Christianity in Mauritania explained

Christianity is a small minority religion in Mauritania.

In 2020, the estimated Christian population amount was only 0.23% of the population.^[1] There are between 10,000 and 11,000 Christians in Mauritania in 2023, mostly foreign expatriates.^{[2] [3]}

All of the roughly 4,000 Catholics in Mauritania are within the country's only diocese, the Diocese of Nouakchott. In 2020, there were 11 priests and 34 nuns serving 5 parishes.^[4]

There are several expatriate African churches in Mauritania, though there are no more than 200 Protestants in the country, including foreigners.

In spite of a strict law against evangelization, the Mauritanian Christian community has grown and there were estimated to be 400-1,000 ethnic Mauritanian Christians in 2010.^[5] For a period of eight months the Miracle Channel, a Norwegian/Swedish Christian channel, broadcast clandestine Christian gatherings in the Mauritanian desert containing over 160 people.^[6]

Issues

The distribution of Christian literature and the evangelizing of non-Muslims are prohibited by law. Bibles are rarely printed or distributed and are difficult to bring into the country.^[7]

In 2023, the country was ranked as the 20th worst place in the world to be a Christian.^[8]

See also

• Religion in Mauritania
• Status of religious freedom in Mauritania

Sources

• US State Dept 2006 report (archived)
• https://web.archive.org/web/20070429003727/http://sb.od.org/index.php?supp_page=wwl_deteriorated&supp_lang=en&PHPSESSID=6f16fb4ec493a6ebdf20c19c6b4b291f
• https://web.archive.org/web/20170507045338/http://www.adherents.com/adhloc/Wh_202.html#483
• http://parl.gc.adventist.org/documents/world_reports/WorldReport05.pdf

Notes and References

1. https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=146c World Religion Database at the ARDA website, retrieved 2023-08-08
2. Book: A. Lamport, Mark . Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South. 2021. 9781442271579. 497. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Influences - Christian influences in Mauritanian society are limited to the approximately 10,000 foreign nationals living in the country.
3. https://www.opendoorsuk.org/persecution/world-watch-list/mauritania/ Open Doors website, retrieved 2023-08-08
4. https://www.catholicsandcultures.org/mauritania Catholics And Culture website, retrieved 2023-08-08
5. http://www.worldwatchlist.com.au/country.cfm?country=mauritania World Watch List 2010: #8. Mauritania
6. Web site: Troens Bevis Verdens Evangelisering - Så på Miracle Channel midt i Mauritanias ørken - Norwegian language . 2010-05-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120306225506/http://www.tbve.no/nyheter/media/saa-paa-miracle-channel-midt-i-mauritanias-oerken.html . 2012-03-06 . dead .
7. https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/mauritania US State Dept 2022 report
8. https://www.opendoorsuk.org/persecution/world-watch-list/mauritania/ Open Doors website, retrieved 2023-08-08