Religion in Guinea-Bissau
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Religion in
Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...
is diverse, with no particular religion comprising an absolute majority of the population. Islam is the most widely professed faith, and significant populations of
Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
and adherents of Traditional Faiths are also present in the country. The CIA World Factbook (2020 estimate) states that around 46.1% of the population are
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
, 30.6% adhere to
Folk religion In religious studies and folkloristics, folk religion, popular religion, traditional religion or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized re ...
s, 18.9% are Christians, and 4.4% are
non-religious Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and anti ...
or practice other religions. Meanwhile, the US State Department mentions that estimates vary greatly and cites the Pew Forum data (2020) of 46% Muslim, 31% indigenous religious practices, and 19% Christian. Sunni Islam, including that of
Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
-oriented, are most concentrated in the northern and northeastern parts of the country. Practitioners of traditional indigenous religious beliefs generally live in all but the northern parts of the country. Christians are mostly found along the coastal regions, and belong to the
Roman Catholic Church 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 ...
(including Portuguese Guinea-Bissauans) and various
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
denominations. Christians are concentrated in
Bissau Bissau () is the capital, and largest city of Guinea-Bissau. Bissau had a population of 492,004. Bissau is located on the Geba River estuary, off the Atlantic Ocean, and is Guinea-Bissau's largest city, major port, and its administrative and m ...
and other large towns.


Islam

Most Guinea-Bissau's Muslims belong to
Sunni Islam Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...
and follow
Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
orders. Islam is practiced most widely by the
Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Al-Fula ...
, Soninke, Susu and Mandinka ethnic groups, and Muslims generally live in the north and northeast. ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
.''
Islam arrived in Guinea-Bissau before the 12th-century with trans-Saharan traders. Initial growth of Islam was limited to the rulers and trading elites of Guinea-Bissau. Major expansion of Islam among the mainstream happened in the 18th and 19th centuries, after the invasion by Biafada kingdom, and the waves of Fulani jihads that arrived from the north led by Musa Ibrahim,
Ibrahim Sori Ibrahima Sori Barry Mawdo or Ibrahim Sori (died c. 1784) was a Fula leader of the Imamate of Futa Jallon in what is now Guinea in West Africa from around 1751 to 1784. Background In the second half of the 18th century a militant Islamic move ...
,
El Hadj Umar Tall Hadji Oumarûl Foutiyou Tall (Umar ibn Sa'id al-Futi Tal, ar, حاج عمر بن سعيد طعل), ( – 1864 CE), born in Futa Tooro, present day Senegal, was a West African political leader, Islamic scholar, Tijani Sufi and Toucoule ...
and Coli Tenguella.


Christianity

Christianity arrived in Guinea-Bissau with Portuguese traders and missionaries in the 15th century, but only in its coastal regions. Active missionary efforts started only in the 20th century, and in 1977 it became a diocese of the Holy See. Protestant mission arrived in Guinea-Bissau in 1939, and Evangelical Churches have been active through the second half of the 20th century. The Christian missions became a target of destruction during the 1999 civil war in Guinea-Bissau. According to the 2009 and 1991 censuses of Guinea-Bissau, the practice of Christianity has grown from 15% in 1991 to 22.1% of the total population in 2009; however, Christianity remains concentrated in the coastal regions of the country. Despite the majority of Christian community in Guinea-Bissau belongs to Roman Catholicism recent years there is a significant increase in Protestants and Evangelicals, especially between animist population, because of their missionary work. It is estimated that by 2050 there will be more than 30% Christians in the country as the result of many indigenous people converting to Christianity.


Law

Foreign
missionaries 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 ...
operate in the country without restriction. The Constitution 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 freedom ...
, and the Government generally respected this right in practice though religious groups do have to have licenses. In 2015, the US government received no reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious belief or practice.


See also

* Christianity in Guinea-Bissau *
Islam in Guinea-Bissau Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...
*
Roman Catholicism in Guinea-Bissau The Catholic Church in Guinea-Bissau is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. There are about 126,026 Catholics in Guinea-Bissau, or about 8.9% of the total population. There are two dioceses: ...


References

{{Africa religion