Editing Christmas Island (section)

===Religion===
{{Pie chart
| thumb = right
| caption = Religion in Christmas Island (2021)<ref>{{citation|title=2021 Census of Population and Housing – General Community Profile: Christmas Island (LGA51710)|date=2022 |author= ((Australian Bureau of Statistics))|url=https://abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/community-profiles/2021/LGA51710|publisher=Commonwealth of Australia|id=("General Community Profile" XLS file download: Table G14 – Religious Affiliation by Sex)}} [https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/community-profiles/2021/90101/download/GCP_90101.xlsx Direct file download (1 MB).]</ref> Note that some [[statistical noise]] is added to the publicly released census data, in order to protect residents' privacy.
| label1 = [[Islam]]
| value1 = 22.1
| color1 = green
| label2 = [[Buddhism]]
| value2 = 15.2
| color2 = Yellow
| label3 = [[Catholicism]]
| value3 = 7.3
| color3 = Blue
| label4 = [[Protestantism]]
| value4 = 4.9
| color4 = Lightblue
| label5 = Other Christian
| value5 = 1.8
| color5 = Darkblue
| label6 = Other religion
| value6 = 1.0
| color6 = Red
| color7 = black
| value7 = 19.7
| label7 = Secular Beliefs and Other Spiritual Beliefs and No Religious Affiliation
| color8 = grey
| value8 = 26.7
| label8 = Religious affiliation not stated
}}

Religious practices differ by geography across the island and effectively correspond to the island's three primary settlements: the capital (known simply as The Settlement), the Cantonese village [[Poon Saan]], and the Malay water village [[Malay Kampong Group|which is referred to often as the Kampong]].

Major religious affiliation in Christmas Island (2021)<ref>{{Cite web |title=SBS Australian Census Explorer |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/census-explorer-2021/index.html?placeType=sal&places=christmas-island&topic=cultural-diversity&lang=en |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=www.sbs.com.au}}</ref>

* 374 people or 22.1% are [[Muslims|Muslim]], up from 19.3% in 2016.
* 333 people or 19.7% are [[Irreligion]], up from 15.3% in 2016
* 258 people or 15.2% are [[Buddhism|Buddhists]], down from 18.2% in 2016
* 123 people or 7.3% are [[Catholic Church|Catholic]], down from 8.8% in 2016
* 35 people or 2.1% are [[Anglicanism|Anglican]], down from 3.6% in 2016

====The Capital====
Due to the large numbers of English and Australians who make up the bulk of the island's capital, there is a strong Anglo-Celtic influence in The Settlement which has contributed to the strong presence of Catholicism. This has been further reinforced by recent Filipino arrivals.<ref name="ethnic"/>

====Poon Saan====
[[File:Christmas Island (5774564505).jpg|thumb|upright|A Taoist temple]]
In the village of [[Poon Saan]], which functions like the island's Chinatown, Buddhism is commonplace. Traditional Cantonese folk practices also are represented in this area.<ref name="ethnic"/> Chinese temples and shrines include seven Buddhist temples (like Guan Yin Monastery (观音寺) at Gaze Road), ten Taoist temples (like Soon Tian Kong (顺天宫) in South Point and Grants Well Guan Di Temple) and shrines dedicated to [[Na Tuk Kong]] or [[Datuk Keramat]] on the island.<ref>{{cite web |date=19 September 2016 |title=Christmas Island Heritage – Temples and Shrines |url=https://christmasislandheritage.com/temples-and-shrines/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606161826/https://christmasislandheritage.com/temples-and-shrines/ |archive-date=6 June 2020 |access-date=7 June 2020}}</ref>

====Kampong====
Malays who have settled on the island's edge in their shoreline [[kampong]] tend to follow Sunni Islam.<ref name="ethnic"/> The kampong has a mosque but it is in a state of decay and disrepair with rotting timbers and cracks.<ref name=ahd-105402>{{cite AHD|105402|Malay Kampong Group|fn=9/03/001/0008|accessdate=8 June 2024}}</ref>

====Other groups====
Other smaller and less geographically concentrated groups include [[Anglicans]] who make up 3.6%, [[Uniting Church in Australia|Uniting Church]] adherents who make up 1.2%, other [[Protestants]] who make up 1.7%, and other Christian groups with 3.3%. Other religious communities collectively constitute 0.6% of the island's population.