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Christianity is the largestreligion inNauru, withNauru Congregational Church and Catholicism being the largest denominations , encompassing 34.3% and 33.9% of the population respectively as of the 2021 census.[1]
Freedom of religion is a constitutional right, and the country's laws and society uphold this right without any significant breaches.
According to the 2021 census, the island was predominantly Christian with 34.3% following theNauru Congregational Church down from 35.7% in 2011 Census; 33.9% following Catholicism up from 33.0% in 2011 Census. The Assemblies of God also shown decline from 13.0% in 2011 to 11.7% in 2021. The biggest decline was for theNauru Independent Church which saw a decline from 9.5% to 3.5%. ThePacific Light House Church is followed by 6%. Members of theSeventh-day Adventists,Baptists, Other Protestants andBrethren Church are followed by 1.4%, 1.5%, 1.1% and 0.4% respectively.[2][1]
The Census also noted 1.3% of the population doesn't profess any religion and 0.05% followingHinduism.[1]
The ethnic Chinese people living on the island (approximately 5% of the population) were mainlyConfucian,Buddhist,Taoist,Christian, ornonreligious.[2]
The largely Christian communities of Tuvaluan andI-Kiribati expatriates were repatriated in late 2006 following the near cessation of phosphate mining in the country.[3]
Nauruan indigenous religion was the predominant religion in Nauru before the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when foreignmissionaries introduced Christianity to the island.[3] In the early 2000s, there were a few active Christian missionary organisations, including representatives ofAnglicanism,Methodism, andCatholicism.[3]
According to data from Pew Research, the religions ofHinduism,Judaism, andIslam had a small presence in the island, with about 0.1% of the population (fewer than ten people), adhering to each faith. With the exception of detainees inNauru Regional Processing Centre, in which majority are Muslims, with significant minority of Buddhists and Hindus, although the population were slowly decreasing due to re-settlement program by theAustralian Government.[4]
Theconstitution ofNauru provides for freedom of conscience, thought, and religion, as well as freedom to change one’s religion or beliefs.[2]
Religious groups are required to register with the government in order to proselytize, build houses of worship, hold religious services, or officiate marriages. As of 2022, religious groups are required to have 750 members to register.[2] In the past, local religious leaders noted that in practice the only activity which is restricted for unregistered groups is marriage officiation.[5]
Religious groups are allowed to operate private schools. In public schools, religious groups are allowed to provide religious studies courses once a week during school hours, but they are not required to do this. Students are expected to attend courses pertaining to their chosen religious denomination; other students are expected to use the time as an independent study period.[2]
According to a 2022 US government report, there are no significant societal limits on religious freedom in Nauru.[2] In the past, some elements of the Nauru Protestant and Roman Catholic communities have occasionally voiced discomfort with religious groups they perceived as foreign, in particular the LDS Church and theJehovah's Witnesses.[3]
