; 19.2 percent Buddhism; 9.1 percent Christianity; 6.3 percent Hinduism; and 2.6 percent traditional Chinese religions. The remainder is accounted for by other faiths, including Animism, Folk religion, Sikhism and other belief systems. However, these figures may be misleading as professing the religion of Islam is a requirement for being a Malay in the sense of the Malaysian Constitution. Moreover, Muslims who wish to leave Islam face strong disincentives.
Read more about this topic: Freedom Of Religion In Malaysia
Famous quotes containing the word religious:
“... these great improvements of modern times are blessings or curses on us, just in the same ratio as the mental, moral, and religious rule over the animal; or the animal propensities of our nature predominate over the intellectual and moral. The spider elaborates poison from the same flower, in which the bee finds materials out of which she manufactures honey.”
—Harriot K. Hunt (1805–1875)