Religion in Burundi

Religion in Burundi is diverse, with Christianity being the dominant faith. According to a 2008 estimate in CIA Factbook, about 86 percent of the population of Burundi is Christian (62.1% being Roman Catholic, 23.9% being Protestant), 7.9% follow traditional religions, and 2.5 percent is Muslim (mainly Sunni).[2][3] In contrast, another estimate by the Encyclopedia of Africa in 2010, states that 67 percent of the Burundi's people are Christians, 23% follow traditional religions, and 10% are Muslims or adherents of other faiths.[1]

Religion in Burundi (2010 estimate)[1]

  Christianity (67%)

  African traditional religion (23%)

  Islam/Others (10%)

Regina Mundi Cathedral, a Roman Catholic Cathedral in Bujumbura.

History

Christianity

Religions of Burundi CIA Factbook (2008)[2]
Religions			percent
Roman Catholic			62.1%
Protestant			23.9%
Unspecified			7.9%
Other			3.6%
Islam			2.5%

Religions of Burundi Encyclopedia of Africa (2010)[1]
Religions			percent
Christianity			67%
Traditional			23%
Islam			10%
Unspecified			3.6%

Main article: Christianity in Burundi

The earliest Christian missions arrived in 1879, but the missionaries were killed and the king of Burundi who ruled through 1908 had no interest in foreign theology or imported goods.[4]

Larger Christian missions arrived in Burundi in the early 20th century, during its German colonial rule era, and followed by its Belgian colonial rule era.[5] Catholic and Protestant missionaries arrived in the first two decades of the 20th century, while the 1920s saw the arrival of Baptists, the 1930s the arrival of Free Methodists and Anglican missionaries.[4] These missions were closely involved with the colonial project. In post-colonial independent Burundi, Christianity has had a deep engagement with political leaders of Burundi, a country with nearly 11 million citizens and one of the most densely populated nations in Africa (over 1000 people per square mile).[5]

The religious institutions within Burundi have both been called upon to help heal social divisions, help end civil chaos after political assassinations, and close wounds of mass violence, but they have also been criticized.[6] Some, such as Timothy Longman – a professor and director of the African Studies Center, state that the colonial officials and Christian missionaries assumed the people of the newly conquered lands to be "savage and anarchic", then worsened the ethnic divisions within the Burundi society by assuming that "the peoples of the world could be neatly divided into distinct racial categories and subcategories" in order to competitively convert them to Christianity.[7] The missionaries did not invent ethnic groups, states Longman, because they pre-existed. However, they did create racial significance when these didn't exist before, inadvertently creating ideological divisions and inequalities.[7]

Initial conversions to Catholicism in Burundi were almost exclusively among the Hutu people – the majority in Burundi but one who neither were the rulers nor were part of economic elite. In contrast, the Protestant missionaries gained early conversions in the elite but minority Tutsi people of Burundi.[8] The assumptions about the ethnic differences, states Longman, led to discriminatory practices, questionable distribution of property. The resulting conflicts and retaliatory genocide among Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups, in Burundi – and Rwanda with which Burundi shares history and culture – have attracted widespread dismay and attention.[9]

In the post-colonial contemporary era, Mushasha in the Gitega Province of Burundi serves as its archbishop's seat.[4] The traditional Catholic and Protestant community has been losing members to more emotional Evangelical Protestantism.[4]

Islam

Main article: Islam in Burundi

Islam arrived in Burundi some 200 years before Christianity through Sunni Arab-Swahili traders active in the Lake Tanganyika region.[4] However, Islam has been a minority religion with some presence in the trading towns near the Lake. In contemporary times, political bodies and media have critiqued and questioned the destabilizing influence of Islamic preachers.[10]

Religious freedom

The Transitional Constitutional Act of 2001 provided for freedom of religion and this right is generally respected in practise. Religious groups must register with the Ministry of Interior and maintain a headquarters within the country. The heads of major religions are given diplomatic status. Certain Catholic holidays are observed as public holidays.

• 
  Bujumbura Cathedral
• 
  Gitega Church
• 
  Bujumbura Mosque

See also

• Christianity in Burundi
• Islam in Burundi
• Bahá'í Faith in Burundi

References

1. Anthony Appiah; Henry Louis Gates (2010). Encyclopedia of Africa. Oxford University Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-19-533770-9.
2. "Africa :: BURUNDI". CIA The World Factbook.
3. U.S. Department of State
4. Toyin Falola; Daniel Jean-Jacques (2015). Africa: An Encyclopedia of Culture and Society. ABC-CLIO. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-59884-666-9.
5. Elias Kifon Bongmba (2015). Routledge Companion to Christianity in Africa. Routledge. pp. 365–367. ISBN 978-1-134-50577-7.
6. Elias Kifon Bongmba (2015). Routledge Companion to Christianity in Africa. Routledge. pp. 369–372, 550–551. ISBN 978-1-134-50577-7.
7. Timothy Longman (2010). Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda. Cambridge University Press. pp. 42–46, 62–63. ISBN 978-0-521-19139-5.
8. Timothy Longman (2010). Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda. Cambridge University Press. pp. 46–48. ISBN 978-0-521-19139-5.
9. Timothy Longman (2010). Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda. Cambridge University Press. pp. 14–15. ISBN 978-0-521-19139-5.
10. Heather Deegan (2002). Third Worlds: Politics in the Middle East and Africa. Routledge. pp. 198–201. ISBN 978-1-134-82764-0.