Religion in Uganda consists of several different religions. The National Census of October 2002 resulted in the clearest and most detailed information yet gathered on the religious composition of Uganda. Uganda is a very wealthy country which brings different people, this brought marriage and religious changes.
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History
Muslim traders and Christian missionaries first arrived in the 1860s, attempting to convert the Ugandan king.[citation needed]
Indigenous beliefs
Only 1% of Uganda's population follow traditional religions. More than 50% of Uganda is Christian.
Secular
Currently small in number.
Christianity
According to the National Census of October 2002, Christians of all denominations made up 85.1% of Uganda's population.[1] The Catholic Church has the largest number of adherents (41.9% of the total population), followed by the Anglican Church of Uganda, a part of the worldwide Anglican communion (35.9%). Other Christian groups include Pentecostals (4.6%), the New Apostolic Church, and Seventh-Day Adventists (1.5%), while 1.0% were grouped under the category "Other Christians".[1]
Islam
According to the National Census 2002 12.1% of Ugandans adhere to Islam.[1] 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.[citation needed]
Judaism
Judaism is also practiced in Uganda by a small number of native Ugandans known to most people as the Abayudaya. However, due to their small population size, estimated as of 2009 at 1,100, 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]
Besides the Abayudaya there are an estimated 100 (un-organized) expatriate Jews of Israeli, South African and American origin residing in Uganda, mainly in Kampala.
Hinduism
Only 0.7% of Uganda's population are classified as 'Other Non-Christians,' including Hindus.
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith in Uganda started to grow in 1951 and in four years time there were 500 Bahá'ís in 80 localities, including 13 Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies, representing 30 tribes, and had dispatched 9 pioneers to other African locations.[2] Following the reign of Idi Amin when the Bahá'í Faith was banned and the murder of Bahá'í Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga and his family,[3] the community continues to grow though estimates of the population range widely from 19,000 to 105,000 and the community's involvements have included diverse efforts to promote the welfare of the Ugandan people. One of only seven Bahá'í Houses of Worship, known as Mother Temple of Africa, is located on the outskirts of Kampala.
References
- ^ a b c "2002 Uganda Population and Housing Census - Main Report" (PDF). Uganda Bureau of Statistics. http://www.ubos.org/onlinefiles/uploads/ubos/pdf%20documents/2002%20Census%20Final%20Reportdoc.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
- ^ Hassall, Graham (2003-08-26). "References to Africa in the Bahá'í Writings". Asian/Pacific Collection. Asia Pacific Bahá'í Studies. http://bahai-library.com/file.php5?file=hassall_africa_bahai_writings&language=. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ^ Francis, N. Richard (1998), "Enoch Olinga -Hand of the Cause of God, Father of Victories", Bahá'í Faith Website of Reno, Nevada, http://bahai-library.com/index.php5?file=francis_olinga_biography
See also
- Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God
- Church of Uganda
- Jews and Judaism in Africa
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