- Summary
- Adherents
- Religious Freedom
- Socio-economic
- Public Opinion
Religious Adherents1 |
El Salvador | Central America | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baha'i | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.1% |
| Buddhist | 0.0% | 0.1% | 5.8% |
| Chinese Universalist | 0.0% | 0.1% | 5.8% |
| Christian | 97.4% | 96.2% | 33.3% |
| Confucianist | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Ethnoreligionist | 0.6% | 0.6% | 4.0% |
| Hindu | 0.0% | 0.0% | 13.6% |
| Jain | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Jewish | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| Muslim | 0.0% | 0.4% | 20.8% |
| Shintoist | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Sikh | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| Spiritist | 0.0% | 0.5% | 0.2% |
| Taoist | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% |
| Zoroastrian | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Other Religions | 0.0% | 0.1% | 1.6% |
| Neo-religions | 0.0% | 0.1% | -- |
| Non-religious | 1.4% | 1.3% | 11.7% |
| Atheist | 0.1% | 0.3% | 2.3% |
Religious Demography
The country has an area of 8,108 square miles; preliminary data from the 2007 census indicates that the population is 5.8 million. The country is predominantly Roman Catholic, with a sizeable Protestant minority, plus small communities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Hare Krishna, Muslims, and Jews, among others. A very small segment of the population observes indigenous religious practices. According to an October 2006 survey by the Technological University Public Opinion Center, 48 percent of the population was Roman Catholic. (There are diverse religious views among Catholics groups, including a Charismatic Renewal group that, according to press reports, constitutes more than 6 percent of Catholics.) Some 28.2 percent are members of Protestant churches. (Among Protestants, informal church estimates suggest that approximately 35 percent are Baptists and members of Assemblies of God.) Groups that constitute less than 5 percent of the population include Jehovah's Witnesses, and Mormons; 14.6 percent are not affiliated with any religious group. Several missionary groups are active.2
Sources
Note: All country histories and flags were obtained from The World Factbook, 2008.
1. The World Christian Database (WCD) is based on the 2600-page award-winning World Christian Encyclopedia and World Christian Trends, first published in 1982 and revised in 2001. This extensive work on World religion is now completely updated and integrated into the WCD online database. Designed for both the casual user and research scholar, information is readily available on religious activities, growth rates, religious literature, worker activity, and demographic statistics. Additional secular data is incorporated on population, health, education, and communications. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.
2. The U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom report is submitted to Congress annually by the Department of State in compliance with Section 102(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. This report supplements the most recent Human Rights Reports by providing additional detailed information with respect to matters involving international religious freedom. It includes individual country chapters on the status of religious freedom worldwide. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. These State Department reports are open source.
