The State Committee on Cults reports more than 230 religious groups, organizations, foundations, and educational institutions operating in the country. Other groups present include Bahá'ís, Jehovah's Witnesses, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). According to the census, Sunni Muslims constitute nearly 57 percent of the population, Roman Catholics 10 percent, Orthodox Christians (the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania) nearly 7 percent, and Bektashi (a form of Shia Sufism) 2 percent. Several religious leaders challenge the census results. It is difficult to assess the size of religious groups because nearly 20 percent of respondents declined to answer the optional census question about religious affiliation. Note: all mosques and churches were closed in 1967 and religious observances prohibited in November 1990, Albania began allowing private religious practice (2011 est.)īahá'í 0.2%, Christian 31.6%, Muslim 62.7%, Atheist 0.5%, Agnostic 5.0%Īccording to the 2011 census, the population is 2.8 million. Muslim 56.7%, Roman Catholic 10%, Orthodox 6.8%, atheist 2.5%, Bektashi (a Sufi order) 2.1%, other 5.7%, unspecified 16.2% The community is predominantly based in Kabul, although some Bahá'ís remain in Kandahar. Buddhist foreigners are free to worship in Hindu temples.įollowers of the Bahá'í Faith have practiced in the country for approximately 150 years. Chapels and churches for noncitizens of various faiths are located on several military bases, Provincial Reconstruction Teams, and at the Italian embassy in Kabul. Many Afghan Christians converted while living as refugees in third countries. Afghan Christians worship alone or in small congregations in private homes. There are five remaining Hindu mandirs (temples) in three cities: two in Kabul, one of which shares a wall with a mosque, one in Jalalabad, one in Helmand, and one in Kandahar.Īfghanistan's last known Jew maintains Kabul's sole synagogue, and there are also three defunct synagogues in Herat, which are no longer in use for lack of a Jewish community. There are three active gurdwaras (Sikh places of worship) in Kabul and 10 in other parts of the country there were 64 gurdwaras throughout the country before the mujahideen era, when many were seized. In addition, there are small numbers of practitioners of other religions. Reportedly, the Christian community is between 500 and 8,000 persons and the Bahá'í community is approximately 2,000 persons. Estimates of the Bahá'í and Christian communities are less clear because neither group practices openly for fear of persecution. Leaders of minority religious communities estimate there are 350 Sikh families and 30 Hindu families. The Ismailis, who self identify as a Shia denomination, comprise approximately 5 percent of the total population. government estimates indicate a population of approximately 30.4 million, with Sunni Muslims comprising 80 percent of the population, Shia Muslims making up about 19 percent, and other religious groups comprising less than 1 percent. Reliable data on religious demography is difficult to obtain because an official nationwide census has not been conducted in decades. Sunni Muslim 80%, Shia Muslim 19%, other 1% International Religious Freedom Report for 2012 The article Religions by country has a sortable table from the Pew Forum report. Database (WCD) 2010 and International Religious Freedom Report for 2012 of the U.S.
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