Religion in Ethiopia

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Religion in Ethiopia (2016 estimate)[1]

  
Traditional faiths
(0.6%)
  Other / None (0.8%)
Holy Trinity Ethiopian Orthodox Cathedral in Addis Ababa. Ethiopia was one of the first regions in the world to adopt Christianity.

Religion in Ethiopia consists of a number of faiths. Among these mainly

traditional faiths
.

According to the national census conducted in 2007, over 32 million people or 43.5% were reported to be

Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, over 25 million or 33.9% were reported to be Muslim, 13.7 million, or 18.6%, were P'ent'ay Christians, and just under two million or 2.6% adhered to traditional beliefs.[2]
Neither in the 2007 census, nor in the 1994 census, were responses reported in further detail: for example, those who identified themselves as Hindus, Jewish, Baháʼí, agnostics or atheists were counted as "Other".

The Kingdom of Aksum in present-day Ethiopia and Eritrea was one of the first Christian countries in the world, having officially adopted Christianity as the state religion in the 4th century.[3] The Ethiopian Empire was the only region of Africa to survive the expansion of Islam as a Christian state.[4]

History

Geography

In general, most of the

African religions
in Ethiopia operate mainly in the far southwest and western borderlands.

Abrahamic religions

A mosque in Jimma.
A church in Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia has close historical ties to all three of the world's major

Rastafari religious movement.[citation needed
]

Christianity

Main article: Christianity in Ethiopia
The Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, rumored to hold the original Ark of the Covenant

Ethiopia is one of the oldest Christian states in the world. The

St. Matthew is said to have died in Ethiopia.[5]

The rock-hewn Church of Saint George in Lalibela is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In 2016, the government stated that 67% of the country is Christian (44% of the population belonging to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church).[6]

According to the government's 1994 census (which the

Protestant denominations (such as P'ent'ay and the Lutheran Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus), and Roman Catholics constituted 0.9% of the population).[7]

Orthodox Ethiopian Christians are predominant in the

Catholics at 0.7%.[2] A 2015 study estimates some 400,000 Christian believers from a Muslim background in the country, most of them belonging to some form of Protestantism.[8]

A leather painting depicting Ethiopian Orthodox priests playing sistra and a drum.

The

uniate) Ethiopian Catholic Church in full communion with Rome, with adherents making up less than 1% of the total population.[2]

The name "Ethiopia" (Hebrew Kush) is mentioned in the Bible numerous times (thirty-seven times in the

Qur'an and Hadith. While many Ethiopians claim that the Bible references of Kush apply to their own ancient civilization, pointing out that the Gihon river, a name for the Nile, is said to flow through the land, some scholars believe that the use of the term referred to the Kingdom of Kush in particular, or Africa outside of Egypt in general. The modern name Ethiopia is from the Greek term Aethiopia used to translate Kush, and was applied to all of Sub-Saharan Africa, including what is now Sudan, but with a few classical geographers giving more detailed descriptions of present-day Ethiopia and Eritrea (e.g. Adulis) as well.[citation needed
]

Islam

Main article: Islam in Ethiopia
A mosque in Mekelle.

non-Arab companions of Muhammad belonged to Ethiopian ethnic groups.[citation needed
]

According to the most recent 2007

CSA governmental data, Muslims are 33.9% of the population,[2] up from 32.8% in 1994 (according to the census data of that year).[7][13]
Before the publication of the 2007 census results, however, the U.S. State Department estimated that "approximately 31% of the population is Sunni Muslim."
Oromia (47.5%) Regions.[2] Haile Selassie's government reportedly concealed the actual figures of the Muslim population in order to present Ethiopia as a Christian nation to the outside world.[16] The writers of Ethiopia: a country study claimed that Islam made up 50% of the total population in 1991 based on the 1984 census commissioned by the Derg regime.[16] Some web columnist even say the Muslim population are the majority and disagree with the current Ethiopian governments claims.[17]

Judaism

Main article: Beta Israel
Areas inhabited by the Beta Israel before their mass aliyah.

The

African Jews who have lived in Ethiopia since antiquity. Their existence was not widely known to the outside world for many years, and they likewise were not aware of other Jewish groups outside of their own community.[18] They became known to the West during the 19th and 20th centuries, and were accepted as Jews by the Israeli government in 1975. After this, Operation Moses and Operation Solomon, conducted in 1984 and 1991, respectively, airlifted the vast majority of the Ethiopian Jewish population to Israel, where there is currently a population of 150,000 Beta Israel. A small Jewish community still exists in Ethiopia, although it is mostly composed of Falash Mura
, Ethiopian Jews who converted to Christianity in the past, and as such have not been recognized as Jews by the State of Israel, but have returned to Judaism (the Falash Mura now number some 22,000).

Baháʼí Faith

Main article: Baháʼí Faith in Ethiopia

The

`Abdu'l-Bahá wrote letters encouraging taking the religion to Africa in 1916.[19] Mr. Sabri Elais, then a 27-year-old Bahá'í from Alexandria, Egypt, introduced the Baháʼí Faith to Ethiopia in 1933.[20] A year later, in November 1934, the first Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly in the country was formed in Addis Ababa.[21] In 1962, Ethiopia Baháʼís elected a National Spiritual Assembly.[22] By 1963, there were seven localities with smaller groups of Baháʼís in the country.[23] The Association of Religion Data Archives estimated that there were around 23,000 Baháʼí adherents in 2010.[24] The Ethiopian community celebrated its diamond jubile in January 2009.[25] As of 2016 the largest Baháʼí community is in Addis Ababa.[26]
A number of towns (such as Awassa, Nazareth, Mekele, Succano and Shashemenie) and rural areas in Oromia and the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNPR) have active and growing Baháʼí communities.[citation needed]

Traditional faiths

See also: Waaq

An estimated 2.6% of Ethiopia's population adheres to various

traditional faiths, according to the 2007 census (down from 4.6% in the 1994 census data). The largest numbers of practitioners of traditional religions are in the SNNPR (about 993,000 people) and Oromia (895,000).[2]

Views on the emperors

Ethiopia is the spiritual homeland of the

Mary, but also to Ethiopia as a bastion of Christianity surrounded by Muslims and other religions, much like Mount Zion in the Bible.[citation needed] It is also used to refer to Axum, the ancient capital and religious centre of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, or to its primary church, called Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion.[27][full citation needed
]

Freedom of religion

In 2023, the country was scored 1 out of 4 for religious freedom. Local conflicts have included violence along religious lines.[28]

In the same year, it was ranked as the 39th worst country in the world to be a Christian.[29]

Religious politics and tensions

Barnabas Fund, 55 churches were torched in March 2011 in the Jimma Zone by Muslims after a dispute. In December 2019 several mosques and Muslim owned businesses were attacked in the Christian dominated Amhara Region.[35]

Human rights groups have regularly accused the government of arresting activists, journalists and bloggers to stamp out dissent among some religious communities. Lengthy prison terms were handed to 17 Muslim activists on 3 August 2015 ranging from 7 to 22 years. They were charged with trying to create an Islamic state in the majority Christian country. All the defendants denied the charges and claimed that they were merely protesting in defence of their rights.[36][37][38]

Orthodox Christian–Muslim relations

In the

Sultanate of Showa in his struggle against the Zagwe dynasty.[41] Yekuno Amlak paid back this favor when the Sultan of Shewa appealed to him to put down an insurrection in Showa.[42]

These friendly and collaborative relations between Muslim and Christian states would soon deteriorate in the following centuries. In the early fourteenth century Emperor

Ahmed Gran against Ethiopia, where several churches were demolished.[45] In the nineteenth century during the reign of emperors Tewodros II, Yohannes IV and Menelik II, numerous Muslims were forced to convert to Christianity or displaced from their homelands. Muslims were furthermore treated as second class citizens and restrictions were put in place on how they could practice their religion.[46] A Muslim separatist movement called the "Islamic State of Afaria" was noted as seeking a sharia-compliant constitution in 1990.[47]

Adherents

Year Christians
Ethiopian Orthodox
 		Protestants Catholics Muslims
Traditional faiths
 		Other
1994 61.6% 50.6% 10.1% 0.9% 32.8% 4.6% 1.0%
2007 62.8% 43.5% 18.6% 0.7% 33.9% 2.6% 0.7%
Growth 1.2% -7.1% 8.5% -0.2% 1.1% -2.0% -0.3%
Year Christians
Ethiopian Orthodox
 		Protestants Catholics Muslims
Traditional faiths
 		Other
1994 32,689,482 26,844,932 5,366,360 478,190 17,406,087 2,444,085 531,323
2007 46,420,822 32,154,550 13,748,842 517,430 25,058,373 1,921,881 517,430
Growth 13,731,340 5,309,618 8,382,482 39,240 7,652,286 -522,204 -13,893
1994 2007 1994 2007 1994 2007 1994 2007 1994 2007 1994 2007 1994 2007
Region Christians
Ethiopian Orthodox
 		Protestants Catholics Muslims
Traditional faiths
 		Other
Addis Ababa 86.65% 83.0% 82.0% 74.7% 3.9% 7.8% 0.8% 0.5% 12.7% 16.2% 0.8%
Afar 4.4% 4.7% 3.9% 3.9% 0.4% 0.7% 0.1% 0.1% 95.6% 95.3%
Amhara 81.6% 82.7% 81.5% 82.5% 0.1% 0.2% 18.1% 17.2% 0.1%
Benishangul-Gumuz 40.6% 46.5% 34.8% 33.0% 5.8% 13.5% 44.1% 45.4% 13.1% 7.1%
Dire Dawa 36.7% 28.8% 34.5% 25.7% 1.5% 2.8% 0.7% 0.4% 63.2% 70.9% 0.1% 0.3%
Gambela 71.35% 90.2% 24.1% 16.8% 44.0% 70.0% 3.2% 3.4% 5.15% 4.9% 10.3% 3.8% 1.1%
Harari 39.49% 30.8% 38.1% 27.1% 0.9% 3.4% 0.5% 0.3% 60.3% 69.0% 0.2%
Oromia
 49.9% 48.2% 41.3% 30.5% 8.6% 17.7% 44.3% 47.5% 4.2% 3.3% 1.1%
Somali 0.9% 0.5% 0.9% 0.6% 98.7% 98.4% 0.3% 1.0%
SNNPR
 65.4% 77.8% 27.6% 19.9% 34.8% 55.5% 3.0% 2.4% 16.7% 14.1% 15.4% 6.6% 1.5%
Tigray 95.9% 96.1% 95.5% 95.6% 0.1% 0.4% 0.4% 4.1% 4.0%

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "CIA - The World Factbook - Ethiopia". Cia.gov. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 2007 Ethiopian census, first draft, Ethiopian Central Statistical Agency (accessed 6 May 2009)
  3. ISBN 0-7486-0106-6
  4. ^ "History of Ethiopia". historyworld.net.
  5. ^ "Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Matthew".
  6. ^ a b US State Dept 2022 report
  7. ^ a b "Population and Housing Census of 1994: Religion" Archived 7 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine (accessed 6 May 2009)
  8. ^ Johnstone, Patrick; Miller, Duane (2015). "Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census". IJRR. 11: 14.
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  11. ^ "Bible Gateway passage: Acts 8 - New International Version". Bible Gateway. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  12. ^ "The History of Ethiopian Jews". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
  13. ^ CIA Factbook - Ethiopia
  14. ^ "Religious Identity Among Muslims". 9 August 2012.
  15. ^ Summary and Statistical Report of the 2007 Population and Housing Census Results [Online]. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20090305231227/http://www.csa.gov.et/pdf/Cen2007_firstdraft.pdf(Accessed 19 January 2017)
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  18. ^ Mark Shapiro, "Return of a Lost Tribe" Archived 6 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ISBN 0-87743-233-3
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  20. ^ Hassan, Gamal (2008). Moths Turned Eagles, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of Ethiopia.
  21. ^ Hassall, Graham. "Ethiopia". Research notes. Asia Pacific Bahá'í Studies. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
  22. ISBN 0-85398-350-X
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  23. ^ Compiled by Hands of the Cause Residing in the Holy Land. "The Baháʼí Faith: 1844–1963: Information Statistical and Comparative, Including the Achievements of the Ten Year International Baháʼí Teaching & Consolidation Plan 1953–1963". pp. 28, 55.
  24. ^ "QuickLists: Most Baha'i Nations (2010)". Association of Religion Data Archives. 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  25. ^ multiple (January 2009). "North American Baháʼí Choir in Ethiopia 2009". Retrieved 30 August 2009.
  26. ^ "Families and youth identified as keys to reducing poverty". News.bahai.org. 11 October 2006. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
  27. ^ Taddesse Tamrat, Church and State.
  28. ^ Freedom House, retrieved 2023-08-03
  29. ^ Open Doors website, retrieved 2023-08-03
  30. ISBN 9780312299071
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  31. ISBN 9781474414913
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  32. ISBN 9781593765521
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  33. ^ Angore, T. Reconstruction of Ethiopia's Collective Memory by Rewriting its History (PDF). Tilburg University. p. 103.
  34. ISBN 9789004218499
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  35. ^ "Five arrested for attack on mosques in Ethiopia's Amhara region". Al Jazeera.
  36. ^ "Ethiopia hands lengthy prison terms to Muslim activists". DailySabah. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  37. ^ "Ethiopia hands lengthy prison terms to Muslim activists". Reuters. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  38. ^ "Ethiopia jails Muslims convicted of terror plot". BBC News. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  39. ISBN 9789401195089
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  40. ISBN 978-1-317-64915-1
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  41. ^ Oromo of Ethiopia with special emphasis on the Gibe region (PDF). p. 4.
  42. ^ Selassie, Sergew (1972). Ancient and Medieval Ethiopian History to 1270. p. 290.
  43. ISBN 9781317649151
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  44. ^ Hassen, Mohammed. Oromo of Ethiopia with special emphasis on the Gibe region (PDF). University of London. p. 22.
  45. ^ "Adal". Encyclopædia Britannica.
  46. ISBN 9783643908926
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  47. JSTOR 43660322
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External links
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