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Religion in Madagascar (2020 estimate)^[1]

Islam (3.1%)

Others (0.3%)

Christianity is the largest religion in Madagascar, with Protestantism and Catholicism being its main denominations.

Madagascar is a secular state, and the nation's constitution provides for freedom of religious thought and expression and prohibits religious discrimination.^[2]

Statistics

According to the Pew Research Center in 2020, 85% of the population practiced Christianity, while just 4.5% of Malagasys practiced folk religions; among Christians, practitioners of Protestantism outnumbered adherents of Roman Catholicism.^[3] According to the Association of Religion Data Archives, 58.1% of the population is Christian, 2.1% is Muslim, 39.2% practices traditional faiths, while 0.6% of the population is non-religious or adheres to other faiths as of 2020.^[4]

Legislation

The constitution of Madagascar provides for the freedoms of religious thought and expression and prohibits religious discrimination in the workplace. Other laws protect individual religious freedom against abuses by government or private actors.^[5]

Members of the Muslim community and adherents of some evangelical Protestant churches have reported that they have been denied admission into private schools and sometimes had limited access to employment due to their religious affiliation.^[5] Muslim community leaders have also criticized Madagascar's naturalization process as disproportionately barring Muslims from citizenship.^[5]

The government's inconsistent enforcement of labor laws, particularly the provision that workers are entitled to at least one 24-hour break from work per week, has led to workers sometimes being forced to miss religious services.^[5]

In April 2017 the minister of education threatened to close 16 Islamic schools he classified as “Quranic,” stating the schools were among 190 private schools identified as not complying with various administrative requirements.^[5] Representatives of the Muslim community criticized this declaration as Islamophobic.^[5]

Christianity

Protestantism and Catholicism are the main Christian denominations in the country. The Malagasy Council of Churches comprises the four oldest and most prominent Christian denominations (Catholic, Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar, Lutheran, and Anglican) and has been an influential force in Malagasy politics.^[6] In the disputed 2001 presidential elections, the council rallied behind Protestant candidate Ravalomanana, whose electoral slogan was "Don't be afraid, only believe."^[7]

The Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar, a Reformed Protestant church, had 2.5 million adherents in 2004;^[8] former President Marc Ravalomanana served as its vice-president.^[9]

There were 21 Catholic dioceses in Madagascar in 2013, including five archdioceses.^[10]

Other religions

Islam

Islam has been well established in what is now known as Madagascar for centuries and today Muslims represent 2 to 5 percent of the total population.^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14] The vast majority of Muslims in Madagascar practice Sunni Islam of the Shafi school of jurisprudence,^[15] with sizeable Shia and Ahmadiyya communities.