Christianity is a minority religion in

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana t ...

. According to ''

The World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is availabl ...

'' in 2019, Christians constitutes approximately 30% of the population, with Catholics representing 23.3% and Protestants 6.5%. According to official government estimates in 2008 the percentages are lower: 23.2% are Christians (19.0% being

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 ...

, 4.2% being

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 ...

). The exact percentages might be hard to accurately predict due to a high degree of

Syncretism Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...

that occurs in the country between Christians or Muslims and Traditional indigenous beliefs. 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 ...

Representation in government

Although Christians are a minority of the overall population, they are over-represented in civil government. Presidents and heads of state of Burkina Faso who were Christians include

Thomas Sankara Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara (; 21 December 1949 – 15 October 1987) was a Burkinabé military officer, Marxist–Leninist revolutionary, and Pan-Africanist, who served as President of Burkina Faso from his coup in 1983 to his deposition a ...

, Saye Zerbo,

Blaise Compaoré Blaise Compaoré (born 3 February 1951)''Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders'' (2003), page 76–77.

, Paul Kaba Thieba, and

Roch Marc Christian Kaboré Roch Marc Christian Kaboré (; born 25 April 1957) is a Burkinabé banker and politician who served as the President of Burkina Faso from 2015 until he was deposed in 2022. He was the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso between 1994 and 1996 and Pr ...

Present situation

Although interfaith relations between Muslims and Christians in Burkina Faso have historically been good, since 2015 there have been increasing attacks on Christians by

Salafi jihadist Salafi jihadism or jihadist-Salafism is a transnational, hybrid religious-political ideology based on the Sunni sect of Islamism, seeking to establish a global caliphate, characterized by the advocacy for "physical" (military) jihadist and Sa ...

in Burkina Faso, which have escalated rapidly since 2017. In April 2019 Islamist gunmen killed 5 Protestant worshipers and their pastor as they were leaving church after their service in the village of Silgadji near Mali. In May 2019 4 Catholics were killed by Islamist during a Marian procession in

Zimtenga Department Zimtenga, also spelt Zimtanga, is a Departments of Burkina Faso, department or commune of Bam Province in Centre-Nord Region of Burkina Faso. Its capital lies at the town of Zimtenga. According to the 1996 census the department has a total populat ...

. In August 2019 4 Christians were executed by extremists in

Bani Department Bani is a department of Séno Province in northern Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, N ...

for wearing crucifixes. On 1 December 2019 at least 14 church goers were killed in an attack when suspected Islamist gunmen opened fire on the church during services. On 17 February 2020 a group of gunmen attacked a Protestant church were service was being held in the village of Pansi, killing 24.

References

Religion in Burkina Faso {{Christianity-stub

Representation in government

Present situation

See also

References