Religion in Cameroon - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

and Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

are the two main religions in Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

. Christian churches and Muslim centres of various denominations operate freely throughout Cameroon

Cameroon

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

. Approximately 70 percent of the population is at least nominally Christian, 21 percent is nominally Muslim and 6 percent practise traditional indigenous religious

African Traditional Religion

The traditional religions indigenous to Africa have, for most of their existence, been orally rather than scripturally transmitted. They are generally associated with animism. Most have ethno-based creations stories...

beliefs. Groups that constitute less than 5 percent of the population include Orthodox Jews, the Bahai Faith, and persons who do not associate themselves with any particular religious movement. The Christian population is divided between Roman Catholics (38.4 percent of the total population), Protestants (26.3 percent), and other Christian denominations (including Jehovah's Witnesses) (4 percent). Christians and Muslims are found in every region, although Christians are concentrated chiefly in the southern and western provinces. There is significant internal migration. Large cities have significant populations of both groups, with churches and mosque

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

s often located near each other.

The two Anglophone

English-speaking world

The English-speaking world consists of those countries or regions that use the English language to one degree or another. For more information, please see:Lists:* List of countries by English-speaking population...

provinces of the western region largely are Protestant and the Francophone

Francophone

The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....

provinces of the southern and western regions are largely Catholic. In the northern provinces, the locally dominant Fulani ethnic group is mostly Muslim, but the overall population is fairly evenly mixed between Muslims, Christians, and animists, each often living in its own community. The Bamoun ethnic group of the West Province is largely Muslim. Traditional indigenous religious beliefs are practised in rural areas throughout the country but rarely are practised publicly in cities, in part because many indigenous religious groups are intrinsically local in character.

There are 40,000 adherents of the Bahá'í Faith

Bahá'í Faith

The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....

in the country. By 2001 the Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly was registered with the Government of Cameroon as one of the few non-Christian religions. There is a tiny population of Jews in Cameroon who have established ties with the wider global Jewish community. A community of approximately 50 people practice some form of Judaism in the country today http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/11/keeping_the_faith_in_cameroon.html. The Constitution provides for freedom of religion in Cameroon

Freedom of religion in Cameroon

The Constitution of Cameroon provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respected this right in practice. Government policy contributes to the generally free practice of religion. There were no reports of societal abuses and discrimination based on religious belief or practice...

, and the government generally respects this right in practice. The country is generally characterized by a high degree of religious tolerance.

See also