Distribution characteristics and formation of religious spaces in Macau: an analysis based on points of interest (POIs) and social organization locations

Tangible religious sites shrink amid rapid urbanization in Macau. Religious buildings and institutions are integrated into a unified framework for analyzing their spatial distribution, clustering characteristics, and formative mechanisms. 692 valid POI records are adopted, with quantitative GIS tools (kernel density estimation, buffer overlay, and nearest neighbor index) utilized. The results show that (1) Macau’s religious spaces exhibit dual-core agglomeration on the Macau Peninsula and scattered layout on outlying islands. (2) Tangible venues and organizational spaces form three coupling tiers: high (Protestantism), moderate (folk religion and Catholicism) and low (Taoism and Buddhism). Catholic spaces show fixed physical cores consistent with early historical settlement boundaries, with outward organizational outreach. Protestant facilities coincide closely with population concentrations and transit corridors via well-matched dual spaces. (3) Folk religious sites retain fixed historic venues whose associational ties to surrounding communities expand flexibly; Buddhism likewise retains historic venues, but its associations are far more numerous and have detached from temples at the largest scale, while Taoism, for historical reasons, lacks standalone premises and co-locates with existing folk and Buddhist networks, with comparatively few associations as well. Collectively, historical inertia, population adaptability and organizational flexibility jointly correspond to the differentiated spatial patterns observed in Macau.