Tanzania
-- Religion
Approximately
one third
of Tanzanians
identify
themselves
as Christian,
another
third as
Muslim.
The remaining
third practice
one of the
country's
numerous
indigenous
religions.
Along with
Christianity
and Islam,
the Hindu,
Sikh, and
Buddhist
faiths are
practiced
by members
of the Asian
minorities
on the mainland
and the
islands.
The National
Spiritual
Assembly,
an organization
for the
Baha'i religion,
also has
numerous
local affiliations
throughout
the country
[1] .
Indeginous
Beliefs
Most
indigenous
beliefs
profess
the idea
of a high
god, similar
to Christianity
and Islam.
Many Tanzanians
will give
their children
a name from
a grandparent
or great
grandparent
in addition
to a Christian
or Islamic
name. This
name reflects
a relationship
with the
ancestral
spirit world.
Furthermore,
many Tanzanians
seek the
help of
diviners
and traditional
healers
for help
in case
of sickness
and misfortune.
Christianity
Christianity
was introduced
into Tanzania
when Roman
Catholic
Franciscans
established
a mission
at the coastal
city of
Kilwa during
the Portuguese
occupation
between
1505-1513.
By the late
1840s Catholic
and Protestant
missions
were to
be found
up and down
the coast.
During the
colonial
era, the
most active
missionary
societies
included
the Africa
Inland Mission,
the
Augustana
Lutheran
Mission,
the Capuchin
Fathers,
the Church
Missionary
Society,
the Father
of Holy
Ghost, the
Italian
Fathers
of the Consolation,
the Leipzig
Mission,
the London
Missionary
Society,
the Moravian
Mission,
the Neukirchen
Mission,
the Seventh-Day
Adventists,
the Universities,
the Mission
to Central
Africa,
and the
White Fathers.
Since
independence,
most Christian
denominations
have operated
under the
aegis of
an umbrella
organization,
the Christian
Council
of Tanzania,
which was
founded
in 1934.
Much of
Tanzania's
Christian
clergy is
today of
African
origin.
Islam
Islam
first appeared
in Tanzania
during the
late medieval
period when
Arab traders
established
commercial
stations
in Zanzibar
and along
the mainland
coast. Arab
slave traders
subsequently
helped spread
Islam to
the country's
interior.
Although
Muslims
did not
establish
missionary
societies,
Islam gradually
spread throughout
Tanzania.
Today most
Muslims
inhabit
Zanzibar
and Pemba,
or live
in or near
Dar es Salaam,
Kigoma,
Tabora,
Tanga, Kondoa,
and
Singida.
A large
Muslim population
also lives
in towns
along the
Ruvuma River.
Tanzania's
Muslim affairs
are supervised
by two organizations.
The National
Muslim Council
of Tanzania,
founded
in 1969,
oversees
the mainland,
while the
Supreme
Muslim Council,
formed in
1991, administers
the Muslim
affairs
in the islands.
[1]
Ofcansky,
Thomas P.
& Rodger
Yeager (eds,)
1997. Historical
Dictionary
of Tanzania
Second Edition,
Scarecrow
Press, Inc.:
London
For
Further
Reading;
Pauwels,
Randall.
1987. Horn
and Crescent:
Cultural
Change and
Traditional
Islam on
the African
Coast,
800-1910.
Cambridge:
Cambridge
University
Press.
Rasmussen,
Lissi. 1993.
Christian
and Muslim
Relations:
The Cases
of Northern
Nigeria
and Tanzania.
London.
I.B. Tauris.