KIRIBATI
Religion
Religion
Religion
Micronesia is almost entirely Christianised. Spanish Catholic missionaries converted the Mariana Islands and the western islands. Protestants from New England, USA, converted the Marshall Islands and the eastern islands. Chuuk, Nauru, Kiribati and Pohnpei have roughly equal numbers of Catholics and Protestants.
Before the Europeans arrived in the 16th century, people on Kiribati strongly believed in anti (spirits) and tabunea (sorcery). However, Christianity quickly gained a foothold. Half of the I-Kiribati are Roman Catholic and the headquarters are located in Teaoraereke on Tarawa. Next is the Kiribati Protestant Church, a congregationalist church, although in some remote islands there are more Protestants than Catholics. There are also some Bahái followers on Tarawa and Seventh-day Adventists, Mormons, Muslims and followers of the Church of God. The percentage of Catholics is about 53%, Protestants about 41% and other religions about 6%.
Sources
Galbraith, K. / Micronesia
Lonely Planet
Levy, N.M. /Micronesia handbook Moon
CIA - World Factbook
BBC - Country Profiles
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