Religion in Papua New Guinea
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Religion in Papua New Guinea is predominantly Christian with traditional animist and ancestor worship still found in some places.
The courts and government in both theory and practice uphold a constitutional right to freedom of speech, thought, and belief.
The 2000 census showed 96 percent of citizens were members of a Christian church, however many citizens may combine their Christian faith with some pre-Christian traditional indigenous practices.[1] The census percentages were as follows:
- Roman Catholic Church (27.0%)
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea (19.5%)
- United Church (11.5%)
- Seventh-day Adventist Church (10.0%)
- Pentecostal (8.6%)
- Evangelical Alliance (5.2%)
- Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea (3.2%)
- Baptist (2.5%)
- Salvation Army (0.2%)
- Other Christian (8.0%) [2]
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[edit] Christianity
The Papua New Guinea Council of Churches members are:
- Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea
- Gutnius Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod)
- Union Baptist
- Roman Catholic Church
- Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea
- United Church in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands
- Salvation Army
There are also a number of parachurch organizations:
- The Summer Institute of Linguistics is an important missionary institution drawing its support from conservative evangelical Protestant churches in the United States and to a lesser extent Australia; it translates the Bible into native languages.
- Young Women's Christian Association
[edit] Other religions
Minority religions include the Jehovah's Witness (20,000) and the Church of Christ (20,000), while Islam counts approximately 1,000 to 2,000 followers[3], mostly of immigrant origin.
[edit] Traditional religions
Traditional religions were animist and also tended to have elements of ancestor worship.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ US Department of State International Religious Freedom Report 2003. Retrieved on March 23, 2006.
- ^ History Catholic Church in PNG. Retrieved on March 23, 2006.
- ^ [2]
- ^ US Department of State International Religious Freedom Report 2003. Retrieved on March 23, 2006.
- ^ History Catholic Church in PNG. Retrieved on March 23, 2006.
- ^ [1]
[edit] External links
- Anglican history in Papua New Guinea - primary texts
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