The World Religion Database noted that in 2020, 47% of the population of

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

were

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

; almost 4% are Protestant (mainly

P'ent'ay P'ent'ay (from Ge'ez: ) is an originally Amharic– Tigrinya language term for Pentecostal and other Eastern-oriented Protestant Christians within Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the Ethiopian and Eritrean diaspora. Today, the term refers to all ...

Evangelicalists). The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eritrea is one of the four officially recognized religious institutions in Eritrea.

History

Protestantism has had a presence in Eritrea for over 150 years. The

Swedish Evangelical Mission The Swedish Evangelical Mission (SEM) (Swedish: "Evangelical Homeland Foundation", EFS) is an independent, low-church, New Evangelical () movement within the Church of Sweden. It emphasizes the importance of lay involvement in the church and ...

(SEM) first sent missionaries to preach to the

Kunama people The Kunama are an ethnic group native to Eritrea. They are one of the smallest ethnic communities in Eritrea, constituting only 2% of the population. Most of the estimated 260,000 Kunama live in the remote and isolated area between the Gash and ...

in 1866. Between the late-19th and late-20th centuries, the SEM undertook the task of translating the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...

into various Eritrean languages. Jehovah's Witnesses have been a target of government persecution since Eritrea's independence, as they opposed the referendum for independence and have refused to participate in compulsory military service. They have been stripped of their rights and subjected to imprisonment; the United States Department of State reported in 2021 that 24 Jehovah's Witnesses are currently detained. In 2002, the Eritrean government closed down places of worship of all unrecognized religious groups, including Jehovah's Witnesses and Protestant churches separate from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Eritrea. The USDoS reported in 2021 that 345 church leaders and between 800 and 1,000 laypeople are currently detained.

Denominations

Amnesty International reports that the following evangelical denominations are present in Eritrea: *

Seventh-day Adventists The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...

*Mullu Wongel (Full Gospel) Church *Kale Hiwot (Word of Life) Church *Meseret Kristos Church *Rema Church *Hallelujah Church *Faith Mission *Faith Church of Christ *Philadelphia Church *Presbyterian Evangelical Church *Trinity Fellowship Church *Dubre Bethel Church *Church of the Living God *New Covenant Church

Freedom of religion

In 2021, the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

(USDoS) named it a Country of Particular Concern due to its violation of

religious liberty Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...

, noting that other denominations (particularly

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved ...

) face persecution from the Eritrean government. In the same year, the Barnabas Fund reported that Christians (regardless of denomination) in Eritrea had been subjected to torture, including being held in

shipping containers A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes. In the context o ...

. In 2023, the country was scored 1 out of 4 for religious freedom. This was seen as an improvement, as several religious prisoners had been released in the previous months. In the same year, the country was rated as the 4th worst place in the world to be a Christian.Open Doors website, retrieved 2023-08-03
/ref>

References

{{Africa in topic, Protestants in Christianity in Eritrea

History

Denominations

Freedom of religion

See also

References