Religion in Nauru

Religion in Nauru, based on the 2011 census[1]

  Nauru Congregational Church (35.71%)
  Roman Catholic (32.96%)
  Assemblies of God (12.98%)
  Nauruan indigenous religion (9.50%)
  Baptist (1.48%)
  Other or not stated (7.34%)

In Nauru, Nauru Congregational Church is the largest religion, encompassing 35.71% of the population, as of the 2011 census.

According to the 2002 census, approximately two-thirds of Christians are Protestant, and the remainder are Catholic.[2] The largest denomination is the Nauru Congregational Church. The ethnic Chinese on the island, approximately 3 to 4 percent of the population, may be Confucian, Buddhist, Taoist, Christian, or nonreligious.[2] The largely Christian communities of Tuvaluan and I-Kiribati expatriates were repatriated in late 2006 following the near cessation of phosphate mining in the country.[2] The Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons said they had small numbers of followers among the native population.[2]

A welcome ceremony for a missionary, 1916-17

Nauruan indigenous religion was the predominant religion in Nauru before the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when foreign missionaries introduced Christianity to the island.[2] There are a few active Christian missionary organisations, including representatives of Anglicanism, Methodism, and Catholicism.[2] The Constitution provides for freedom of religion; however, the Government restricted this right in some circumstances.[2] There are no indications of widespread societal discrimination against particular religious denominations; however, some elements of the Nauru Protestant and Roman Catholic communities occasionally voice discomfort with religious groups perceived as foreign, in particular The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Jehovah's Witnesses.[2]

According to data from Pew Research, the religions of Hinduism, Judaism, and Islam had a small presence in the island, with about 0.1% of the population (fewer than ten people), adhering to each faith. [3]

References

  1. ↑ Nauru Bureau of Statistics 2011, p. 56
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 International Religious Freedom Report 2007: Nauru. United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (September 14, 2007). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ↑ http://www.humantruth.info/nauru.html


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