Christianity in Namibia comprises more than 90 percent of the population.
United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (September 14, 2007). ''This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...
.'' The largest Christian group is the
Lutheran church, which is split into three churches: The
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN) is a Lutheran denomination based in Namibia. It has a total membership of over 772,398, mainly in Northern Namibia. Formerly known as the Evangelical Lutheran Ovambo-Kavango Church (ELOC), it pl ...
(ELCIN), which grew out of the work of the
Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (earlier known as the
Finnish Missionary Society
The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (''FELM'', formerly ''The Finnish Missionary Society''; fi, Suomen Lähetysseura ry; sv, Finska Missionssällskapet rf) is a Lutheran missionary society formed on January 19, 1859, in Helsinki, Finlan ...
) which began in 1870 among the
Ovambo Ovambo may refer to:
*Ovambo language
*Ovambo people
*Ovamboland
*Ovambo sparrowhawk
The Ovambo or Ovampo sparrowhawk, also known as Hilgert's sparrowhawk, (''Accipiter ovampensis'') is a species of sub-Saharan African bird of prey in the family ...
and
Kavango people; the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN), which grew out of the work of the
Rhenish Missionary Society from Germany which began working in the area in 1842; and the
German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN-GELC). In 2007 the three churches established the United Church Council of the Lutheran Churches in Namibia in an attempt to merge and unify.
The second-largest Christian denomination is
Roman Catholicism. Smaller numbers are affiliated with the
Anglican Church, the
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...
Church, the
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...
Church,
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ...
(Mormons),
New Apostolic Church,
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...
,
Branhamism
William Marrion Branham (April 6, 1909 – December 24, 1965) was an American Christian minister and faith healer who initiated the post-World War II healing revival, and claimed to be a prophet with the anointing of Elijah, who had come t ...
, a number of
Zionist Churches (a mixture of
traditional African beliefs), and
Pentecostal Christianity
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestantism, Protestant Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian movement[Dutch Reformed Church
The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family a ...]
of Namibia is predominantly made up of members of the
Afrikaner
Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Cas ...
ethnic group.
[
]
See also
*Religion in Namibia
Religion in Namibia is dominated by various branches of Christianity, with more than 90 percent of Namibian citizens identifying themselves as Christian. According to the United States DRL, in 2007 up to 75% were Protestant, including as much as ...
*Roman Catholicism in Namibia
The Catholic Church in Namibia is part of the Catholic Church under the universal, direct jurisdiction of the supreme Vicar of Christ, the Bishop of Rome and the Catholic world, the Pope.
As of 2004, there were 246,000 Catholics in Namibia, ...
References
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