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Religion in Madagascar (2020 estimate) [1]
Christianity is the largest religion in Madagascar , with Protestantism and Catholicism being its main denominations.
Madagascar is a secular state, and the nation's constitution provides for freedom of religious thought and expression and prohibits religious discrimination. [2]
According to the Pew Research Center in 2020, 85% of the population practiced Christianity, while just 4.5% of Malagasys practiced folk religions; among Christians, practitioners of Protestantism outnumbered adherents of Roman Catholicism. [3] According to the Association of Religion Data Archives, 58.1% of the population is Christian, 2.1% is Muslim, 39.2% practices traditional faiths, while 0.6% of the population is non-religious or adheres to other faiths as of 2020. [4]
The constitution of Madagascar provides for the freedoms of religious thought and expression and prohibits religious discrimination in the workplace. Other laws protect individual religious freedom against abuses by government or private actors. [5]
Members of the Muslim community and adherents of some evangelical Protestant churches have reported that they have been denied admission into private schools and sometimes had limited access to employment due to their religious affiliation. [5] Muslim community leaders have also criticized Madagascar's naturalization process as disproportionately barring Muslims from citizenship. [5]
The government's inconsistent enforcement of labor laws, particularly the provision that workers are entitled to at least one 24-hour break from work per week, has led to workers sometimes being forced to miss religious services. [5]
In April 2017 the minister of education threatened to close 16 Islamic schools he classified as “Quranic,” stating the schools were among 190 private schools identified as not complying with various administrative requirements. [5] Representatives of the Muslim community criticized this declaration as Islamophobic. [5]
Protestantism and Catholicism are the main Christian denominations in the country. The Malagasy Council of Churches comprises the four oldest and most prominent Christian denominations (Catholic, Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar, Lutheran, and Anglican) and has been an influential force in Malagasy politics. [6] In the disputed 2001 presidential elections, the council rallied behind Protestant candidate Ravalomanana, whose electoral slogan was "Don't be afraid, only believe." [7]
The Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar, a Reformed Protestant church, had 2.5 million adherents in 2004; [8] former President Marc Ravalomanana served as its vice-president. [9]
There were 21 Catholic dioceses in Madagascar in 2013, including five archdioceses. [10]
Islam has been well established in what is now known as Madagascar for centuries and today Muslims represent 2 to 5 percent of the total population. [11] [12] [13] [14] The vast majority of Muslims in Madagascar practice Sunni Islam of the Shafi school of jurisprudence, [15] with sizeable Shia and Ahmadiyya communities.
Hinduism in Madagascar began with the arrival of primarily Gujarati immigrants from the Saurashtra region of India as far back as 1870. [16]
Christianity is the largest religion in Belgium, with the Catholic Church representing the largest community, though it has experienced a significant decline since the 1950s. Belgium's policy separates the state from the churches, and freedom of religion of the citizens is guaranteed by the country's constitution.
Religion in Egypt controls many aspects of social life and is endorsed by law. The state religion of Egypt is Islam, although estimates vary greatly in the absence of official statistics. Since the 2006 census, religion has been excluded, and thus available statistics are estimates made by religious and non-governmental agencies. The country is majority Sunni Muslim, with the next largest religious group being Coptic Orthodox Christians. The exact numbers are subject to controversy, with Christians alleging that they have been systemically under-counted in existing censuses.
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.
Christianity is the largest religion in Luxembourg, with significant minorities of non-religious people and adherents of other faiths.
Christianity is a minority religion in Yemen. The Yemeni constitution mentions religious liberty. There are three churches in Aden.
Christianity is the largest religion in Uruguay, with Catholics having the most adherents, but around 44.5% of the population is non-religious as of 2021. Church and state are officially separated since 1916.
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.
Christianity is the largest religion in Tanzania, with a substantial Muslim minority. Smaller populations of Animists, practitioners of other faiths, and religiously unaffiliated people are also present.
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.
Religion in Eritrea consists of a number of faiths. The two major religions in Eritrea are Christianity and Islam. However, the number of adherents of each faith is subject to debate. Estimates of the Christian share of the population range from 47% and 63%, while estimates of the Muslim share of the population range from 37% to 52%.
According to the 2012 census, Islam is the most followed religion in Niger and is practiced by 99% of the population. According to Pew, roughly 80% of Muslims are Sunni of Maliki school of jurisprudence, whilst 20% are non-denominational Muslims Other religions practiced in Niger include Animism and Christianity.
Christianity is the largest religion in Mozambique, with substantial minorities of the adherents of traditional faiths and Islam.
Christianity is the majority religion in Cameroon, with significant minorities of the adherents of Islam and traditional faiths.
Christianity is the largest religion in Nauru, with Nauru Congregational Church being the largest denomination, encompassing 35.71% of the population as of the 2011 census.
Religion in the Bahamas is dominated by various Christian denominations and reflects the country's diversity.
Christianity is the predominant religion in Central African Republic, with significant minorities of the adherents of Islam and Traditional African religions.
Religion in Slovakia is predominantly Christianity, adhered to by about 68.8% of the population in 2021.
Christian population growth is the population growth of the global Christian community. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were more than 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, more than three times as many as the 600 million recorded in 1910. However, this rate of growth is slower than the overall population growth over the same time period. In 2020, Pew estimated the number of Christians worldwide to be around 2.38 billion. According to various scholars and sources, high birth rates and conversions in the Global South were cited as the reasons for the Christian population growth. In 2023, it was reported: "There will be over 2.6 billion Christians worldwide by the middle of 2023 and around 3.3 billion by 2050, according to a report published in early January by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary."
Christianity is the most widely professed religion in South Sudan, with significant minorities of the adherents of traditional faiths and Islam.
Christianity in Madagascar is practiced by 85.3% of Madagascar's population according to the Pew Research Center in 2020. However, other surveys put the figure at 58%. Malagasy Christianity is generally practised in syncretic form with traditional religious practices.
