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Religion in Rwanda

December 15, 2023

Christianity is the largest religion in Rwanda. The most recent national census from 2012 indicates that: 43.7% of Rwanda's population is Catholic, 37.7% is Protestant, 11.8% is Seventh-day Adventist, 2.0% is Muslim (mainly Sunni), 2.5% claims no religious affiliation, and 0.7% is Jehovah's Witness.[1]

Religion in Rwanda (2012 census)[1]

  Catholic (43.7%)
  Protestant (37.7%)
  Seventh-day Adventist (11.8%)
  Other Christian (0.7%)
  No Religion (2.5%)
  Muslim (2.0%)
  Other (0.2%)
  Not Stated (1.3%)
Parish church in Rwamagana, Rwanda

There is also a small population of Baha'is, as well as some practising traditional indigenous beliefs. There has been a proliferation of small, usually Christian-linked schismatic religious groups since the 1994 genocide.[2]

There are small communities of Hindus and Buddhists, comprising mostly foreign adherents, typically businessmen from China and India as well as university professors and students. Neither religion seriously attempts conversion in Rwanda; although, there is a Hindu Temple of Rwanda as a place of worship.[3]

Current context edit

The Constitution of Rwanda provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice.[4]

Foreign missionaries are allowed to operate in the country, but put register for a residency permit.[4]

In 2023, the country was scored 2 out of 4 for religious freedom;[5] it was noted that government policies are getting stricter.

History edit

Role of religion in 1994 genocide edit

An estimated 1,000,000 Rwandans died during ethnic violence over a brief span of 100 days between April and July 1994.[6] Most of the dead were Tutsis, and most of those who perpetrated the violence were Hutus.

The genocide started after the death of the Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana, a Hutu, in the shooting down of his plane above Kigali airport on 6 April 1994. The full details of that specific incident remain unclear; however, the death of the president was by no means the only cause of the mayhem. (Ethnic tension in Rwanda is not new. Disagreements between the majority Hutus and minority Tutsis are common, but the animosity between them grew substantially after the end of the Belgian colonial regime.)

Timothy Longman has provided the most detailed discussion of the role of religion in the Rwandan genocide in Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda, published in 2010.[7] Longman argues that both Catholic and Protestant churches helped to make the genocide possible by giving moral sanction to the killing. Churches had longed played ethnic politics themselves, favoring the Tutsi during the colonial period then switching allegiance to the Hutu after 1959, sending a message that some may have interpreted as ethnic discrimination being consistent with church teaching. The church leaders had close ties with the political leaders, and after the genocide began, the church leaders called on the population to support the new interim government, the very government supporting the genocide.

Some church leaders actively participated in the genocide. For example, Athanase Seromba, a Catholic priest responsible at the time of the genocide for the Nyange parish, was ultimately (after appeal) convicted in 2008 by the Appeals Chamber for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda of committing genocide and crimes against humanity. Specifically, it was shown that Seromba abused his high degree of trust in the community as a Catholic priest, when, instead of protecting the 1500-2000 Tutsi refugees sheltering in his church, he provided key and necessary approval for the church to be bulldozed to the ground with the intent to kill the refugees inside.[8]

At the same time, churches did not uniformly support the genocide. In the period leading up to the genocide, 1990–1994, major splits emerged within most churches between moderates who promoted democratic change and conservatives allied with the Habyarimana regime. Many of the clergy were Tutsi, and they generally supported democratic reform, but many moderate Hutu within the churches supported reform as well. Churches provided major support to the formation of the new human-rights groups that emerged in the early 1990s. When the genocide began in 1994, some clergy and other church leaders opposed the violence,[9] even at the risk of their own lives.[10]

Some individual members of the religious community attempted to protect civilians, sometimes at great risk to themselves. For example, Mgr. Thaddée Ntihinyurwa [fr] of Cyangugu preached against the genocide from the pulpit and tried unsuccessfully to rescue three Tutsi religious brothers from an attack, while Sr. Felicitas Niyitegeka of the Auxiliaires de l’Apostolat in Gisenyi smuggled Tutsi across the border into Zaire before a militant militia executed her in retaliation.[11][12]

In her book Left to Tell: Discovering God in the Rwandan Holocaust (2006), Immaculée Ilibagiza, a Tutsi woman, describes hiding with seven other Tutsi women for 91 days in a bathroom in the house of Pastor Murinzi - for the majority of the genocide. At the St Paul Pastoral Centre in Kigali about 2,000 people found refuge and most of them survived, due to the efforts of Fr Célestin Hakizimana. This priest "intervened at every attempt by the militia to abduct or murder" the refugees in his centre. In the face of powerful opposition, he tried to hold off the killers with persuasion or bribes.[13]

On November 20, 2016, the Catholic Church in Rwanda released a statement signed by nine bishops apologizing for the role of its members in the genocide of 1994.[14]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b (PDF). Rwanda Census Office. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2015.
  2. ^ International Religious Freedom Report, 2013: Rwanda, United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Retrieved 2019-05-25; International Religious Freedom Report, 2011: Rwanda, United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Retrieved 2019-05-25. This article incorporates text from these sources, which are in the public domain.
  3. ^ Adekunle, Julius (2007). Culture and Customs of Rwanda. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 40. ISBN 9780313331770.
  4. ^ a b US State Dept 2022 report
  5. ^ Freedom House website, retrieved 2023-08-08
  6. ^ "Numbers (HRW Report - Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda, March 1999)".
  7. ^ Timothy Longman, Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
  8. ^ Shahabuddeen, Mohamed (12 March 2008). "THE PROSECUTOR v. ATHANASE SEROMBA" (PDF). International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (Case No. ICTR-2001-66-A).
  9. ^ Longman, Timothy (2010). Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda. African Studies. Vol. 112. Cambridge University Press. p. 322. ISBN 9780521191395. Retrieved 2013-04-10. [...] among the first acts of the genocide was for the regime that benefited from the support of church leaders to target these sources of opposition, such as the Jesuit Centre Christus in Kigali.
  10. ^ Longman, Timothy (2010). "Christian Churches and Genocide (1993-1994)". Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda. African Studies. Vol. 112. Cambridge University Press. p. 189. ISBN 9780521191395. Retrieved 2013-04-10. Some of the early targets included progressive elements in the churches. One of the first places the death squads hit on April 7 was the Centre Christus, a Jesuit retreat center which had a mission of seeking ethnic reconciliation and helping the poor and vulnerable. Around 7 a.m., a group of six soldiers arrived at the center and rounded up those present. They divided the Rwandans from the European priests and nuns, and in a separate room they shot all seventeen Rwandans, a mixed group of Hutu and Tutsi [...]
  11. ^ The Organization (HRW Report - Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda, March 1999)
  12. ^ "Foundation Felicitas Niyitegeka 1934-1994". Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  13. ^ Kubai, Anne (April 2007). "Walking a Tightrope: Christians and Muslims in Post-Genocide Rwanda". Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. 18 (2): 219–235. doi:10.1080/09596410701214076. S2CID 143229200.
  14. ^ . The Washington Post. 20 November 2016. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.

External links edit

  • "Rwanda's resurrection of faith" by Mary Wiltenburg, The Christian Science Monitor, April 12, 2004
  • "Rwanda: How the genocide happened", BBC News, December 18, 2008
  • "For Rwandans, the pope's apology must be unbearable", The Guardian, March 28, 2010

December 15, 2023
religion, rwanda, christianity, largest, religion, rwanda, most, recent, national, census, from, 2012, indicates, that, rwanda, population, catholic, protestant, seventh, adventist, muslim, mainly, sunni, claims, religious, affiliation, jehovah, witness, 2012,. Christianity is the largest religion in Rwanda The most recent national census from 2012 indicates that 43 7 of Rwanda s population is Catholic 37 7 is Protestant 11 8 is Seventh day Adventist 2 0 is Muslim mainly Sunni 2 5 claims no religious affiliation and 0 7 is Jehovah s Witness 1 Religion in Rwanda 2012 census 1 Catholic 43 7 Protestant 37 7 Seventh day Adventist 11 8 Other Christian 0 7 No Religion 2 5 Muslim 2 0 Other 0 2 Not Stated 1 3 Parish church in Rwamagana RwandaThere is also a small population of Baha is as well as some practising traditional indigenous beliefs There has been a proliferation of small usually Christian linked schismatic religious groups since the 1994 genocide 2 There are small communities of Hindus and Buddhists comprising mostly foreign adherents typically businessmen from China and India as well as university professors and students Neither religion seriously attempts conversion in Rwanda although there is a Hindu Temple of Rwanda as a place of worship 3 Contents 1 Current context 2 History 2 1 Role of religion in 1994 genocide 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksCurrent context editThe Constitution of Rwanda provides for freedom of religion and the Government generally respects this right in practice 4 Foreign missionaries are allowed to operate in the country but put register for a residency permit 4 In 2023 the country was scored 2 out of 4 for religious freedom 5 it was noted that government policies are getting stricter History editRole of religion in 1994 genocide edit An estimated 1 000 000 Rwandans died during ethnic violence over a brief span of 100 days between April and July 1994 6 Most of the dead were Tutsis and most of those who perpetrated the violence were Hutus The genocide started after the death of the Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana a Hutu in the shooting down of his plane above Kigali airport on 6 April 1994 The full details of that specific incident remain unclear however the death of the president was by no means the only cause of the mayhem Ethnic tension in Rwanda is not new Disagreements between the majority Hutus and minority Tutsis are common but the animosity between them grew substantially after the end of the Belgian colonial regime Timothy Longman has provided the most detailed discussion of the role of religion in the Rwandan genocide in Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda published in 2010 7 Longman argues that both Catholic and Protestant churches helped to make the genocide possible by giving moral sanction to the killing Churches had longed played ethnic politics themselves favoring the Tutsi during the colonial period then switching allegiance to the Hutu after 1959 sending a message that some may have interpreted as ethnic discrimination being consistent with church teaching The church leaders had close ties with the political leaders and after the genocide began the church leaders called on the population to support the new interim government the very government supporting the genocide Some church leaders actively participated in the genocide For example Athanase Seromba a Catholic priest responsible at the time of the genocide for the Nyange parish was ultimately after appeal convicted in 2008 by the Appeals Chamber for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda of committing genocide and crimes against humanity Specifically it was shown that Seromba abused his high degree of trust in the community as a Catholic priest when instead of protecting the 1500 2000 Tutsi refugees sheltering in his church he provided key and necessary approval for the church to be bulldozed to the ground with the intent to kill the refugees inside 8 At the same time churches did not uniformly support the genocide In the period leading up to the genocide 1990 1994 major splits emerged within most churches between moderates who promoted democratic change and conservatives allied with the Habyarimana regime Many of the clergy were Tutsi and they generally supported democratic reform but many moderate Hutu within the churches supported reform as well Churches provided major support to the formation of the new human rights groups that emerged in the early 1990s When the genocide began in 1994 some clergy and other church leaders opposed the violence 9 even at the risk of their own lives 10 Some individual members of the religious community attempted to protect civilians sometimes at great risk to themselves For example Mgr Thaddee Ntihinyurwa fr of Cyangugu preached against the genocide from the pulpit and tried unsuccessfully to rescue three Tutsi religious brothers from an attack while Sr Felicitas Niyitegeka of the Auxiliaires de l Apostolat in Gisenyi smuggled Tutsi across the border into Zaire before a militant militia executed her in retaliation 11 12 In her book Left to Tell Discovering God in the Rwandan Holocaust 2006 Immaculee Ilibagiza a Tutsi woman describes hiding with seven other Tutsi women for 91 days in a bathroom in the house of Pastor Murinzi for the majority of the genocide At the St Paul Pastoral Centre in Kigali about 2 000 people found refuge and most of them survived due to the efforts of Fr Celestin Hakizimana This priest intervened at every attempt by the militia to abduct or murder the refugees in his centre In the face of powerful opposition he tried to hold off the killers with persuasion or bribes 13 On November 20 2016 the Catholic Church in Rwanda released a statement signed by nine bishops apologizing for the role of its members in the genocide of 1994 14 See also editCatholic Church in Rwanda Islam in Rwanda Protestant Council of RwandaReferences edit a b Census 2012 PDF Rwanda Census Office p 12 Archived from the original PDF on 19 March 2015 International Religious Freedom Report 2013 Rwanda United States Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor Retrieved 2019 05 25 International Religious Freedom Report 2011 Rwanda United States Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor Retrieved 2019 05 25 This article incorporates text from these sources which are in the public domain Adekunle Julius 2007 Culture and Customs of Rwanda Greenwood Publishing Group p 40 ISBN 9780313331770 a b US State Dept 2022 report Freedom House website retrieved 2023 08 08 Numbers HRW Report Leave None to Tell the Story Genocide in Rwanda March 1999 Timothy Longman Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda New York Cambridge University Press 2010 Shahabuddeen Mohamed 12 March 2008 THE PROSECUTOR v ATHANASE SEROMBA PDF International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Case No ICTR 2001 66 A Longman Timothy 2010 Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda African Studies Vol 112 Cambridge University Press p 322 ISBN 9780521191395 Retrieved 2013 04 10 among the first acts of the genocide was for the regime that benefited from the support of church leaders to target these sources of opposition such as the Jesuit Centre Christus in Kigali Longman Timothy 2010 Christian Churches and Genocide 1993 1994 Christianity and Genocide in Rwanda African Studies Vol 112 Cambridge University Press p 189 ISBN 9780521191395 Retrieved 2013 04 10 Some of the early targets included progressive elements in the churches One of the first places the death squads hit on April 7 was the Centre Christus a Jesuit retreat center which had a mission of seeking ethnic reconciliation and helping the poor and vulnerable Around 7 a m a group of six soldiers arrived at the center and rounded up those present They divided the Rwandans from the European priests and nuns and in a separate room they shot all seventeen Rwandans a mixed group of Hutu and Tutsi The Organization HRW Report Leave None to Tell the Story Genocide in Rwanda March 1999 Foundation Felicitas Niyitegeka 1934 1994 Retrieved July 5 2017 Kubai Anne April 2007 Walking a Tightrope Christians and Muslims in Post Genocide Rwanda Islam and Christian Muslim Relations Routledge Taylor amp Francis Group 18 2 219 235 doi 10 1080 09596410701214076 S2CID 143229200 Rwanda Catholic bishops apologize for role in genocide The Washington Post 20 November 2016 Archived from the original on 21 November 2016 Retrieved 25 November 2016 External links edit Rwanda s resurrection of faith by Mary Wiltenburg The Christian Science Monitor April 12 2004 Rwanda How the genocide happened BBC News December 18 2008 For Rwandans the pope s apology must be unbearable The Guardian March 28 2010 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Religion in Rwanda amp oldid 1189702992, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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