Holy Week in the Philippines has already begun. This period of significant religious observance starts from Palm Sunday (March 20) and ends on an Easter Sunday (March 27); this week is a bit earlier than previous years of the commemoration of Jesus Christ's last steps to crucifixion, central to the country's dominantly Roman Catholic and Protestant populace. For some, this week serves as a period to confess and repent for all sins committed; for others, it's a way to go to the beach and unwind with loved ones.
With all religious Filipino practices and rituals bore in mind, a question does beg for an answer. How important is religion in the lives of Filipinos? Is it still vital to Filipino survival?
According to Pew Research Center data, 87% of Filipinos surveyed say religion is very important in their lives. This only means that religion is still central to Pinoy culture and tradition.
Image Source: Statista
Do the data then infer that 13 percent of Filipinos take religion as not important to them? Probably not, for it's possible that among the 13 percent who don't see religion as very crucial in their day-to-day living, some might have also considered religion as somewhat important or not too important. Hence, it doesn't necessarily say that more than 1 in 10 Filipinos are already atheists; this shouldn't be a big deal at all since everyone deserves to be respected regardless of their spiritual inclination.
However, it should be noted that looking at the international arena, religion seemed to be more important to people in the developing world, with the world's biggest economies taking in much lower percentages, except for the United States.
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