American Samoa Amerika Sāmoa | |
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Religious population of American Samoa | |||
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Islam | 1.3% | ||
Christianity | 96.9% | ||
- Protestant | 41.7% | ||
- Catholic | 27.3% | ||
- Pentecostal | 5.3% | ||
- Other Christian | 22.6% | ||
Non-religious | 0.9% | ||
Source: [1] |
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located South East of Samoa and consisting of seven main islands.[2] American Samoa is a predominantly Christian nation, identifying as a region founded by God, however, has become more religiously diverse since the mid-20th century.[3] The religion of Islam was first brought to American Samoa in the mid-1980s by Muslim expatriate workers from government programs.[4] The region received their first native convert in 1985, although Muslim adherents still remain a minority in American Samoan society today.[4] While the population is small, the spread of Islam has been a significant part of the Island’s history.
Claiming that as result of increased terrorist activities globally in the early 2000s, specifically the Bali bombing, the government imposed a strict ban on residents of 23 nations from entering their territory without explicit permission from the island’s attorney general’s office.[5] Most of the countries banned were either located in the Middle East and identified as Muslim nations, or were home to a large number of Muslim adherents.[2] The ban has received opposition from human rights groups along with those on the list as well as neighboring islands, mainly over issues of religious freedom.[5]
The religion still influences life in American Samoa, with the establishment of public education and health groups as well as a range of community activities by native converts and Muslim organizations with the aim of teaching the natives about Islam.[6]
Syd morning herald
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).