Religion in Kenya

The predominant religion in Kenya is Christianity, adhered to by about four-fifths of the population. Other faiths practiced in Kenya are Baha'i, Hinduism, Islam, and traditional African religions.

Religion in Kenya
religion			percent
Christianity			83%
Islam			11.2%
No religion			2.4%
Indigenous			1.7%
Other			1.8%

Christianity

Gospel Revival Centre Church, Ruiru, Kenya

Christianity was first brought to Kenya in the fifteenth century by the Portuguese and spread rapidly during the 20th century, spread by colonists. Today, the main Christian denominations in Kenya are Protestant confessions, which make up 127.3% of the country's religious composition. They include the Anglican Church of Kenya, and the Presbyterian, Reformed, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, and Pentecostal churches. The Roman Catholic Church represents 23.4% of the population. Other statistically significant non-Catholic and non-Protestant movements include the Eastern Orthodox Church, New Apostolic Church, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, United Pentecostal Church International, and Branhamism.

Traditional African religions

African religions are typically based on natural phenomena and reverence to ancestors. The dead are presumed to merely transform into another state of being and capable of bringing good fortune or calamity to the living. Most religious rites are therefore centred on appeasing the dead through sacrifices and proper burial rites. The dead's wishes must also be followed to the letter.

Followers of traditional Kikuyu religion believe Ngai resides on Mt. Kenya and say their prayers facing the mountain. Followers of traditional Mijikenda religion have their holy shrines in the forests where they offer sacrifices and pray.

Hinduism

Main article: Hinduism in Kenya

There is a significant number of Hindus living in Kenya. The numbers are estimated to be around 0.14% of the population. They are mainly located in the capital of Kenya, Nairobi, and other urban areas such as Mombasa, Eldoret, and Kisumu.

Islam

A mosque in Lamu Island.

Main article: Islam in Kenya

Islam is the religion of approximately 11.2% of the Kenyan population. Muslims are mostly Sunni. Muslims are concentrated mainly in the North Eastern Province and Coast Province. Nairobi has several mosques and a notable Muslim population. Many Muslims are ethnic Somali, while there are large populations of ethnically Swahili Muslims at the coast and smaller numbers linked to South Asia.

Religious Shari'ah courts, called Kadhi courts, are given jurisdiction over certain civil matters such as divorce and inheritance under the constitution of Kenya. Muslims have complained that they are targeted and discriminated against by the government, particularly since the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Nairobi and elsewhere. The religions subsiding in Kenya do not display the distinctions between the 42 cultures. They mainly display the traditions of the larger "umbrella" cultures.

No Religion

In the 2009 Census, 922,128 people reported themselves as having "no religion." This is 2.4% of the total, making this group larger than the groups reporting themselves as traditionalists, Hindu or other religion. 61,233, 0.2%, reported that they did not know their religion.

Baha'í Faith

Main article: Bahá'í Faith in Kenya

Present in Kenya from 1945, the religion grew to an estimated of 308,000 in 2005 or about 1% of the population. In the 1990s the Bahá'ís in Kenya participated in a nation-wide community health project including vaccinations, maintaining latrines and developing clean water sources.

References

• International Religious Freedom Report 2006 - Kenya, US State Department, 2006-09-15, accessed on 2007-08-31

• History of the World's Religions (12th Edition), Noss S. David: ISBN 978-0136149842