Thread by @TheChurchInAsia

While in many parts of the world, the Church is growing, there is one place where that is certainly not the case: Japan. This thread will go over the statistics and some of the reasons why this may be the case. 1/6

First of all, the data: As of 2024, there are 419,414 Catholics registered with parishes in Japan. This is significantly lower than the number in 2014, 439,725. Baptisms are more of the same story. In 2014, 10,000 adults were baptized, in 2024 the number was 7,000. 2/6

There is also difficulty in maintaining completely Catholic families and passing on the faith due to these statistics. More than three quarters of Japanese Catholics marry outside of the faith, largely out of necessity. 3/6

Japan is an extremely secular country. This is not a controversial statement. Religion plays a mostly cultural role, and religious organizations are looked at with distrust. Evangelization is broadly seen as an annoyance. 4/6

I suppose the elephant in the room whenever Japan and statistics are mentioned is birth rates. Catholic families do not exhibit higher birthrates than the rest of the population, on average. 5/6

Is this a happy thread? No. But this account has an obligation to keep things honest. If the Church wants converts, it must face reality. Also, a quick note: this thread does not cover information on non-Japanese Catholics in the country. 6/6