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Monday, January 11, 2010

Religion in Bangladesh

Islam is the largest religion of Bangladesh; Muslims constitute 88 % of the population followed by Hindus who constitute 11 %. The remainder of Bangladeshis practices other religions such as Buddhism and Christianity. Muslims constitute 90 percent of the population. Most Muslims in Bangladesh are Sunnis, but there is a small Shia community. Most of those who are Shia reside in urban areas. Although these Shias are few in number, Shia observance commemorating the martyrdom of Ali's sons, Hasan and Husayn, is widely observed by the nation's Sunnis. Hinduism is the second largest religious affiliation in Bangladesh, covering 10 to 11 percent of the population as of 2001 census. In terms of population, Bangladesh is the third largest Hindu state of the world after India, Nepal. About 0.7% (or just over 1,000,000 people) of Bangladesh population adheres to the Theravada school of Buddhism. Christianity arrived in what is now Bangladesh during the late sixteenth to early seventeenth century AD, through the Portuguese traders and missionaries. Christians account for approximately 0.3% of the total population. Roman Catholicism is dominant, the rest being Orthodox and Protestant.

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