Christianity is the predominant religion in Eswatini , with Protestantism being its largest denomination. [3] The royal family of Eswatini is officially Christian. [4]
The Constitution of the Kingdom provides for freedom of religion and the government generally respects religious liberty. [3]
The statistics on religious adherence vary by source.
According to the US State Department religious freedom report of 2022, local religious leaders estimate that 90% of Eswatini's population is Christian (including 20% Catholic), 2% are Muslim, while under 10% belong to other religious groups. [5]
According to the CIA World Factbook, in 2020 the distribution was 40% Zionist, 20% Catholic, other Christians (including Anglican, Methodist, Mormon, Jehovah's Witness) 30%, 2% Muslim and 8% other religions (including Baháʼí, Buddhist, Hindu, indigenous, Jewish). [6]
According to Pew Research, in 2012, over 88% of the total 1.2 million population of Eswatini expressed Christianity to be their faith, while over 0.2% express no affiliation. [7]
Anglican, Protestant and indigenous African churches including African Zionist, and Catholics constitute the majority of the Christians in the country. [3] On 18 July 2012, Ellinah Wamukoya was elected Anglican Bishop of Eswatini; on 17 November 2012 she became the first woman to be consecrated as a bishop in Africa. [3] [8]
The king of Eswatini, Mswati II invited Methodist Christian missionaries to his kingdom in 1825. [9] The first church to be established in the country was the Methodist Wesleyan Mission was established in Mahamba in 1844. [10] The Christian missions largely failed through 1881, and had few conversions to their credit. [9] A larger presence of missionaries began in 1881 when members of the United Society arrived to establish the presence of the Church of England. Lutherans arrived in 1887 from Germany, and Methodists restarted their efforts in 1895 out of their Christian missions in South Africa. [9] [11]
A Gothic-style church, which was built in 1912, still stands in Mahamba, and is the oldest existing place of worship in the country. [10] A large Catholic presence, including churches, schools, and other infrastructure, exists in the country. [3] The country forms a single diocese – the Diocese of Manzini. The Zionist Churches, which blend Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship, and were developed in the early part of the 19th century, predominate in rural areas. [3] Christian holidays such as Good Friday, Christmas, Ascension Day are part of the national holiday calendar.
The Christianity followed by Swazi people incorporates rituals, singing, dancing and iconography of the traditional Swazi religion. According to Sibongile Nxumalo, the Christian missionaries that ignored or misconstrued "the positive aspects of traditional beliefs, customs and institutions of Swazi society" have largely been unsuccessful. More successful missions have adopted a syncretic approach. [11]
The Christian organizations of Eswatini have been closely involved in the politics of the country. The colonial era Swaziland League of African Churches has had a long relationship with the royalty of Eswatini, and held public ceremonies such as Easter on the behalf of the King. The Zionist churches celebrate the Good Friday over three days with singing and dancing. [12] They have historically attempted to be apolitical, but in 2004 they campaigned to make Christianity the state religion through a constitutional amendment, a move opposed by the King. [12] The third politically influential Christian organization in Eswatini has been the Council of Eswatini Churches, established in 1976 as refugees flooded into Eswatini, and this group voiced views on Apartheid in South Africa and the ongoing civil war in nearby Mozambique. Their views contradicted the state's position, and the leaders of this new Council were then threatened with arrests and prison terms. [12]
The traditional Swazi religion recognizes a supreme God and creator, but more important are the spirits of ancestors. Swazi religion speaks of a creator known as Mvelincanti (he who was there from the beginning). Mvelincanti is too remote and so it is ancestral spirits emadloti which are more relevant in day-to-day life. [13] Beasts are slaughtered and beer was brewed to please (propitiate) the spirits, and ask for help. The rituals are performed at the level of family associated with birth, death and marriage. [13] Some Swazis blend these traditions with contemporary Christian practices.
In the hierarchy of Swazi society, the king assumes the leadership position. The incwala ritual, which is performed annually, is considered a national religious event. The objectives of the event are to reflect the growth of the king, [14] and to thank the ancestors for good harvests and to pray for good rain in the coming year. This event, which only takes place when there is a king, is the most sacred national event and all male Swazis are participant. The holiday for incwala depends on the phases of the moon, and is at the end of the six-week event.
Followers of Islam, the Baháʼí Faith, Hinduism and Judaism are largely immigrants located in urban areas. [9] [3] According to the US State department, Islam forms about 2% of the population, [5] while 2% of the population is Muslim according to the CIA World Factbook, [15] and the Official Government state it is less than 0.2%. [7] The Muslims in Eswatini are formerly indentured workers who arrived from South Asia during the colonial era. [3]
In 2023, the country was scored 2 out of 4 for religious freedom. [16]
Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini and also known by its former official name Swaziland and formerly the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its north, west, south, and southeast. At no more than 200 km (120 mi) north to south and 130 km (81 mi) east to west, Eswatini is one of the smallest countries in Africa; despite this, its climate and topography are diverse, ranging from a cool and mountainous highveld to a hot and dry lowveld.
Demographic features of the population of Eswatini include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The Swazi or Swati are a Bantu ethnic group native to Southern Africa, inhabiting Eswatini, a sovereign kingdom in Southern Africa, and South Africa's Mpumalanga province. EmaSwati are part of the Nguni-language speaking peoples whose origins can be traced through archaeology to East Africa where similar traditions, beliefs and cultural practices are found.
As of the year 2023, Christianity had approximately 2.4 billion adherents and is the largest religion by population. According to a PEW estimation in 2020, Christians made up to 2.38 billion of the worldwide population of about 8 billion people. It represents nearly one-third of the world's population and is the largest religion in the world, with the three largest groups of Christians being the Catholic Church, Protestantism, and the Eastern Orthodox Church. The largest Christian denomination is the Catholic Church, with 1.3 billion baptized members. The second largest Christian branch is either Protestantism, or the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Eswatini is a Christian majority country, with adherents of Islam being a minority. Due to the secular nature of Eswatini's constitution, Muslims are free to proselytize and build places of worship in the country.
Christianity in Africa arrived in Africa in the 1st century AD, and in the 21st century the majority of Africans are Christians. Several African Christians influenced the early development of Christianity and shaped its doctrines, including Tertullian, Perpetua, Felicity, Clement of Alexandria, Origen of Alexandria, Cyprian, Athanasius and Augustine of Hippo. In the 4th century, the Aksumite empire in modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea became one of the first regions in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion, followed by the Nubian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia and several Christian Berber kingdoms.
Religion in Ethiopia consists of a number of faiths. Among these mainly Abrahamic religions, the most numerous is Christianity totaling at 67.3%, followed by Islam at 31.3%. There is also a longstanding but small Ethiopian Jewish community. Some adherents of the Baháʼí Faith likewise exist in a number of urban and rural areas. Additionally, there is also a substantial population of the adherents of traditional faiths.
Protestantism in South Africa accounted for 73.2% of the population in 2010. Approximately 81% of South Africans are Christian and 5 out of 6 Christians are Protestant. Later censuses do not ask for citizens’ religious affiliations. Estimates in 2017 suggested that 62.5% of the population are Protestant.
Christianity is the largest religion in Ghana, with 71.3% of the population belonging to various Christian denominations as of 2021 census. Islam is practised by 19.9% of the total population. According to a report by the Pew Research, 51% of Muslims are followers of Sunni Islam, while approximately 16% belong to the Ahmadiyya movement and around 8% identify with Shia Islam, while the remainder are non-denominational Muslims.
Christianity is the predominant religion in the Republic of the Congo, with Catholicism being its largest denomination.
Christianity is the largest religion in Benin, with substantial populations of Muslims and adherents of traditional faiths. According to the most recent 2020 estimate, the population of Benin is 52.2% Christian, 24.6% Muslim, 17.9% traditionalist and 5.3% follows other faiths or has no religion.
Religion in Guinea-Bissau is diverse, with no particular religion comprising an absolute majority of the population. Islam is the most widely professed faith, and significant populations of Christians and adherents of traditional African religions are also present in the country.
Christianity is the dominant religion in Lesotho, with Protestantism and Catholicism being its main denominations.
Christianity is the largest religion in Mozambique, with substantial minorities of the adherents of traditional faiths and Islam.
The Gambia is a Muslim majority country, with Muslims constituting 96.4% of the population, some 3.5% are Christian, and 0.1% practice other religions.
Christianity is the most widely professed religion in Tanzania, but in the island of Zanzibar most of the population is Muslim.
Haiti is a majority Christian country. For much of its history and up to the present day, Haiti has been prevailingly a Christian country, primarily Catholic, although in practice often profoundly modified and influenced through syncretism. A common syncretic religion is Vodou, which combined the Yoruba religion of enslaved Africans with Catholicism and some Native American strands; it shows similarities, and shares many deity-saints, with Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. The constitution of Haiti establishes the freedom of religion and does not establish a state religion, although the Catholic Church receives some preferential treatment.
Religion in Burundi is diverse, with Christianity being the dominant faith. Catholicism is the largest Christian denomination in the country.
Christians in the Gambia constituted Muslim 96.4%, Christian 3.5%, other or none 0.1%.
The main religion in Morocco is Sunni Islam, which is also the state religion of the country. Officially, 99% of the population are Muslim, and virtually all of those are Sunni. The second-largest religion in the country is Christianity, but most Christians in Morocco are foreigners. There is a community of the Baháʼí Faith. Only a fraction of the former number of Maghrebi Jews have remained in the country, many having moved to Israel.
