Malaysia is a multi-religious society, but Islam is the official religion of the country. The four main religions are Islam (about 56% of the population), Buddhism (about 20 %), Hinduism (13 %), and Christianity (9%, mostly in East Malaysia, i.e. Borneo). Until the 20th century, most practiced traditional beliefs, which arguably still linger on to a greater degree than Malaysian officialdom is prepared to acknowledge.

Although the Malaysian constitution theoretically guarantees religious freedom, in practice the situation is not so simple. Non-Muslims often experience restrictions in activities such as construction of religious buildings. Meanwhile Muslims (or rather, persons deemed to be Muslim by the state Religious Affairs office) are forced to submit to the decisions of sharia courts, regardless of whether this affiliation accords with their personal religious views. Whether Muslims may freely leave Islam is not yet legally clear. In some situations, the Malaysian courts have defended one's right to freedom of religion even where Islam has been renounced (such as the Yeshua Jalilludin versus the Minister of Home Affairs case in the 1980's). However, this 'freedom to choose' appears inconsistent other times, since anyone wishing to renounce Islam has to make a legal declaration; but this is still not recognised by the Malaysian civil courts. The 'renouncer' then has to obtain a declaration of apostasy from a Syariah Court, but the court will not generally grant one.

As a 'people', Malaysians tend to personally respect one another's religious beliefs, with inter-religious problems arising mainly from the political sphere.