RELIGION LIBRARY

Bahamas, The

Map of Bahamas, The

The country has an area of 13,939 square miles and a population of 342,400, including those residing illegally. The country is ethnically diverse and includes a Haitian minority of legal and illegal immigrants estimated at 30,000 to 60,000 persons and a white/European minority of comparable size.
More than 90 percent of the population professes a religion, and anecdotal evidence suggests that most attend services regularly. The country's religious profile reflects its diversity. Protestant Christian denominations including Baptists (35 percent), Anglicans (15 percent), Pentecostals (8 percent), Church of God (5 percent), Seventh-day Adventists (5 percent), and Methodists (4 percent) are in the majority, but there are also significant Roman Catholic (14 percent) and Greek Orthodox populations. Smaller Jewish, Baha'i, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Muslim communities also are active. A small number of Bahamians and Haitians, particularly those living in the Family Islands, practice Obeah, a version of voodoo. A small number of citizens identify themselves as Rastafarians, while some members of the small resident Guyanese and Indian populations practice Hinduism and other South Asian religions. Although many unaffiliated Protestant congregations are almost exclusively black, most mainstream churches are integrated racially.

Population Population (2009 est.) 309,156
Religious Demographics Baptist 35.4%, Anglican 15.1%, Roman Catholic 13.5%, Pentacostal 8.1%, Church of God 4.8%, Methodist 4.2%, other Christian 15.2%, none or unspecified 2.9%, other 0.8% (2000 census)
Ethnic Groups Ethnic Groups black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%
Languages Languages English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
Country Flag Flag of Bahamas, The