Religion in Tibet

The main religion of Tibet has been Buddhism since its outspread in the 8th century AD. Before the arrival of Buddhism the main religion here was an indigenous Shamanist religion, Bön which now comprises a sizeable minority and which would later influence the formation of Tibetan Buddhism. There are four mosques in the Tibet Autonomous Region with approximately 4,000 to 5,000 Muslim adherents, as well as a Catholic church with 560 parishioners, which is located in the traditionally Catholic community of Yanjing in the eastern TAR.