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Religious Beliefs and Spirituality in Malawi

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Christianity is the majority religion of the Republic of Malawi with Protestantism and Roman Catholicism as its largest denominations. With 80% of the country’s population as its adherents, Christianity is the most important religion evidently because of its impact on the life of the people, making them believe that old beliefs are inferior. Islam is another significant religion with 13%, and those with indigenous beliefs and even atheists who do not believe in the existence of God or Supreme Being with 4% of the population. The other Christian denominations include the Church of Central Africa, Presbyterians, Anglicans, Baptists, Evangelicals, and Seventh-Day Adventists. The other small religious groups are the Jews, Rastafarians, Hindus, and Bahai’Is. The Europeans and Americans, along with the missionaries from South Africa and Australia, are responsible for bringing Christianity and Protestantism to the country, while the Arab traders had brought the Muslim faith from the Middle East. The Hindu religion, meanwhile, was brought to the country by Indian and East Asian traders.

As a denomination of Christianity, the Roman Catholic Church in Malawi has an archdiocese in Blantyre and six dioceses in Chikawawa, Dedza, Lilongwe, Zomba, Mzuzu, and Mangochi. Most of the Muslims are found in the southern lakeshore of the country, with their mosques built in Balaka, Machinga and Mangochi. Several schools in the country also teach the Arabic and Kiswahili languages enabling children to read and understand the Koran or take further education about Islam.