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Religious Beliefs and Spirituality in Equatorial Guinea

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Equatorial Guinea has Roman Catholicism as its principal religion since the Spanish colonial period when the whole population was baptized into the faith. Even with a Constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion in the country, it has remained predominant, drawing the largest number of adherents from the population. A religious demography, therefore, places Roman Catholicism or Christianity on top with 93%, followed by Protestantism at 6%, and the traditional indigenous religions at 5%. The Muslims, the Bahai Faith members and practitioners of other religions have each 1% of the population of the country.

Catholic and Protestant churches have been built in many areas in the country while foreign religious missionaries, riding on the religious freedom, have continued to operate particularly on Bioko island and other urban centers in the mainland. These include the Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Seventh-Day Adventists, Assemblies of God, and the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Christianity maintains Catholic dioceses in Bata, Ebebiyin and Malabo. Some Protestant denominations are also allowed to operate freely and have their own schools to propagate their faith. The ethnic minorities of Ngumba, Yaka, Puku and Benga have no known organized religious congregations anywhere in the country.

The country’s indigenous religion venerate ancestors and considers them as living in a place called Borimo, who are capable of making influence on the living humans. The leaders of this religion are usually sorcerers who occupy an exalted position in a particular community. An African traditional religion also holds that a Supreme Being exists along with lower gods in the Spirit World, who can either help or bring bad luck to the people.