Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith in the Philippines started in 1921 with the first Bahá'í first visiting the Philippines that year, and by 1944 a Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly was established. In the early 1960s, during a period of accelerated growth, the community grew from 200 in 1960 to 1000 by 1962 and 2000 by 1963. In 1964 the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the Philippines was elected and by 1980 there were 64,000 Bahá'ís and 45 local assemblies. The Bahá'ís have been active in multi/inter-faith developments. No recent numbers are available on the size of the community.
Buddhism
Buddhism in the Philippines is largely confined to the Filipino Chinese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese communities. There are temples in Manila, Davao, and Cebu, and other places. According to the 2000 Philippine census, 0.1% of the population is Buddhist. Other sources claim different figures, however. The publication, An Information Guide — Buddhism, for example, claims that as of 2007 Buddhists formed 2% of the total population. Vajrayana (Tibetan and Mahayana Buddhist temples are present in the Philippines as well as meditation centers and groups such as Sokka Gakkai International Vajrayana (Tibetan and Mahayana Buddhist temples are present in the Philippines as well as meditation centers and groups such as Sokka Gakkai International.
Christianity
arrived in the Philippines with the landing of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. In the late 16th century, soldiers and missionaries firmly planted the seeds of conversion when they officially claimed the archipelago for Spain and named it after their king. Missionary activity during the country's long colonial rule by Spain and the United States transformed the Philippines into one of the two (perhaps three, considering South Korea's growing Christian population) predominantly Christian nations in East Asia, with approximately 90% of the population belonging to the Christian faith, the other Christian nation being East Timor.
Protestantism
arrived in the Philippines with the coming of the Americans at the turn of the 20th century. In 1898, Spain lost the Philippines to the United States. After a bitter fight for independence against its new occupiers, Filipinos surrendered and were again colonized. The arrival of Protestant American missionaries soon followed.
Aglipyanism
The Philippine Independent Church, more commonly known as the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, arose from a Catholic nationalist movement at the turn of the century. It is in full communion with the Philippine Episcopal Church, the rest of the Anglican Communion, and the Union of Utrecht.
Iglesia ni Cristo
is a nontrinitarian Christian restorationist religious organization that originated in the Philippines[4] The INC was founded in the Philippines by Felix Y. Manalo on July 27, 1914;[5] The most basic component of the INC's beliefs is that founder Felix Manalo was sent from God to reestablish the Christian Church in its true form[6] and that the original church was apostatized. The organization denies the doctrine of the Trinity, as well as the Divinity of Jesus.
Jehovah's Witness
Missionaries of the Jehovah's Witnesses arrived in the Philippines during the American Occupation (1898-1945). They have been involved in several court controversies because of their stand on flag-saluting and blood transfusions. They are best known by their preaching in pairs from house to house. Currently there are more than 150,000 members in the Philippines as of the year 2006.
Mormonism
During the Spanish-American War in 1898, two men from Utah who were members of the United States artillery battery, and who were also set apart as missionaries by the Church before they left the United States, preached while stationed in the Philippines. Missionary work ceased in the Philippines at the beginning of World War II and resumed again in 1961. In 1969, the Church had spread to eight major islands and had the highest number of baptisms of any area in the Church. A temple was built in 1984 which located in Quezon City and another one which is under construction is in Cebu City. The Manila Missionary Training Center was established in 1983. Membership in 1984 was 76,000 and 237,000 in 1990. Membership was 572,619 in 2006.
Islam
reached the Philippines in the 14th century with the arrival of Malay and Javanese merchants and Arab missionaries from Malaysia and Indonesia, although the Islamization of the Philippines is due to the strength of Muslim India. India brought Islam to Southeast Asia, specifically Malaysia and Indonesia, and in turn the latter two brought Islam to the Philippines. Filipino Muslims make up about five percent of the population and are concentrated in the western portion of the island of Mindanao. The Bangsamoro or Muslim Nation, a term used to define the disparate ethnic groups that profess Islam in the Philippines as their religion, have been fighting the most protracted war of independence in world history. These include the Tausugs and the Maranaos. The Islamic separatist movement in the Philippines had been and is being waged for almost five centuries -- against the Spanish, the Americans, the Japanese and the predominantly Christian Filipinos of today's independent republic. Filipino Muslims follow the Sunni tradition.
Judaism
Since the Spanish Era, Jews have been coming in and out of the islands but were unable to establish a substantial community. During World War II, their population reached 10,000 when Jews from Europe took shelter in Manila after escaping the Holocaust. The last Temple at Taft avenue corner Quirino was demolished in the 70's. They eventually left after the creation of Israel. As of 2005, the Jewish population in the Philippines stands at the very most 500 people.
Sikhism and Hinduism
Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism has existed in the Philippines centuries. A great deal of Philippine mythology is derived from Hindu mythology. Many Filipino customs have strong Buddhist influences. Hinduism arrived when the Hindu religion and culture arrived from India by southern Indians to Southeast Asia from the 4th centuries to the 1300's. The same case can also be found in Buddhism since early Buddhist did follow many of the Hindu cosmology and Hindus themselves considered Buddha to be an avatar of their god, Vishnu. The Srivijaya Empire and Majapahit Empire on what is now Malaysia and Indonesia, introduced Hinduism and Buddhism to the islands. Statues of Hindu-Buddhist gods have been found in the Philippines.
Today Hinduism is largely confined to the Indian Filipinos and the expatriate Indian community. Theravada and Vajrayana Buddhism, which are very close to Hinduism, are practiced by Tibetans, Sri Lankan, Burmese and Thai nationals. There are Hindu temples in Manila, as well as in the provinces. There are temples also for Sikhism, sometimes located near Hindu temples. The two Paco temples are well known, comprising a Hindu temple and a Sikh temple.
Atheism and Agnosticism
There is a growing population of atheists and agnostics living in the Philippines. They make up about 2% of the total population. The first known atheists/freethinkers group in Manila is the Bertrand Russell Society Philippines, founded by Poch Suzara. Discussions on atheism is active in academic institutions such as the University of the Philippines. One of the well known atheist organizations in UP is UPAC (University of the Philippines Atheist Circle). The Internet has also been key as medium of discussions on atheism. The first Internet forum on atheism by a Filipino is the Radioactive Atheist mailing list by Jobert Cuevas and Jose Paraiso. This was later converted into a blog called Pinoy Atheist . Today there are other atheist groups and blogs in the internet like Pinoy Atheists, Philippine Atheists and Atheista.