China's religious followers are three times more than the official estimate, according to the country's first major survey on religious beliefs.

The poll of about 4,500 people, conducted by professors Tong Shijun and Liu Zhongyu of Shanghai-based East China Normal University from 2005 till recently, found that 31.4 percent of Chinese aged 16 and above, about 300 million, are religious.

This is much more than the official figure of 100 million, which has remained largely unchanged for years, Wednesday's China Daily reported.

According to the report, Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Christianity and Islam are the five major religions, having about 67.4 percent of China's religious believers.

A striking feature is the re-vitalization of traditional Chinese religions, the report said.

About 200 million people are Buddists, Taoists or worshippers of legendary figures such as the Dragon King and God of Fortune, accounting for 66.1 percent of all believers.

Followers of Christianity also increase rapidly. Official figures estimate the number rose from less than 10 million in the late 1990s to 16 million in 2005, but the survey finds 12 percent of all believers, or 40 million, are Christians.

The survey also sheds light on reasons behind the religious revival. Of the 1,361 people surveyed, 24.1 percent said religion "shows the true path of life"; and 28 percent said it "helps cure illness, avoid disasters and ensure that life is smooth".

"This kind of feeling is especially common in rural areas," China Daily quoted Liu as saying.

However, Liu disagreed that religious passion is fanned by poverty. For example, many new believers in recent years are from the economically-developed coastal areas.

Liu attributed the rising influence of religions to the religious freedom enjoyed in the country and social problems confronting the Chinese in a time of fast change.

The report also said that the late 1990s saw a big surge of middle-aged believers, who were atheist in the 1950s but turned religious when they grew older.

About 72 percent of the religious said they are happier now than when they were not believers, the report said.

Source: Xinhua