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Christianity is the predominantreligion in Tonga, withFree Wesleyan Church of Tonga having the most adherents.[2][4]
TheConstitution of Tonga establishesfreedom of religion, which is respected in practice by both the government and general society, although there are some laws which restrict commerce and broadcast media in accordance with Christian religious norms.
Tongans are ardent churchgoers.Church service usually follows a call and response structure. Singing in the church is often donea cappella. Although a church attends primarily to the spiritual needs of the population, it also functions as the primary social hub.
Sunday is celebrated as a strict sabbath, enshrined so in the constitution, and despite some voices to the opposite, the Sunday ban is not likely to be abolished soon. No trade is allowed on Sunday, except essential services, after special approval by the minister of police. Those that break thelaw risk a fine or imprisonment.[5]
Along with others fromOceania, some Tongan Christians have attempted to develop their own uniquetheology which addresses the contextual questions offered by people of thePacific. This includes thecoconut theology of the MethodistSione 'Amanaki Havea or theincarnational theology of the CatholicBishop of TongaPatelesio Finau.[6]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Tonga had 66,361members on record (about 60% of the population) with 173 congregations as of 2019.[7] According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Tonga has a higher per-capita number of Latter-day Saints than any other country in the world.[8] However, according to the 2011 census, only 18.01% of Tongans belong to LDS Church and Tongans belonging to mainstreamChristian denominations represent majority of the population.[9]
Buddhism has begun to gain traction, growing from 0.2% to 0.4% of the population in five years.[10]Hinduism decreased from 104 people in 2006 to 100 in 2010.[9]
The Islam is also present in Tonga, 0.2 percent of total population is Muslim.[11]
TheBaháʼí Faith in Tonga started after being set as a goal to introduce the religion in 1953,[12] and Baháʼís arrived in 1954.[13] With conversions andpioneers, the firstLocal Spiritual Assembly was elected in 1958.[14] Less than forty years later, in 1996, the Baháʼís of Tonga established their paramountBaháʼí school in the form of theOcean of Light International School.[15] Around 2004 there were 29 local spiritual assemblies[13] and about 5% of the national population were members of the Baháʼí Faith though theTonga Broadcasting Commission maintained a policy that does not allow discussions by members of the Baháʼí Faith of its founder,Bahá'u'lláh on its radio broadcasts.[16]
In the early 20th century, there were two earlySikh pioneers residing in Tonga who came from theGarhshankartehsil of the Punjab.[17]
According to the 2021 Tonga Census, the largest religious group in the country was theFree Wesleyan Church, comprising approximately 34.44% of the total population of 98,575. TheChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints followed with 19.62%, andCatholics made up 13.84%. TheFree Church of Tonga accounted for 11.59%, while the Church of Tonga represented 6.88% of the population. Other notable denominations included the Seventh Day Adventist Church (2.50%), the Assembly of God (2.49%), and other Pentecostal denominations (1.97%). Tokaikolo adherents made up 1.48%, and the Constitutional Church of Tonga accounted for 1.17%. Smaller religious groups included theBaha’i Faith (0.74%), Mo’ui Fo’ou ‘ia Kalaisi (0.60%), the Anglican and Gospel churches (both at 0.48%), Jehovah’s Witnesses (0.36%), and The Salvation Army (0.33%). Minority religions such asHinduism andIslam each comprised around 0.08% of the population, while Buddhists made up 0.06%. Additionally, 0.58% of the population reported no religious affiliation, 0.17% did not state their religion, 0.72% identified with other religions, and 0.12% refused to answer.[18][19]
| Religion | 1986[20] | 1996[20] | 2006[21] | 2011[22] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christianity | 90,175 | 94,489 | 99,255 | 101,272 |
| Baháʼí Faith | 0 | 595 | 686 | 777 |
| Hinduism | 0 | 0 | 104 | 100 |
| Buddhism | 0 | 0 | 71 | 183 |
| Islam | 0 | 35 | 47 | 24 |
| Other | 2,874 | 830 | 202 | 877 |
| Refuse to answer | 0 | 10 | 1,698 | 275 |
| None | 0 | 61 | 28 | 288 |
| Total | 94,049 | 96,020 | 101,991 | 103,043 |
| Religion | 1986[20] | 1996[20] | 2006[21] | 2011[22] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Wesleyan Church | 40,371 | 39,703 | 38,052 | 36,592 |
| Catholic | 14,921 | 15,309 | 15,922 | 15,441 |
| Latter-day Saints | 11,270 | 13,225 | 17,109 | 18,554 |
| Free Church of Tonga | 10,413 | 11,226 | 11,599 | 11,863 |
| Church of Tonga | 6,882 | 7,016 | 7,295 | 6,935 |
| Tokaikolo Christian Church | 3,047 | 2,919 | 2,597 | 2,533 |
| Anglican Church | 563 | 720 | 765 | 728 |
| Seventh-day Adventist Church | 2,143 | 2,381 | 2,282 | 2,331 |
| Assembly of God | 565 | 1,082 | 2,350 | 2,602 |
| Constitutional Church of Tonga | 0 | 845 | 941 | 961 |
| Gospel Church | 0 | 63 | 243 | 236 |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | 0 | 0 | 0 | 462 |
| Other Pentecostal Denomination | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,034 |
| Total | 90,175 | 94,489 | 99,255 | 101,272 |
The constitution of Tonga establishes the freedom of religion, with the qualification that this freedom is not used to "commit evil" or to otherwise violate the law. The constitution forbids commercial transactions on Sundays in accordance with theChristian Sabbath, although the tourism industry is granted some exceptions from this rule.[23]
Religious organizations are not required to register with the government, but may do so in order to receive tax exemptions, the right to issue legally recognized marriage certificates, and other privileges. Foreign missionaries may operate in the country without special restrictions.[23]
Public schools may choose to include up to an hour of religious education per week; students are required to attend religious education courses pertaining to the religion that they profess. Many religious organizations operate private schools.[23]
The government allows religious organizations to broadcast programming onTV Tonga andRadio Tonga, officially with the restriction that they must limit their messaging to be "within the limits of the mainstream Christian tradition". Despite this restriction, in the past theBaháʼí Faith community has televised programming, although the community has since discontinued this program. As of 2017, there have been no reports of the government denying requests for air time from any religious organization.[23]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)The ripples from Singapore certainly spread as far as New Zealand and Fiji, and the two Sikhs from Garhshankar tahsil who were in Tonga early this century (McLeod 1986: 103) should serve to remind us that few territories were so remote as to be beyond their range.