Religion in Uganda

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Religion in Uganda consists of several different religions, helping to accentuate regional and ethnic distinctions.

The National Census of October 2002 resulted in the clearest and most detailed information yet gathered on the religious composition of Uganda.

Contents 1 History 2 Indigenous beliefs 3 Christianity 4 Islam 5 Judaism 6 Hinduism 7 Bahá'í 8 References 9 See also

[edit] History

Muslim traders and Christian missionaries first arrived in the 1860s, attempting to convert the Bugandan king.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Indigenous beliefs

Only 1% of Uganda's population follow traditional religions.

[edit] Christianity

Main article: Roman Catholicism in Uganda

According to the National Census of October 2002, Christians of all denominations made up 85.1% of Uganda's population. The Catholic Church has the largest number of adherents (41.9%), followed by the Anglican Church of Uganda, a part of the worldwide Anglican communion (35.9%). Minor Christian groups include Pentecostals (4.6%) and Seventh-Day Adventists (1.5%), while 1.0% were grouped under the category "Other Christians".

[edit] Islam

Main article: Islam in Uganda

The second most popular religion of Uganda is Islam, with Muslims representing 12.1% of the population, according to the Census. The CIA Factbook estimate for the number of Muslims is 16%. While Muslims today appear to be experiencing some degree of discrimination, they were in the seventies the most favoured group under the rule of President Idi Amin, himself a Muslim, under whose government the number of Muslims had significantly grown.^[1]

[edit] Judaism

Main article: Judaism in Uganda

Judaism is also practiced in Uganda by a small number of native Ugandans known to most people as the Abayudaya. However, their population, estimated at 750 is insignificant and many Ugandans are not aware of this Jewish presence. Initially numbering as many as 3,000 individuals, the community drastically shrunk in size to 300 when Idi Amin came to power and outlawed Judaism, destroying all the synagogues in the country. Since then, the community has established links to Jews worldwide and has grown in size and strength. They operate several schools which enroll Muslim, Jewish and Christian students.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Hinduism

Main article: Hinduism in Uganda

Only 0.7% of Uganda's population are classified as 'Other Non-Christians,' including Hindus.

[edit] Bahá'í

One of only seven Bahá'í Houses of Worship, known as Mother Temple of Africa, is located on the outskirts of Kampala.

[edit] References

1. ^ As it is with many African nations, religious population statistics vary widely depending on the source. For example, more than a million Muslims were estimated to have lived in Uganda in 1998 according to Islamic Web and 9.42 in 2005 according to Islamic Population, while Wikipedia's Islam in Africa estimates that only 15% of the country is Muslim. The 2004 national census estimated that Muslims represented 12.1% of the population.

[edit] See also

• Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God
• Church of Uganda
• Jews and Judaism in Africa