Religion in Suriname

Image:Coronie kerk op palen.jpg, Suriname|thumb|right]] Suriname is home to a many diverse religious and ethnic groups. According to recent census data, 40.7 percent of the population of Suriname is Christianity, including Roman Catholicism and other Protestantism groups—among them Moravian Church, Lutheran, Dutch Reformed, Evangelicalism, Baptist, and Methodist.http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90268.htm. United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (September 14, 2007). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. 20 percent of the population is Hindu, 13.5 percent is Muslim, 3.3 percent follow indigenous religions, 15 percent claim to not know their religion, 4.4 percent claim no faith, and 2.5 percent declare unspecified faiths. Indigenous religions are practiced by the Amerindian and Afro-descendant Maroon populations. Amerindians, found principally in the interior and to a lesser extent in coastal areas, practice shamanism, a worship of all living things, through a medicine man, or piaiman. Maroons, who inhabit the interior, worship nature through a practice that has no special name, and they also worship their ancestors through a rite called wintie. Citizens of Amerindian and Maroon origin who classify themselves as Christian often simultaneously follow indigenous religious customs, with the acknowledgment of their Christian church leaders. The Judaism community numbers 150, and there are small numbers of Bahá'í faith and Buddhism. Other groups include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and the World Islamic Call Society. Currently, Jewish community is currently struggling due to dwindling funds and membership. Missionary are present. "No religion in Suriname has any problem with any other religion," quips Guido Robles, a prominent Jewish businessman in Paramaribo. "All the problems are caused by the politicians." Many political parties, including six of the eight governing coalition parties, have strong ethnic ties, and members tend to adhere to or practice one faith. For example, within the governing coalition, the majority of members of the mostly ethnic-Creole National Party of Suriname (NPS) is Moravian Church, members of the mostly ethnic-Indian United Reformed Party are Hindu, and those of the mostly ethnic-Javanese Pertjaja Luhur Party tend to be Muslim. However, parties have no requirement that political party leaders or members adhere to a particular religion. For example, the President, who is also the leader of the NPS, is a practicing Catholic. There is no direct correlation between religious affiliation and socioeconomic status; however, those who practice indigenous religions in the small villages of the interior generally have a lower socioeconomic status. With the exception of those following indigenous practices, religious communities are not heavily concentrated in any particular region. The Constitution of Suriname provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice. The US government found no reports of societal abuses or discrimination based on religious belief or practice in 2007.