Christianity is the largest religion in Mozambique, with 62% of the population in 2023. More than half of these are evangelical and Pentecostal Christians.[1]
History
editSince the Portuguese colonial period in Mozambique, the Catholic Church has been the main Christian group in the country, followed by various Protestant mission churches and African Independent Churches (AICs).[2]
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions sent Protestant missionaries to the country in 1881.[3] In 1882, the Church of Valdezia/Spelonken in South Africa sent Josefa Mhalamhala to start a Presbyterian Church in Mozambique.[4] The Swiss Mission Church in South Africa also sent Rev. Paul Berthoud, who started two mission stations and a training institute in Rikatla.[5]
Modern day
editAmong the main Protestant churches in Mozambique are Igreja União Baptista de Moçambique, the Igreja Metodista Unida,[6] the Labourers Chapel Mozambique, the Assembleias de Deus, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Anglican Diocese of Lemombo, Anglican Diocese of Niassa, the Igreja do Evangelho Completo de Deus, the Igreja Crista Evangelica Pentecostal (ICEP), the Igreja Presbiteriana de Moçambique, the Igrejas de Cristo, the Assembleias Evangélicas de Deus Pentecostais and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mozambique.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ US State Dept 2022 report
- ^ Eric Morier-Genoud, “Renouveau religieux et politique au Mozambique: entre permanence, rupture et historicité”, Politique africaine, n°134, June 2014, pp.155-177
- ^ [C:/Users/3054929/Downloads/Full-Country-Dossier-Mozambique-2023.pdf| Open Doors website]
- ^ World Council of Churches website
- ^ Dictionary of African Christian Biography. website
- ^ World Council of Churches website, Retrieved 2023-06-27