What type of christians are in egypt

The country has long been a centre for Islamic scholarship, with Egypt being home to one of the oldest and most respected institutions of Islamic education in the world. Identification with Islam can be cultural to some extent, as a parallel can often be drawn between Islamic principles and Egyptian values.

However, Egyptians are generally obedient and observant of the religion due to deep faith. For example, Friday is considered to be the holy day and is the day of the main congregational prayer. This means that Friday marks the break in the working week, and the two-day weekend occurs on Friday and Saturday. The majority of Copts live in Egypt and Coptic Orthodox is the largest Christian denomination in the country with between 6 and 11 million followers.

The religion continues to pay homage to its ancient origins with the use of the Coptic calendar and with Coptic services commonly conducted in the ancient Coptic language along with Arabic.

The religion shares many central tenets with other Orthodox Christian denominations like Eastern Orthodox , such as the belief in Jesus Christ as a divine being, and valuing kindness and forgiveness. While the Coptic Church is led by the Pope of Alexandria based in Cairo , there are two Coptic bishops in Australia and more than 50 priests serving Egypt-born followers in Australia. Be the champion for inclusion in your workplace with exceptional tools and resources. Join over organisations already creating a better workplace.

You can download this cultural profile in an easy-to-read PDF format that can be printed out and accessed at any time. The figure of the total population of each country is drawn from the global estimates listed in the CIA World Factbook , unless otherwise stated. Ismaili tradition awaits the return of the seventh Imam as the Mahdi, or Islamic messianic figure.

Ismailis are located in various parts of the world, particularly South Asia and the Levant. Alawi faith: Another Shia sect of Islam, the name reflects followers' devotion to the religious authority of Ali. Alawites are a closed, secretive religious group who assert they are Shia Muslims, although outside scholars speculate their beliefs may have a syncretic mix with other faiths originating in the Middle East. Alawis live mostly in Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey.

Druze faith: A highly secretive tradition and a closed community that derives from the Ismaili sect of Islam; its core beliefs are thought to emphasize a combination of Gnostic principles believing that the Fatimid caliph, al-Hakin, is the one who embodies the key aspects of goodness of the universe, which are, the intellect, the word, the soul, the preceder, and the follower.

The Druze have a key presence in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. Jainism - Originating in India, Jain spiritual philosophy believes in an eternal human soul, the eternal universe, and a principle of "the own nature of things.

Jain philosophy teaches non-violence and prescribes vegetarianism for monks and laity alike; its adherents are a highly influential religious minority in Indian society. Judaism - One of the first known monotheistic religions, likely dating to between B. Divine revelation of principles and prohibitions in the Hebrew Scriptures form the basis of Jewish law, or halakhah , which is a key component of the faith.

While there are extensive traditions of Jewish halakhic and theological discourse, there is no final dogmatic authority in the tradition. Local communities have their own religious leadership. Shintoism - A native animist tradition of Japan, Shinto practice is based upon the premise that every being and object has its own spirit or kami.

Shinto practitioners worship several particular kamis , including the kamis of nature, and families often have shrines to their ancestors' kamis. Shintoism has no fixed tradition of prayers or prescribed dogma, but is characterized by individual ritual.

Respect for the kamis in nature is a key Shinto value. Sikhism - Founded by the Guru Nanak born , Sikhism believes in a non-anthropomorphic, supreme, eternal, creator God; centering one's devotion to God is seen as a means of escaping the cycle of rebirth.

Sikhs follow the teachings of Nanak and nine subsequent gurus. Their scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib - also known as the Adi Granth - is considered the living Guru, or final authority of Sikh faith and theology.

Sikhism emphasizes equality of humankind and disavows caste, class, or gender discrimination. Taoism - Chinese philosophy or religion based upon Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, which centers on belief in the Tao, or the way, as the flow of the universe and the nature of things.

Taoism encourages a principle of non-force, or wu-wei, as the means to live harmoniously with the Tao. Taoists believe the esoteric world is made up of a perfect harmonious balance and nature, while in the manifest world - particularly in the body - balance is distorted. The Three Jewels of the Tao - compassion, simplicity, and humility - serve as the basis for Taoist ethics. Zoroastrianism - Originating from the teachings of Zoroaster in about the 9th or 10th century B.

Its key beliefs center on a transcendent creator God, Ahura Mazda, and the concept of free will. The key ethical tenets of Zoroastrianism expressed in its scripture, the Avesta, are based on a dualistic worldview where one may prevent chaos if one chooses to serve God and exercises good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.

Zoroastrianism is generally a closed religion and members are almost always born to Zoroastrian parents. Prior to the spread of Islam, Zoroastrianism dominated greater Iran.

Today, though a minority, Zoroastrians remain primarily in Iran, India where they are known as Parsi , and Pakistan. Traditional beliefs Animism: the belief that non-human entities contain souls or spirits. Badimo: a form of ancestor worship of the Tswana people of Botswana. Confucianism: an ideology that humans are perfectible through self-cultivation and self-creation; developed from teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius.

Inuit beliefs are a form of shamanism see below based on animistic principles of the Inuit or Eskimo peoples. Kirant: the belief system of the Kirat, a people who live mainly in the Himalayas of Nepal. The revered fourth- and fifth-century monastic reformer St. Shenute decreed that novice monks should recite the following covenant:. I will not defile my body in any way, I will not steal, I will not bear false witness, I will not lie, I will not do anything deceitful secretly.

There is a striking parallel with the ancient mortuary texts known as the Book of the Dead, which took form around the 16th century B. I have not uttered lies. I have not polluted myself. Another noted Alexandrian thinker was Valentinus, whose interpretation of Christianity required believers to embrace divine knowledge—in Greek, gnosis.

Gnosticism, as it came to be known, penetrated early Christian communities in Egypt, where its gospels, including the mysterious Gospel of Judas, seem to have been widely circulated. In a period when paganism and Christianity coexisted, there was cross-pollination between the two. The ancient Egyptian symbol for life, the ankh —a cross shape with an oval loop—influenced the development of the cross known as the crux ansata, used extensively in Coptic symbolism.

Even so, Christianity advanced in the fourth century. In the early s the city of Oxyrhynchus had 12 pagan temples and two churches; a century later, the situation was reversed. Egypt was also the site of another important development in Christianity: monasticism, a practice born in the deserts of Egypt.

The most famous of the Desert Fathers was St. Anthony the Great. His visions, in which the devil appeared to him in the guise of a pious believer or a beautiful woman, had a profound effect on Christian notions of the devil. See also: St. Anthony's Fire, the killer in the rye. Between the first and fourth centuries, the Roman Empire unleashed a series of persecutions against Christians. The most savage measures were passed under Emperor Diocletian in , which resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of believers.

According to tradition, one victim during this period, which Copts call the age of martyrs, was St. Catherine of Alexandria. The daughter of the governor of Alexandria, she challenged the emperor Maxentius, who had her tortured. When he ordered her execution, the spiked wheel she was to be killed upon broke when she touched it.

After the Edict of Milan in , the persecutions stopped, and Christians could worship freely. By Christianity based on the principles established at the Council of Nicaea became the official faith of the empire. In the fifth century church leaders began to debate whether Jesus could be both mortal and divine.

In , bishops met at the Council of Chalcedon to consider the matter. The debate split the church into factions, beginning a rift that would separate the Copts from other branches of the Christian faith. For the next two centuries the Egyptian church blossomed, attracting more and more followers.

Shenute built a lasting legacy of learning and piety at the monumental White Monastery in present-day Sohag on the west bank of the Nile. Its colossal library of Coptic texts was the marvel of the Christian world. At its peak there may have been as many as 4, monks and nuns living there.

Although the new regime initially tolerated the church, the population began steadily to convert to Islam. Coptic Christianity held fast as the faith of Egypt changed again. Today, it is estimated that some 10 percent of Egyptians practice the Coptic faith, led since by Pope Tawadros II, the latest in an unbroken line of patriarchs believed to stretch back to the Gospel writer St. All rights reserved. History Magazine.