Kenya Vacations
Kenya Religion
Kenya is predominantly a Christian society. About 45% of Kenyans are ProKenya Vacationsants
and about 33 % Catholics. About 10% of the population adheres to indigenous beliefs
while Muslim adherents account for about 10%. Hindu, Sikh and other religions account
for about 2%.
Christianity
Missionaries introduced Christianity to Kenya in the 19th century. After the inauguration
of Kenya- Uganda rail line, missionaries were able to
travel from Mombasa to the interior. Due to the intensive missionary
activities in Kenya, most Christian denominations are represented.
Indigenous beliefs
Before Christianity was introduced to Kenya by the missionaries, Kenyans predominantly
followed traditional beliefs
and rituals. This has changed greatly since the 19th century and only about 10%
of the population still follows these practices. Although indigenous beliefs and
rituals vary among the ethnic groups in Kenya, they share general characteristics.
God is commonly manifested in the sun, moon, mountains, stars and tree particularly
the fig tree. The Kikuyu
community believed that their God "Ngai" lived on the snow-capped mount Kenya .
Islam
The earliest physical evidence of Islam and Muslim in eastern Africa is a mosque
foundation in Lamu , Kenya
where gold, silver and copper coins dated AD 830 were found in 1984. Islam was commonly
practiced in the East African coast as early as AD1007. Unlike Christianity that
quickly spread to the hinterland, Islam remained an urban and coastal phenomenon
for a long time.
Hinduism
Hinduism found its way to Kenya from the coastal trade routs between India and the
coastal communities of East Africa. Many people from Indian subcontinent settled
in Nairobi and Mombasa after
the completion of Kenya Uganda railway line. Both Nairobi and Mombasa have a number
of Hindu temples.
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