Religion in Egypt

The Egyptian people have a deep sense of piety and are devout followers of their professed religions. Egypt is predominantly Muslim, covering about 90% of the population, while Christians represent about 10%. The Muslim population is largely Sunni, while a significant minority is Sufi. There is also a smaller number of Shiites.

The Christians are mainly Coptic Orthodox, though a minority belongs to the Coptic Catholic Church. Other Christian groups include Greek Catholics, Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox and Armenian Orthodox, whose adherents are mainly descendants of Italian, Greek, Syrian and Armenian immigrants.

An Evangelical Protestant church, first established in the middle of the 19th century, has grown to a community of about 17 Protestant denominations. There also are followers of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which was granted legal status in the 1960s.

The non-Muslim, non-Coptic communities range in size from several thousand to hundreds of thousands.

The number of Baha'is has been estimated at between several hundred and a few thousand, but are not accepted as a religious community. However, on 6 April 2006 "a landmark ruling by the Administrative Court recognis[ed] the right of Egyptian Bahais to have their religion acknowledged on official documents." Reuters Story

The Jewish community which flourished before the 1950s, today number fewer than 200 persons. There are Egyptians who identify as atheist and agnostic, but their numbers are largely unknown as openly advocating such positions risks legal sanction. In 2000, an openly atheist Egyptian writer, who called for the establishment of a local association for atheists, was tried on charges of insulting Islam and its prophet in four of his books [1]. Worship of the original Egyptian gods has all but disappeared.