Christianity is the majority religion in Seychelles , with Roman Catholicism being its largest denomination. [1]
The country is officially secular and its constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and religious practice.
According to the most recent census of 2022, the majority of the population follows Christianity. Most of the Christian were Roman Catholics (61.3%). About 5% are Anglican Christians and 8.6 % follows other sects of Christianity, [1] like Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, Assemblies of God, the Pentecostal Church, Nazarites, Greek Orthodox, [2] and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Hinduism is the largest non-christian faith in Seychelles followed by 5.4% of its population. [1] Hinduism is followed mostly by the Indo-Seychellois community.
Islam is followed by 2.4% of the population. [1] There is also a small number of followers of Rastafarians, Baha’is and Brahma Kumaris. [3]
The initial settlers in Seychelles were Roman Catholics, and the country has remained so, despite ineffective British efforts to establish Protestantism in the islands during the nineteenth century. [4] The nation has been a bishopric since 1890, and mission schools had a virtual monopoly on education until the government took over such schools in 1944. [4] Sunday masses are well attended, and religious holidays are celebrated throughout the nation both as opportunities for the devout to practise their faith and as social events. [4] Practising Catholicism, like speaking French, historically conferred a certain status by associating its adherents with the settlers from France. [4]
Most Anglicans are descendants of families converted by missionaries in the late 19th and early 20th century. [4] Evangelical Protestant churches are active and growing, among them Pentecostals and Seventh-day Adventists. [4] A Hindu temple [5] and mosque exist on Mahé. [6] Some tax exemptions are granted to groups which are registered with the Finance Ministry. [3]
Although the clergy and the civil authorities disapprove, many Seychellois see little inconsistency between their orthodox religious observance and belief in magic, witchcraft, and sorcery. [4] It is not uncommon to consult a local seer - known as a bonom di bwa - for fortune-telling or to obtain protective amulets or charms, called gri-gri, to bring harm to enemies. [4]
Christianity is the most widely professed religion in Argentina, with Roman Catholicism being its largest denomination. This historical background is very much due to the Spanish influence brought about through the newly conquered territories. However, affiliation with Protestant churches is increasing and immigration throughout the 20th century has brought other religions from various regions to Argentina.
Religion in the United Kingdom is mainly expressed in Christianity, which dominated the land since the 7th century. Results of the 2021 Census for England and Wales showed that Christianity is the largest religion, followed by the non-religious, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Among Christians, Anglicanism is the most common denomination, followed by Catholicism, Presbyterianism, Methodism, Unitarianism, and Baptism. Results for the 2022 census in Scotland showed that 38.8% of the Scottish population identified as Christian, with 20.4% stating that the Church of Scotland is their main religion, whilst 13.3% stated their main religion was the catholic church in Scotland.
Religion in Trinidad and Tobago, which is a multi-religious country, is classifiable as follows:
Jordan contains one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, their presence dating back to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ early in the 1st century AD. Christians today make up about 3% of the population. Jordanian Christians in a country of almost 10 million are thought to number 250,000-400,000, down from 20% in 1930, but their absolute numbers have increased. This is the result of high immigration rate of Muslims into Jordan, high emigration rates of Christians, and high birth rates for Muslims.
Christianity is the dominant religion in Belize. The single largest denomination is the Catholic Church with about 40.1% of the population, a reduction from 49.6% of the population in 2000, 57.7% in 1991 and 61.9% in 1980, although absolute numbers have still risen. Other major groups include Pentecostal with 8.4% of the population up from 7.4% in 2000 and 6.3% in 1991, Seventh-day Adventists with 5.4% of the population up from 5.2% in 2000 and 4.1% in 1991. The following of the Anglican Church has been steadily declining, with only 4.7% of the population in 2010 compared to 6.95% in 1991. About 12,000 Mennonites live mostly in the rural districts of Cayo and Orange Walk. People who declared they belong to no religion make up 15.5% of the population in 2010, more than double their 2000 census numbers. 11.2% adhere to other religions which include the Maya religion, Afro-Caribbean religions, Mormons, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Baháʼís, Rastafarians and others.
Religion in Greece is dominated by Christianity, in particular the Greek Orthodox Church, which is within the larger communion of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It represented 90% of the total population in 2015 and is constitutionally recognized as the "prevailing religion" of Greece. Religions with smaller numbers of followers include Islam, Western Catholicism, Greek Catholicism, Judaism, Evangelicalism, Hellenic paganism, and Jehovah's Witnesses. A small number of Greek atheists exist, not self-identifying as religious.
Christianity is the dominant religion in Kenya, adhered to by an estimated 85.5% of the total population. Islam is the second largest religion in Kenya, practiced by 10.9 percent of Kenyans. Other faiths practiced in Kenya are Baháʼí, Buddhism, Hinduism and traditional religions.
Religion in Colombia is dominated by various branches of Christianity and is an expression of the different influences in the Colombian culture including the Spanish, the Native Amerindian and the Afro-Colombian, among others.
Panama is a predominantly Catholic country.
Religion in South America has been a major influence on art, culture, philosophy and law and changed greatly in recent years. Roman Catholicism has rapidly declined. Most of this is due to the growth of Protestantism, particularly evangelical Christians. A smaller number of South Americans are also beginning to identify as irreligious. Sizeable adherents of other religions are also present, including of various indigenous religions.
According to various polls, the majority of Kazakhstan's citizens, primarily ethnic Kazakhs, identify as Sunni Muslims.
Religion in Guyana is dominated by various branches of Christianity, with significant minorities of the adherents of Hinduism and Islam.
Christianity is the predominant religion in Paraguay, with Catholicism being its largest denomination. Before the arrival of Spanish missionaries, the people residing in the territory of modern day Paraguay practiced a variety of religions.
Christianity is the dominant religioninPalau, practiced by around 72.8% of the total population, according to the 2022 census. Freedom of religion is enshrined in Palau's constitution.
In the Czech Republic, 47.8% of population is irreligious, while 21.3% of the population are believers. The religious identity of the country has changed drastically since the first half of the 20th century, when more than 90% of Czechs were Christians. As of 2021, 11.7% of the population identified with Christianity ; 10.8% identified with other religious identities or beliefs. According to sociologist Jan Spousta, not all the irreligious people are atheists; indeed, since the late 20th century there has been an increasing distancing from both Christian dogmatism and atheism, and at the same time ideas and non-institutional models similar to those of Eastern religions have become widespread through movements started by various gurus, and hermetic and mystical paths.
Religion in the Bahamas is dominated by various Christian denominations and reflects the country's diversity.
The most common religion in Dominica is Christianity, with a majority of practitioners identifying as Catholic. Various minority religious groups are also present on the island.
According to the 2011 census, Christianity was adhered to by 31.7% of the population of Mauritius; 80.3% of these were Roman Catholics.
Mauritius is a religiously diverse nation, with Hinduism being the most widely professed faith. According to the 2022 census conducted by Statistics Mauritius, 47.87% of the Mauritian population follows Hinduism, followed by Christianity (32.29%), out of which 24.94% are Catholic, Islam (18.24%) out of which 1.21% are Bangladeshi nationals and other religions (0.86%). 0.63% reported themselves as non-religious and 0.11% did not answer.
Database (WCD) 2010 and International Religious Freedom Report for 2012 of the U.S. Department of State. The article Religions by country has a sortable table from the Pew Forum report.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)  | This Seychelles-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
