The

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

provides for

freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freed ...

, and the Government generally respected this right in practice. There were no reports of

societal abuses Structural abuse is the process by which an individual or group is dealt with unfairly by a social or cultural system or authority. This unfairness manifests itself as abuse in a psychological, financial, physical or spiritual form, and victims oft ...

or discrimination based on religious belief or practice, and prominent societal leaders took positive steps to promote religious freedom.

Religious demography

According to the 2002 census, 27.1 percent of the population is

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, 24.4 percent Muslim, 17.3 percent

Vodun Vodun (meaning ''spirit'' in the Fon, Gun and Ewe languages, with a nasal high-tone ''u''; also spelled Vodon, Vodoun, Vodou, Vudu, Voudou, Voodoo, etc.) is a religion practiced by the Aja, Ewe, and Fon peoples of Benin, Togo, Ghana, and ...

, 5 percent Celestial Christian, 3.2 percent

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

, 7.5 percent other Christian, 6 percent other traditional local religious groups, 1.9 percent other religious groups, and 6.5 percent claim no religious affiliation. Foreign missionary groups operate freely in the country. In 2020, the population of Benin was 52.2% Christian, 24.6% Muslim, 17.9% Animist and 5.3% following other faiths or none.

Status of religious freedom

Legal and policy framework

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion,International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Benin
United States

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Affairs (DRL) is a bureau within the United States Department of State. The bureau is under the purview of the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. DRL's resp ...

(September 14, 2007). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

.'' and the Government generally respected this right in practice. The Government at all levels sought to protect this right in full and did not tolerate its abuse, either by governmental or private actors. There is no state-sponsored religion. The

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

determines the legal guidelines that govern religious practice. In recent years this court determined that it is illegal to block the access of any group to its religious services and that criticism of religious belief is a protected free speech right. The Defense Ministry is permitted to intervene in conflicts between religious groups as a

peacekeeping force Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United N ...

to ensure public order and social peace, provided that the intervention complies with the principle of state neutrality in the management of religious affairs. Persons who wish to form a religious group must register with the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

. Registration requirements are the same for all religious groups, and there were no reports that any group was refused permission to register or subjected to unusual delays or obstacles in the registration process. Religious groups are free from taxation. Government officials accorded respect to prominent leaders of all religious groups by attending their induction ceremonies, funerals, and other religious celebrations. The President regularly received leaders of all religious groups, and police forces were assigned to provide security to any religious event upon request. In accordance with article 2 of the

, which provides for a secular state, public schools are not authorized to provide religious instruction. Religious groups are permitted to establish private schools. National holidays include the Christian holy days of Easter Monday, Ascension Day,

Whit Monday Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday, also known as Monday of the Holy Spirit, is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a moveable feast in the Christian liturgical calendar. It is moveable because it is determined by the date of Easter. I ...

Assumption Day The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution ''Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by Go ...

All Saints' Day All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are kn ...

, and Christmas; the Islamic holy days of Ramadan, Tabaski, and the Birthday of Muhammad; and the indigenous celebration of Traditional Religions holiday. State-operated television featured coverage of the celebration of religious holidays and special events in the lives of prominent religious leaders, including ordination anniversaries and funerals. Soon after his inauguration, the President received leaders and representatives of Christian, Muslim, and traditional indigenous religious groups, respectively. Ecumenical Day is celebrated every first Wednesday of May and traditionally includes a large celebration of interreligious cooperation in the historic town of

Ouidah Ouidah () or Whydah (; ''Ouidah'', ''Juida'', and ''Juda'' by the French; ''Ajudá'' by the Portuguese; and ''Fida'' by the Dutch) and known locally as Glexwe, formerly the chief port of the Kingdom of Whydah, is a city on the coast of the Repub ...

. Individual religious leaders make an effort to bridge the divide between Christians and Muslims and preach a message of tolerance.

Resrictions on religious freedom

Government policy and practice contributed to the generally free practice of religion. There were no reports of religious prisoners or detainees in the country. There were no reports of forced religious conversion.

Societal abuses and discrimination

There were no reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious belief or practice. Due to the diversity of religious affiliations within families and communities, religious tolerance was widespread at all levels of society and in all regions. Interfaith dialogue occurred regularly, and citizens respected different religious traditions and practices, including syncretistic beliefs. Many Vodun followers were also Christian or Muslim and tolerant of other religious groups.

2020s

In 2023, Benin was scored 4 out of 4 for religious freedom.Freedom House website, Retrieved 2023-08-01
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References

International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Benin
United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the

.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Freedom Of Religion In Benin

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

Human rights in Benin Religion in Benin