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Christianity is the largestreligion inBenin, with substantial populations ofMuslims and adherents oftraditional faiths such asVodún.
According to the most recent 2020 estimate, the population ofBenin is 52.2% Christian, 24.6% Muslim, 17.9% traditionalist and 5.3% follows other faiths or has no religion.[2][3]
There are Christians, Muslims, and adherents ofAfrican traditional religions throughout the country.[4] However, most adherents of the traditionalYoruba religious group are in the south, while other African Traditional Religion beliefs are followed in the north.[4] Muslims are represented most heavily in the north, while Catholics are prevalent in the south,[5]particularly inCotonou, the economic capital. It is not unusual for members of the same family to practise Christianity, Islam, African Traditional Religion, or a combination of all of these.
Among the most practiced African traditional religions in Benin is theVodun system of belief which originated in this area of Africa.[5]
Other African traditional religions are practiced in theAtakora (Atakora and Donga provinces) and Vodun andOrisha (orOrisa) veneration among the Yoruba and Tado peoples is prevalent in the centre and south of the country. The town ofOuidah on the central coast is the spiritual centre of Beninese Vodun.
The Tado and the YorubaOrisha pantheons correspond closely:
Catholicism first reached Benin in 1680, gaining more permanent footing in the 19th century.EnglishMethodists arrived in 1843, operating amongst the coastalGun people.[6] French missionaries spread Catholicism in the region.[7]
More than half of all Christians in Benin areRoman Catholic.[8] The Catholic hierarchy in Benin consists of theArchdiocese of Cotonou (including the Dioceses ofAbomey,Dassa-Zoumé,Lokossa,Porto Novo) and theParakou (including the Dioceses ofDjougou,Kandi,Natitingou, andN'Dali). In 2020, there were 1349priests and 1482 women in religious orders.[9]
Other Christian groups includeCelestial Christians,Methodists,the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons),Jehovah's Witnesses,Baptists,Pentecostals, theUnification Church and theVery Holy Church of Jesus Christ of Baname.[5]
Islam, which accounts for more than 27% of the country's population, was brought to Benin from the north byHausa, and Songhai-Dendi traders.[7] Nearly all Muslims adhere to theSunni branch of Islam.[5] The fewShi'a Muslims are primarily Middle Eastern expatriates.[4] Shia population in Benin is estimated between one and twelve percent of the total Muslim population of Benin, according to Pew Forum it is less than one percent[11] while as per Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly the population of Shia in Benin is around twelve percent of the total Muslim population of Benin.[12]Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is also present, who recently inaugurated amosque in Benin, the Al Mahdi Mosque in 2006. Many nominal Muslims also practise traditional local religious beliefs.[4]
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Three out of twelvedepartments have a Muslim majority:Alibori (81.3%),Donga (77.9%) andBorgou (69.8%).[13]Couffo has the lowest share of Muslims in Benin as Muslims comprise less than 1% of the total population.
Other religious groups in Benin includeEckankar and followers of theBaháʼí Faith.[5]
TheConstitution of Benin provides forfreedom of religion, and the government generally respects this right in practice.[5] The United States government recorded no reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious belief or practice during 2007, and prominent societal leaders have taken positive steps to promote religious freedom.[4]
In 2023, Benin was scored 4 out of 4 for religious freedom byFreedom House.[14]
