Editing Kaohsiung (section)

==Religion==
{{see also|Religion in Taiwan|Buddhism in Taiwan|Islam in Taiwan}}
{{Pie chart
|thumb=right
|caption=Religion in Taiwan (Government statistics, 2005)<ref name="moi">{{cite web |title=Taiwan Yearbook 2006 |publisher=Government of Information Office |year=2006 |url=http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/yearbook/22Religion.htm |access-date=1 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708213510/http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/yearbook/22Religion.htm |archive-date=8 July 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|label1=[[Buddhism]]
|value1=35.1
|color1=Gold
|label2=[[Taoism]]
|value2=33
|color2=Crimson
|label3=Christianity
|value3=3.9
|color3=DodgerBlue
|label4=[[Yiguandao]]
|value4=3.5
|color4=MediumVioletRed
|label5=[[Tiandism]]
|value5=2.2
|color5=DeepPink
|label6=[[Maitreya Great Tao|Miledadao]]
|value6=1.1
|color6=HotPink
|label7=[[Zailiism]]
|value7=0.8
|color7=Pink
|label8=Other or undeclared
|value8=2.4
|color8=Gray
|label9=[[Irreligion|Non-religious]]
|value9=18.7
|color9=DarkGray
}}

The religious population of Kaohsiung is mainly divided into five main religious groups: [[Buddhists]], [[Taoists]], [[Muslim]] and [[Christians]] ([[Catholics]] and [[Protestants]]). {{As of|2015}}, Kaohsiung City has 1,481 temples, the second highest in Taiwan after [[Tainan]]. Kaohsiung also has 306 churches.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Lee Hsin-fang |first2=Jake |last2=Chung |date=15 July 2015 |page=5 |title=Tainan has most of nation's 12,106 temples |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2015/07/15/2003623092 |newspaper=Taipei Times |access-date=15 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715111332/http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2015/07/15/2003623092 |archive-date=15 July 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Buddhism===
Buddhism is one of the major religions in Taiwan, with over 35% of Taiwan's population identifying as Buddhists.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yu |first=Pei-Lin |title=How Taiwanese death rituals have adapted for families living in the US |url=http://theconversation.com/how-taiwanese-death-rituals-have-adapted-for-families-living-in-the-us-131539 |access-date=2021-05-15 |website=The Conversation |date=21 July 2020 |language=en |archive-date=15 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515212403/https://theconversation.com/how-taiwanese-death-rituals-have-adapted-for-families-living-in-the-us-131539 |url-status=live }}</ref> The same applies to Kaohsiung city. Kaohsiung also hosts the largest [[Buddhist temple]] in Taiwan, the [[Fo Guang Shan Monastery]] with its [[Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum]]. There are also other famous Buddhist temples such as [[Fengshan Longshan Temple]] and [[Hong Fa Temple]].

===Taoism===
Around 33% of the Taiwanese population are Taoists, making it the second largest religion of Taiwan. Most people who believe in Taoism also ascribe to Buddhism at the same time, as the differences and boundaries between the two religions are not always clear. Many residents of the area also worship the sea goddess known as Tian Shang Sheng Mu ({{lang|zh-Hant-TW|天上聖母}}) or [[Mazu]], who is variously [[syncretized]] as a [[Taoist immortal]] or embodiment of the [[bodhisattva]] [[Guanyin]]. Her temple on Cijin Island, [[Chi Jin Mazu Temple]], is the oldest in the city, with its original bamboo-and-thatch structure first opened in 1673. The area surrounding it formed the center of the city's early settlement.<ref name=herry>{{citation |contribution-url=http://heritage.khcc.gov.tw/english/Heritage.aspx?KeyID=740a98f3-eb1e-4e3b-aca2-29561ae6cd51 |contribution=Tianhou Temple at Cihou |url=http://heritage.khcc.gov.tw/english/index.aspx |title=Official site |year=2008 |publisher=Bureau of Cultural Affairs of the Kaohsiung City Government |location=Kaohsiung |access-date=16 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006000307/http://heritage.khcc.gov.tw/english/index.aspx |archive-date=6 October 2016 |url-status=dead}}. {{in lang|zh}}{{nbsp}}& {{in lang|en}}</ref> There are also other prominent Taoist temples such as [[Fengshan Tiangong Temple]], dedicated to the [[Jade Emperor]], [[Cih Ji Palace]], dedicated to [[Baosheng Dadi|Bao Sheng Da Di]], [[Zhouzi Qingshui Temple|Qing Shui Temple]], dedicated to [[Qingshui (monk)|Qing Shui Zu Shi]] and [[Gushan Daitian Temple]] dedicated to [[Wang Ye worship]].

===Christianity===
Christianity is a minority religion in Taiwan. It was first brought onto the island when the Dutch and Spanish colonized Taiwan during the 17th century, mostly to the aboriginals. Kaohsiung currently hosts around 56,000 Christians.

===Islam===
Besides the majority population of Buddhists and Taoists, Kaohsiung also includes a rather tiny population of [[Muslims]]. During the [[Chinese Civil War]], some 20,000 Muslims, mostly soldiers and civil servants, fled [[mainland China]] with the [[Kuomintang]] government to Taiwan.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Charette |first=Rick |date=2020-04-13 |title=The Muslim Experience in Taipei |url=https://international.thenewslens.com/article/133739 |access-date=2021-05-15 |website=The News Lens International Edition |language=en |archive-date=27 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227101020/https://international.thenewslens.com/article/133739 |url-status=live }}</ref> During the 1980s, another few thousand Muslims from [[Myanmar]] and [[Thailand]], who are mostly descendants of [[Nationalist Chinese|Nationalist]] soldiers who fled [[Yunnan]] as a result of the communist takeover, migrated to Taiwan in search of a better life, resulting in an increase of Muslim population within the country.<ref name=":1" /> More recently, with the rise of Indonesian workers working in Taiwan, an estimated number of 88,000 Indonesian Muslims currently live in the country, in addition to the existing 53,000 Taiwanese Muslims. Combining all demographics, Taiwan hosts around 140,000 Muslims, with around 25,000 living in Kaohsiung. [[Kaohsiung Mosque]] is the largest mosque in Kaohsiung and the main gathering site of Muslims within the city.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="160">
Fo Guang Shan.jpg|[[Foguangshan]] Temple
旗後天后宮.jpg|Cijing Tianhou Temple
玫瑰聖母主教座堂.JPG|[[Holy Rosary Cathedral, Kaohsiung|Holy Rosary Cathedral]]
Kaohsiung Mosque.JPG|[[Kaohsiung Mosque]]
</gallery>