Religion in Uganda
Encyclopedia
| Affiliation | 1991 census | 2002 census |
|---|---|---|
| Christian Christianity Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings... |
85.4% | 85.2% |
| Catholic Catholic The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"... |
44.5% | 41.9% |
| Church of Uganda Church of Uganda The Church of the Province of Uganda is a member church of the Anglican Communion. Currently there are 34 dioceses which make up the Church of Uganda, each headed by a bishop.... (Anglican) |
39.2% | 35.9% |
| Pentecostal | -The 1991 census did not have separate categories for "None" and "Pentecostal" so the 1991 category of "Other Christian" includes "Pentecostal" and the 1991 category "Other non-Christian" includes "Bahai" and "None". | 4.6% |
| Seventh-day Adventist | 1.1% | 1.5% |
| Orthodox Christian | <0.1% | 0.1% |
| Other Christian Christian A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament... |
0.6% | 1.2%If Pentecostals are merged in to allow better comparison with the 1991 figure for "Other Christians", it is 5.8%. |
| Muslim Islam Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~... |
10.5% | 12.1% |
| Traditional | - | 1.0% |
| Baha'i | - | 0.1% |
| None | - | 0.9% |
| Other non-Christian | 4.0% | 0.7%If Bahai and None are merged in to allow better comparison with the 1991 figure for "Other non-Christians", it is 1.7% |
| Notes |
||
Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
is a predominantly Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
country with a significant
(about 12%) Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
minority. The Northern and West Nile regions are dominated by Roman Catholics and Iganga District
Iganga District
Iganga District is a district in Eastern Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Iganga, where the district headquarters are located.-Location:...
in the east of the country has the highest percentage of Muslims. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Uganda Constitution but religions are expected to be registered with the government and some religions considered cults are restricted. The Catholic Church, the Church of Uganda, Orthodox Church, and the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) are registered under the Trustees Incorporation Act and most other religious groups are registered yearly as Non-Government Organizations.
Good Friday
Good Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
, Easter Monday
Easter Monday
Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and is celebrated as a holiday in some largely Christian cultures, especially Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cultures...
, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, and Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
are recognized national holidays.
The National Census of October 2002
resulted in the clearest and most detailed information yet gathered on
the religious composition of Uganda.
History
MuslimIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
traders and Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
missionaries first arrived in the 1860s, attempting to convert the Ugandan king.
Christianity
Smaller Christian bodies
Jehovah's WitnessesJehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
have a presence in Uganda and are working in a total of ten languages, including Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
and Luganda. Followers of William M. Branham
William M. Branham
William Marrion Branham was a Christian minister, usually credited with founding the post World War II faith healing movement...
and Branhamism
Branhamism
Branhamism refers to the distinctive doctrines of William M. Branham , an American faith healer and preacher of the mid-twentieth century. The term is generally disliked by adherents, who typically refer to themselves as "Message Believers" or simply "Christians", and to Branham's teachings as The...
claim numbers in the tens of thousands, thanks in large part to translation and distribution efforts by Voice of God Recordings.
Mormonism
Mormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...
has grown slowly in Uganda. The first Ugandan to join the church was Charles Osinde, who was baptized in Scotland and returned to his homeland. The first small congregation was organized in Kampala, and by the beginning of 2010 the church had 7,000 members. The LDS Church has assisted in humanitarian efforts in Uganda for victims of fighting between political factions. The first LDS chapel was built in Kololo
Kololo
-Location:Kololo is close to the centre of Kampala, bordered by Naguru to the east, Bukoto to the north, Mulago to the northwest, Makerere to the west, Nakasero to the southwest and Kibuli to the south.-Overview:...
, and the first stake was organized in January 2010. The church's missionary efforts are based in Nakawa
Nakawa
Nakawa is an area in the city of Kampala, Uganda's capital. It is also the location of the headquarters of Nakawa Division, one of the five administrative divisions of Kampala.-Location:Nakawa is located on the eastern edge of the city of Kampala...
.
The New Apostolic Church
New Apostolic Church
The New Apostolic Church is a chiliastic church, converted to Protestantism as a free church from the Catholic Apostolic Church. The church has existed since 1879 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands...
and Seventh-Day Adventists
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
both have substantial followings.
The Society of Friends has two yearly meeting
Yearly Meeting
Yearly Meeting is a term used by members of the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, to refer to an organization composed of a collection of smaller, more frequent constituent meetings within a geographical area. These constituent meetings go by various names such as Quarterly Meetings, which...
s, Uganda Yearly Meeting, part of Friends United Meeting
Friends United Meeting
Friends United Meeting is an association of twenty-six yearly meetings of the Religious Society of Friends in North America, Africa, and the Caribbean. In addition there are several individual Monthly meetings and organizations that are members of FUM...
and Evangelical Friends Church
Evangelical Friends International
Evangelical Friends Church International is a branch of Quaker yearly meetings around the world that profess evangelical Christian beliefs.- History :...
and about 3,000 members between the two in 2001.
Islam
Indigenous beliefs
About 1% of Uganda's population follow traditional religionsAfrican 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...
only; however, more practice traditional religious practices along with other religions such as Christianity or Islam. One survey in 2010 showed that about 27% of Ugandans believe that sacrifices to ancestors or spirits can protect them from harm.
None
Only 0.9% of Ugandans claim no religion. The Uganda Humanist Association (UHASSO) is a member of the International Humanist and Ethical UnionInternational Humanist and Ethical Union
The International Humanist and Ethical Union is an umbrella organisation embracing humanist, atheist, rationalist, secular, skeptic, freethought and Ethical Culture organisations worldwide. Founded in Amsterdam in 1952, the IHEU is a democratic union of more than 100 member organizations in 40...
and has been registered since 1996.
Hinduism
Only 0.7% of Uganda's population are classified as 'OtherNon-Christians,' including Hindus. The numbers were probably
larger before the expulsion of most Ugandans of Asian descent in
1972 (see Expulsion of Asians from Uganda).
Judaism
JudaismJudaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
is also practiced in Uganda by a small number of native Ugandans known to most people as the Abayudaya
Abayudaya
The Abayudaya are a Baganda community in eastern Uganda near the town of Mbale who practice Judaism. Although they are not genetically or historically related to other ethnic Jews, they are devout in their practice of the religion, keeping their version of kashrut, and observing Shabbat...
. However, due to their small population size, estimated as of 2009 at 1,100, many Ugandans are not aware of this Jewish presence. Formerly numbering as many as 3,000 individuals, the community drastically shrank in size to 300 when Idi Amin
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...
came to power and outlawed Judaism, destroying all the synagogues in the country. Since then, the community has grown in size and strength, constructing five synagogues in various communities and establishing links to Jews worldwide. They operate several schools which enroll Muslim, Jewish and Christian students.
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.
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 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
Pioneering (Bahá'í)
A pioneer is a volunteer Bahá'í who leaves his or her home to journey to another place for the purpose of teaching the Bahá'í Faith. The act of so moving is termed pioneering. Bahá'ís refrain from using the term "missionary"...
to other African locations. Following the reign of Idi Amin
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...
when the Bahá'í Faith was banned and the murder of Bahá'í Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga
Enoch Olinga
Enoch Olinga was born to an Anglican family of the Iteso ethnic group in Uganda. He became a Bahá'í, earned the title Knight of Bahá'u'lláh and was appointed as the youngest Hand of the Cause, the highest appointed position in the religion. He served the interests of the religion widely and...
and his family, 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
Bahá'í House of Worship
A Bahá'í House of Worship, sometimes referred to by its Arabic name of Mashriqu'l-Adhkár ,is the designation of a place of worship, or temple, of the Bahá'í Faith...
, known as Mother Temple of Africa, is located on the outskirts of Kampala
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
.
See also
- Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of GodMovement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of GodThe Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God was a breakaway religious movement from the Roman Catholic Church founded by Credonia Mwerinde, Joseph Kibweteere and Bee Tait in Uganda. It was formed in the late 1980s after Mwerinde, a brewer of banana beer, and Kibweteere, a...
- Holy Spirit MovementHoly Spirit MovementThe Holy Spirit Movement was the Ugandan rebel group led by Alice Auma, a spirit-medium who claimed to receive direction from the spirit Lakwena. Alice, an ethnic Acholi, was purportedly directed to form the HSM by Lakwena in August 1986...
- Church of UgandaChurch of UgandaThe Church of the Province of Uganda is a member church of the Anglican Communion. Currently there are 34 dioceses which make up the Church of Uganda, each headed by a bishop....
- Jews and Judaism in Africa