SWS: 73% of Pinoys say religion is very important

Majority of Filipinos believed that religion is very essential in their lives, a non-commissioned Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed Wednesday.

According to the poll conducted from November 21 to 25, 2020, 73% Filipinos said religion is very important, 9% said it is somewhat important, 3% said it is not very important while 15% said it is not at all important.

SWS said this figure of 73% is 10 points lower than the record-high 83% recorded in the December 2019 survey result.

Meanwhile, the poll also bared that 46% attended religious services weekly, 25% monthly, and 27% occasionally. Only 1% Filipinos said they never went to religious events.

The November 2020 poll also showed that in the past three months, 56% of Filipinos were physically present at place of worship to attend religious events. Meanwhile, 24% Filipinos watch religious activities online or on television while 5% said both attend in person and watch virtual religious events.

The remaining 14% said they did not attend any religious service in the past three months, SWS said.

Meanwhile, the survey also showed that the percentage of Filipinos who said religion is very important is highest in Mindanao areas (88%), followed by Metro Manila and Balance Luzon (both 70%) and Visayas (64%).

Attending religious events in person is more practiced among the less educated, SWS said.

Specifically, 65% non-elementary graduates attend religious events in person, followed by elementary graduates with 60%, junior high school graduates with 54% and college graduates with 48%.

College graduates topped the percentage of Filipinos attending religious events through online platforms, with 35%. This is followed by junior high school graduates with 27%, elementary graduates with 20% and non-elementary graduates with 14%.

The survey used interviews of 1,500 Filipino adults aged 18 years and above, with 600 in Balance Luzon and 300 each interviewed in Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao. 

The sampling error margins used in the survey are ±2.5% for national percentages, ±4% for Balance Luzon, and ±6% for Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.—LDF, GMA News