Religion in Benin
Encyclopedia
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
is Roman Catholic, 24.4 percent Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, 17.3 percent Vodun, 5 percent Celestial Christian, 3.2 percent Methodist, 7.5 percent other Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, 6 percent other traditional local religious groups
African Traditional Religion
The traditional religions indigenous to Africa have, for most of their existence, been orally rather than scripturally transmitted. They are generally associated with animism. Most have ethno-based creations stories...
, 1.9 percent other religious groups, and 6.5 percent claim no religious affiliation.
There are Christians, Muslims, and adherents of traditional local religious groups throughout the country. However, most adherents of the traditional Yoruba religious group are in the south, while other local religious beliefs are followed in the north. Muslims are represented most heavily in the north and southeast. Christians are prevalent in the south, particularly in Cotonou
Cotonou
-Demographics:*1979: 320,348 *1992: 536,827 *2002: 665,100 *2005: 690,584 The main languages spoken in Cotonou include the Fon language, Aja language, Yoruba language and French.-Transport:...
, the economic capital. It is not unusual for members of the same family to practice Christianity, Islam, traditional local religious beliefs, or a combination of all of these.
Christianity
Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
first reached Benin in 1680, gaining more permanent footing in the nineteenth century. English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Methodists arrived in 1843, operating amongst the coastal Gun people. More than half of all Christians in Benin are Catholic. The Catholic hierarchy in Benin consists of the Archdiocese of Cotonou (including the Dioceses of Abomey
Roman Catholic Diocese of Abomey
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Abomey is a diocese located in the city of Abomey in the Ecclesiastical province of Cotonou in Benin.-History:* April 5, 1963: Established as Diocese of Abomey from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cotonou and Diocese of Porto Novo-Leadership:* Bishops of Abomey **...
, Dassa-Zoumé
Roman Catholic Diocese of Dassa-Zoumé
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Dassa–Zoumé is a diocese located in the city of Dassa-Zoumé in the Ecclesiastical province of Cotonou in Benin. The diocese is currently a vacant see .-Leadership:* Bishops of Dassa-Zoumé...
, Lokossa
Roman Catholic Diocese of Lokossa
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lokossa is a diocese located in the city of Lokossa in the Ecclesiastical province of Cotonou in Benin.-History:* March 11, 1968: Established as Diocese of Lokossa from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cotonou-Leadership:...
, Porto Novo
Roman Catholic Diocese of Porto Novo
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Porto Novo is a diocese located in the city of Porto Novo in the Ecclesiastical province of Cotonou in Benin.-History:* April 5, 1954: Established as Apostolic Vicariate of Porto Novo from Apostolic Vicariate of Ouidah...
) and the Parakou
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Parakou
The Archdiocese of Parakou is the Metropolitan See for the Ecclesiastical province of Parakou in Benin.-History:* 1948.05.13: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Parakou from the Apostolic Prefecture of Niamey, Niger...
(including the Dioceses of Djougou
Roman Catholic Diocese of Djougou
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Djougou is a diocese located in the city of Djougou in the Ecclesiastical province of Cotonou in Benin.-Leadership:* Bishops of Djougou ** Bishop Paul Kouassivi Vieira -References:*...
, Kandi
Roman Catholic Diocese of Kandi
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kandi is a diocese located in the city of Kandi in the Ecclesiastical province of Parakou in Benin.-Leadership:* Bishops of Kandi ** Bishop Clet Feliho...
, Natitingou
Roman Catholic Diocese of Natitingou
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Natitingou is a diocese located in the city of Natitingou in the Ecclesiastical province of Cotonou in Benin.-History:* February 10, 1964: Established as Diocese of Natitingou from the Apostolic Prefecture of Parakou...
, and N'Dali). There are 440 priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
s and 900 men and women in religious orders. Other Christian groups include Baptists, Methodists, Assemblies of God
Assemblies of God
The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
, Pentecostals, Seventh-day Adventists, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
, Celestial Christians
Celestial Church of Christ
The Celestial Church of Christ is an African Initiated Church founded by the Rev. Samuel Biléhou Joseph Oschoffa on 29 September 1947 in Porto-Novo, Benin...
, Rosicrucians, the Unification Church
Unification Church
The Unification Church is a new religious movement founded by Korean religious leader Sun Myung Moon. In 1954, the Unification Church was formally and legally established in Seoul, South Korea, as The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity . In 1994, Moon gave the church...
. Many nominal Christians also practice traditional local religious beliefs.
Islam
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the larger of two communities that arose from the Ahmadiyya movement founded in 1889 in India by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian . The original movement split into two factions soon after the death of the founder...
, who recently inaugurated the Largest mosque in Benin, the Al Mahdi Mosque in 2006. Many nominal Muslims also practice traditional local religious beliefs.
Other groups
Other religious groups in Benin include EckankarEckankar
Eckankar is a new religious movement founded in the United States in 1965, though practiced around the world long before with a solid following in China. It focuses on spiritual exercises enabling practitioners to experience what its followers call "the Light and Sound of God." The personal...
and Baha'is.
Among the most commonly practiced local religious beliefs is the animist Vodun system of belief, also known as voodoo, which originated in this area of Africa.
Indigenous religions include local animistic
Animism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
religions in the Atakora (Atakora and Donga provinces) and Vodun and Orisha
Orisha
An Orisha is a spirit or deity that reflects one of the manifestations of Olodumare in the Yoruba spiritual or religious system....
or Orisa veneration among the Yoruba and Tado peoples in the center and south of the country. The town of Ouidah
Ouidah
Ouidah , also Whydah or Juda, is a city on the Atlantic coast of Benin.The commune covers an area of 364 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 76,555 people.-History:...
on the central coast is the spiritual center of Beninese Vodun.
The Tado and the Yoruba Orisha
Orisha
An Orisha is a spirit or deity that reflects one of the manifestations of Olodumare in the Yoruba spiritual or religious system....
pantheons correspond closely:
- The supreme deityGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
MawuMawuIn Dahomey mythology, Mawu is a creator goddess, associated with the sun and moon. In some myths, she is the twin sister-wife of the male god Lisa; in others, both deities are aspects of the same androgynous or hermaphroditic deity, Mawu-Lisa...
(in the Fon language) or Olodumare (also known as OlorunOlorunOlòrún is the Yorùbá name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions , Who is either the sole entity in monotheism, or a single entity in polytheism...
, Eledumare, Olofin-Orun and Eledaa among other names)(in Yoruba) - The deity of the earth and smallpox, known as Sakpana (or Sopono, Sakpata), can also be spelt as 'Shakpata, Shopono, Shakpana, and also known as Babalu Aye or Obalu Aye.
- The deity of thunder and lightning, known as ShangoShangoIn the Yorùbá religion, Sàngó is perhaps one of the most popular Orisha; also known as the god of fire, lightning and thunder...
; can also be spelt as Sango, also known as Jakuta, Chango, Xevioso and Hevioso. - The deity of war and iron, known as OgunOgunOgun can refer to:*Ogoun , a divinity in Yoruba and Haitian mythology*Ogun River, a river in southwestern Nigeria*Ogun State, a state in southwestern Nigeria*Ogun Records, a record label...
, also known as Ogoun or Gu.
Freedom of religion
The Constitution of BeninConstitution of Benin
The Constitution of Benin was adopted by referendum on 2 December 1990.-External links:** from the listing of "International Humanitarian Law - National Implementation" from the International Committee of the Red Cross...
provides for freedom of religion
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion 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; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
, and the government generally respects this right in practice. The United States government recorded no reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious belief or practice during 2007, and prominent societal leaders have taken positive steps to promote religious freedom.