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Religion and Custom
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Hong Kong people enjoy freedom of religion and different religious
bodies spread their religious instructions and messages here.
A diversity of faiths and followers coexist harmoniously. Apart from
preaching, the religious bodies in Hong Kong actively contribute to
charities and help the disadvantaged through medical, educational
and social welfare facilities and services.
Major religions in Hong Kong include Buddhism, Taoism,
Confucianism, Protestantism, Catholicism and Islam. Other religions,
including Hinduism, Sikhism and Judaism, also have a considerable
number of adherents.
Hong Kong has more than one million Buddhist followers. Some
monasteries and temples have a history of more than 700 years.
Famous worship sites include Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island,
Chi Lin Nunnery in Diamond Hill and the Tsz Shan Monastery newly
opened in Tai Po in 2015. Buddha’s birthday, on the eighth day of
the fourth month in the lunar calendar, is the major Buddhist festival
and also commonly known as the “Festival of Bathing Buddha”.
Hong Kong has over one million Taoist followers. Renowned Taoist
monasteries include Wong Tai Sin Temple, Fung Ying Seen Koon in
Fanling and Ching Chung Koon in Tuen Mun. Its followers honour
Taishang Laojun as the Supreme Patriarch, whose birthday is on
the 15th day of the second month of the lunar year. The Taoist Day
falls on the second Sunday of March each year.
Confucianism is a belief system promoting the teachings of the
philosopher Confucius. The five constant values of benevolence,
righteousness, propriety, wisdom and fidelity are its fundamental
doctrines and have greatly influenced the political, economic, social
and academic development of China for more than 2,000 years.
Confucius’ birthday is celebrated on the 27th day of the eighth lunar
month and Confucian Day falls on the third Sunday of September
each year.
There are about 480,000 Protestants in Hong Kong and more than
1,450 congregations. The Anglican St John’s Cathedral, completed
in 1849, is the city’s oldest Western-style church and nestles among
high-rise buildings in Central. Founded in 1906, St Andrew’s Church
in Tsim Sha Tsui is the oldest Anglican church in Kowloon.
There are about 380,000 Catholics and 51 parishes in Hong Kong. In
Gothic Revival architecture style, The Hong Kong Catholic Cathedral
of The Immaculate Conception in Mid-Levels was built in 1842 as the
first church in Hong Kong. The St Joseph’s Chapel in Yim Tin Tsai,
Sai Kung, was built in 1890 on land donated by villagers. The church
witnessed the first Catholic missionary work in the territory.
Hong Kong has about 300,000 Muslims whose major festivals include
the Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha. The first mosque in Hong Kong was
built in 1849 on Shelley Street, Mid-Levels. The famous Kowloon
Masjid on busy Nathan Road was completed in 1984 to replace the
original built in 1896 and it has become a landmark in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Apart from these religious beliefs, a number of customs have become
common daily life scenes in Hong Kong. Worshippers offer incense
to deities and lay out ritual offerings at home. Citizens practise “petty
person beating” on the day of “Jing Zhe” at Ngo Keng Kiu, Causeway
Bay, and burn joss paper during the Hungry Ghost Festival. Rituals
like the Cheung Chau Bun Festival, which prays for well-being and
expulsion of bad spirits, and the fire dragon dance at Tai Hang
to ward off epidemics have been inscribed in the national list of
intangible cultural heritage.
Worshippers at Wong Tai Sin Temple in Kowloon. It was established as a
Taoist temple in 1921 and commemorates a famous monk of the 4th Century.
Religion and Custom
Far left: Chi Lin Nunnery in Diamond Hill was founded in 1934. In the 1990s,
this Buddhist temple complex was rebuilt in wood in the Tang Dynasty style.
Above: St John’s Cathedral in Garden Road, Central, is the oldest surviving
Western ecclesiastical building in Hong Kong. It was completed in 1849 and
declared a monument in 1996.
Above right: Worshippers attend mass at the Hong Kong Catholic Cathedral of
the Immaculate Conception in Mid-Levels. It was completed in 1888.
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Religion and Custom
Far left: Kowloon Masjid on Nathan Road is a landmark in
Tsim Sha Tsui and borders Kowloon Park.
Above left: The Hindu Temple in Happy Valley is a focal point
for the religion’s 40,000 followers in Hong Kong.
Above right: Khalsa Diwan Sikh Temple in Happy Valley was
first established in 1901. It offers free meals to international
visitors of any faith.
Left: Ohel Leah Synagogue in Robinson Road, was completed
in 1902 in a project initiated by the Sassoon brothers, Jacob,
Edward and Myer, to commemorate their mother, Leah.
(Photo courtesy of Ohel Leah Synagogue)
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Religion and Custom
Above left: Traditional lanterns
and modern interpretations are
popular for the Spring Lantern
and Mid-Autumn Festivals.
Above: The Tai Hang fire dragon
dance in Causeway Bay is
held annually and is part of
Hong Kong’s intangible cultural
and natural heritage.
Far left: The “Beating Petty
Person” ritual, when worshippers
offer sacrifices to get rid of
bad fortune.
Above: Contestants scramble up a bun tower in the Cheung Chau Bun Festival,
a popular cultural heritage event held on Cheung Chau Island to pay tribute to
the god Pak Tai.
Left: Offerings to ancestors
and wandering “hungry ghosts”
during the Yu Lan Ghost Festival.
Above right: Costumed children appear to float above the crowds as they are carried
on shoulder-high frames through Cheung Chau streets during the Bun Festival.
Right: The unicorn dance is an indigenous custom with a history of more than
200 years. It was inscribed onto the fourth national list of intangible national cultural
heritage in 2014. On celebratory occasions such as festivals, the inauguration of an
ancestral hall, weddings and birthday parties, there will invariably be a unicorn dance
as a gesture of bestowing blessings and warding off evil.
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