Four in 10 Koreans identify as religious, and Protestantism is the most widely followed faith in the country, a new survey shows. While the share of Buddhists has been steadily declining, Protestantism has rebounded for three consecutive years, widening the gap between the two.
Protestantism Leads at 18%, Pulling Away From Buddhism
According to a religion survey released Wednesday by Gallup Korea, 18% of Koreans identified as Protestant, 16% as Buddhist and 6% as Catholic as of 2025. The remaining 60% said they had no religion.
The survey was conducted from March to November last year through computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) with 7,647 adults aged 19 and older nationwide, excluding Jeju. The margin of error was ±1.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
Women (49%) were far more likely than men (31%) to have a religion, and religiosity rose markedly with age. Only 24% of respondents in their 20s reported having a faith, compared with 52% of those aged 60 and older.
Since Gallup Korea began tracking the data in 1983, Buddhism and Protestantism have jockeyed for position, with Buddhism fluctuating between 15% and 24% and Protestantism between 15% and 21%. Recent trends, however, show a clear divergence.
The share of Buddhists shrank steadily from 24% in 2004 to 15% in 2024. Protestantism, by contrast, has recovered by roughly one percentage point per year from 15% in 2022 to 18% in 2025, approaching its all-time high of 21%. Catholicism has remained largely stable at 5–7% since 1989.
Buddhism Concentrated Among Elderly; Protestantism Spread Across All Ages
The age breakdown reveals a stark structural difference between the two faiths.
Only about 5% of Koreans in their 20s and 30s identify as Buddhist, while the figure jumps to 19% among those in their 50s and 27% among those aged 60 and older. Protestantism and Catholicism are distributed more evenly, at 14–19% and 6–7% respectively across all age groups.
Regional differences are also pronounced. In Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province, Buddhists accounted for 34%, far outpacing Protestants at 8%. In Seoul, Incheon-Gyeonggi and Gwangju-Jeolla, Protestants made up about 20% — roughly double the share of Buddhists at around 10%. In Daegu-North Gyeongsang and Gangwon, the two faiths were roughly even at about 20% each.
52% Say "No Interest" — But Buddhism Gets Most Goodwill From the Non-Religious
About half (52%) of non-religious respondents cited a simple lack of interest as their reason for not following a faith. Other reasons included lack of mental or time capacity (20%), distrust and disappointment in religion (13%) and self-reliance (10%).
When 2,815 non-religious respondents were asked which faith they viewed most favorably, Buddhism came first at 15%, followed by Catholicism at 11% and Protestantism at 6%. The ranking was identical in the 2004, 2014 and 2021 surveys.
Favorability toward all three religions has declined over the past two decades, however. The share of non-religious respondents saying they had no favorable view of any religion more than doubled, from 33% in 2004 to 67% in 2025.
"Given that the current religious distribution among Koreans in 2025 is Protestantism at 18%, Buddhism at 16% and Catholicism at 6%, Catholicism's standing among non-religious people is larger than its actual following, while Protestantism's is relatively smaller," Gallup Korea said in its analysis.
More than 90% of religious respondents chose the faith they currently practice as the religion they view most favorably, the survey found.
