The
Constitution of Cameroon
The Constitution of Cameroon is the supreme law of the Republic of Cameroon. Adopted in 1972, it is Cameroon's third constitution. The document consists of a preamble and 13 Parts, each divided into Articles. The Constitution outlines the rights gu ...
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. Government policy contributes to the generally free practice of religion. 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 ...
and
discrimination based on religious belief or practice. The country is generally characterized by a high degree of
religious tolerance
Religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, mistaken, or harmful". ...
.
Religious demography
Muslim centers and
Christian churches of various
denominations operate freely throughout the country. Approximately 70 percent of the population is at least nominally Christian, 20 percent is at least nominally Muslim, and 10 percent practice traditional
indigenous religious beliefs. The Christian population is divided approximately equally between
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
denominations. Christians are concentrated chiefly in the southern and western provinces and Muslims reside in large numbers in every province. Traditional indigenous religious beliefs are practiced in rural areas throughout the country but rarely are practiced publicly in cities.
Status of religious freedom
Legal and policy framework
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, 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 official
state religion.
Christian and Islamic holy days are celebrated as
national holidays National holiday may refer to:
* National day, a day when a nation celebrates a very important event in its history, such as its establishment
*Public holiday, a holiday established by law, usually a day off for at least a portion of the workforce, ...
. These include the Christian
holy days of
Good Friday,
Ascension Day,
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 ...
, and
Christmas Day
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
, and the Islamic holy days of the
Feast of the Lamb and
Eid al-Fitr, the End of
Ramadan.
The
Law on Religious Congregations governs relations between the Government and religious groups. The
Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization (MINATD) must approve and register religious groups in order for them to function legally. There were no reports that the Government refused to register any group; however, the process can take a number of years. It is illegal for a religious group to operate without official recognition, but the law prescribes no specific penalties. There was a growth within the major cities of so-called "sects," which their leaders consider to be subgroups of Protestant denominations; few of these are registered, and all of them operate freely. Although official recognition confers no general tax benefits, it allows religious groups to receive real estate as tax-free gifts and legacies for the conduct of their activities.
To register, a religious denomination must legally qualify as a religious
congregation
A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship.
Congregation may also refer to:
* Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship
*Congregation (Roman Curia), an administr ...
. The definition includes "any group of natural persons or corporate bodies whose vocation is divine worship" or "any group of persons living in community in accordance with a religious doctrine." The denomination then submits a file to the MINATD. The file must include a request for authorization, a copy of the group's charter describing planned activities, and the names and functions of the group's officials. The Minister reviews the file and sends it to the presidency with a recommendation to approve or deny. The president generally follows the recommendation of the Minister and grants authorization by a presidential decree. The approval process may take up to several years.
The only religious groups known to be registered are Christian, Muslim, and
Baháʼí. According to the latest
MINATD statistics (released in 2002), there are 38 officially registered denominations, most of which are Christian. There also are numerous unregistered small religious groups that operate freely. The Government does not register traditional indigenous religious groups, stating that the practice of traditional religion is a private concern observed by members of a particular ethnic or kinship group or the residents of a particular locality.
The MINATD, rather than the judiciary, primarily resolves disputes between or within registered religious groups about control of places of worship, schools, other real estate, or financial assets.
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
groups are present and operate without impediment. The licensing requirements for foreign groups are the same as those for domestic religious denominations.
The practice of
witchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...
is a criminal offense under the national penal code, punishable by a 2 to 10-year prison term.
Several religious denominations operate
primary and
secondary schools. Although post-secondary education continues to be dominated by state institutions,
private school
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
s affiliated with religious denominations, including Catholic, Protestant, and
Qur'anic
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
schools, have been among the best schools at the primary and secondary levels for many years. The law charges the
Ministry of Basic Education and the
Ministry of Secondary Education with ensuring that private schools run by religious groups meet the same standards as state-operated schools in terms of curriculum, infrastructure, and teacher training. For schools affiliated with religious groups, the
Sub-Department of Confessional Education of the Department of Private Education performs this oversight function. School attendance—at public, private, or parochial schools—is mandatory through junior high school. The campuses of the
Central Africa Catholic University,
he Cameroon Christian Universityand the
International Adventist University are located in the country.
The
Presbyterian Church in Cameroon
The Presbyterian Church in Cameroon (PCC) is a Reformed denomination in Cameroon and a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. It is the largest English-speaking church in Cameroon, founded by Basel Mission. In addition to its religiou ...
operates one of the country's few modern private printing presses and also the Roman Catholic Church publishes a weekly newspaper through its own Modern printing press.
A 2000 government decree requires potential commercial radio broadcasters to submit a licensing application, pay a fee when the application is approved, and pay an annual licensing fee. The Government has been slow in granting authorization; consequently, there are many unauthorized radio stations operating. Two private religious radio stations, the
Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement Radio
Bonne Nouvelle and
Radio Reine (managed by a Catholic priest although not officially sponsored by the Catholic Church), that had been broadcasting without licenses continued to broadcast while awaiting official authorization, as do many other radio stations awaiting their licenses. The Catholic station Radio Veritas has temporary authorization to broadcast and has been broadcasting without incident.
The state-sponsored television station,
CRTV, carries two hours of Christian programming on Sunday mornings, normally an hour of Catholic Mass and an hour of a Protestant service. There is also one broadcast hour dedicated to Islam on Friday evenings. State-sponsored radio broadcasts Christian and Islamic religious services on a regular basis, and both the radio and television stations periodically broadcast religious ceremonies on national holidays or during national events. State television occasionally broadcasts ecumenical ceremonies on major occasions such as the commemoration of a national event.
Restrictions on religious freedom
Government policy and practice contributed to the generally free practice of religion.
The practice of witchcraft is a criminal offense under the national penal code. People generally are prosecuted for this offense only in conjunction with some other offense such as murder; however, there were no reports of convictions of witchcraft under this law. The Government distinguishes between witchcraft and traditional indigenous religious practices; witchcraft is defined by the law as attempts to do harm by spiritual means and is a common explanation for diseases.
There were no reports of religious prisoners or detainees in the country.
Forced religious conversion
There were no reports of
forced religious conversion
''Forced'' is a single-player and co-op action role-playing game developed by BetaDwarf, released in October 2013 for Windows, OS X and Linux through the Steam platform as well as Wii U. It is about gladiators fighting for their freedom in a ...
, including of minor U.S. citizens who had been abducted or illegally removed from the United States, or of the refusal to allow such citizens to be returned to the United States. In 2004 the Government responded promptly to assist the U.S. Embassy in the case of the forced conversion of American citizens by a private actor.
Societal abuses and discrimination
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; however, some religious groups reported societal hostility within their regions. Established churches denounced new unaffiliated religious groups, most of which are individually motivated Tele-ministries, as "
sects
A sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical belief system, usually an offshoot of a larger group. Although the term was originally a classification for religious separated groups, it can now refer to any organization that b ...
" or "
cults," claiming that they were detrimental to societal peace and harmony. In practice, such denunciation did not inhibit the practice of the unaffiliated religious groups. In the northern provinces, especially in rural areas, societal hostility by Muslims against Christians and persons who practice traditional indigenous religious beliefs continued.
When there have been natural disasters, or to commemorate national events, Christians and Muslims organized
ecumenical ceremonies to pray and promote a spirit of tolerance and peace.
See also
*
Religion in Cameroon
Christianity is the majority religion in Cameroon, with significant minorities of the adherents of Islam and traditional faiths.
Christian churches and Muslim centers of various denominations operate freely throughout Cameroon, while the trad ...
*
Human rights in Cameroon
Human rights in Cameroon are addressed in the constitution. However, the 2009 Human Rights Report by the United States Department of State noted concerns in regard to election irregularities, security forces torture and arbitrary arrests.2009 U.S D ...
References
*
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 ...
Cameroon: International Religious Freedom Report 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, ...
.''
{{Africa topic, Freedom of religion in
African witchcraft
Religion in Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...