Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

is the predominant religion in Gabon, with significant minorities of the adherents of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and traditional faiths.US State Dept 2022 report.
''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 exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

.''

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

is a

secular state is an idea pertaining to secularity, whereby a state is or purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion, supporting neither religion nor irreligion. A secular state claims to treat all its citizens equally regardless of relig ...

and the constitution ensures freedom of religion. Many people practice elements of both

and traditional indigenous religious beliefs.

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

and

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

are recognised as public holidays. The 2022 Afrobarometer found that 40.4% of the population identified as Nondenominational Christian and 22.5% as Catholic.

History

Christianity arrived in Gabon through the Portuguese traders in early 16th century. The Italian

Capuchin friars The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; Post-nominal letters, postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of Franciscans, Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three "Religious institute#Nomenclature, F ...

set up Christian missions in the 17th century. The Portuguese missionaries and Italian friars cooperation ended in the 18th century, and the Portuguese officials expelled the Capuchin friars in 1777. New missions such as the

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...

and

Holy Ghost Most Christian denominations believe the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, to be the third divine Person of the Trinity, a triune god manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each being God. Nontrinitarian Christians, who ...

, as well as Protestant missions from Europe arrived in the mid 19th century. Catholicism had established itself in Gabon with the Portuguese colonial efforts in 18th century, and grown to be the leading denomination by 1900. With the start of

French colonial rule The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates, and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French colonial empire", that ex ...

, Christian missions from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

arrived between 1890s and 1960. More

evangelical Churches Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian g ...

have grown since the mid 20th century. The

Babongo The Bongo people, also called Babongo or Bazimba, are an agricultural people of Gabon in equatorial Africa who are known as "forest people" due to their recent foraging economy. They are not to be confused with the autocrat leadership of Omar Bon ...

are a forest people of

on the west coast of equatorial

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. They are the originators of the

Bwiti Bwiti is a spiritual discipline of the forest-dwelling Punu people and Mitsogo peoples of Gabon (where it is recognized as one of three official religions) and by the Fang people of Gabon. Modern Bwiti incorporates animism, ancestor worship, an ...

religion. Other peoples in Gabon have combined traditional Bwiti practices with

animism Animism (from meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, human handiwork, and in ...

and

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

concepts to produce a very different modern form of Bwiti. The Bwiti rituals form part of the initiation into the Babongo people. Babonga people's lives are highly ritualised through dance, music and ceremony associated with natural forces and jungle animals.Islam has had a small presence in Gabon, with about 10% of the people following Sunni practice. The former president

Omar Bongo Omar Bongo Ondimba (born Albert-Bernard Bongo; 30 December 1935 – 8 June 2009) was a Gabonese politician who was the second president of Gabon from 1967 until Death and state funeral of Omar Bongo, his death in 2009. A member of the Gabonese De ...

converted to Islam in 1973 after a visit to Libya. Under Bongo's one-party rule, Gabon joined the

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC; ; ), formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1969. It consists of Member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, 57 member s ...

in 1974. Gabon reintroduced multiparty democracy in 1993, though Bongo remained president until his death in 2009, upon which his son, also a Muslim, succeeded him. The Constitution provides for

freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...

, and the government generally respects this right in practice. On February 3, 2016, the Gabonese Republic granted official recognition to the local

Orthodox Church Orthodox Church may refer to: * Eastern Orthodox Church, the second-largest Christian church in the world * Oriental Orthodox Churches, a branch of Eastern Christianity * Orthodox Presbyterian Church, a confessional Presbyterian denomination loc ...

, including plans to erect the first Orthodox church in the capital city

Libreville Libreville (; ) is the capital and largest city of Gabon, located on the Gabon Estuary. Libreville occupies of the northwestern province of Estuaire Province, Estuaire. Libreville is also a port on the Gabon Estuary, near the Gulf of Guinea. A ...

Religious freedom

In 2023, the country was scored 3 out of 4 for religious freedom; it was noted that some religious groups reported difficulty in registering with the government.Freedom House website, retrieved 2023-08-01
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References

{{Gabon topics

History

Religious freedom

See also

References