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Christianity came to North Africa in the Roman era. According to historian Theodor Mommsen what is now Mediterranean Algeria was fully Christian by the fifth century. A notable Berber Christian of Algeria was Saint Augustine (and his mother Saint Monica), important saints in Christianity. Christianity's influence declined during the chaotic period of the Vandal invasions but was strengthened in the succeeding Byzantine period. After the Arab invasions of the 7th century, Christianity began to gradually disappear.[1]
Currently, North Africa is primarily Muslim: Islam is the state religion of Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia. While the practice and expression of other faiths is guaranteed by law, the same legal framework tends to restrict minority religions from actively seeking conversion to their religion, or even building or repairing churches. Converts to Christianity may be investigated and searched by the authorities as well as punished.[2] There is some evidence that there has been an increase in conversions to Christianity among North African Muslims in recent years, even though in many cases the government will not change the religion from Islam on any citizens' identity cards. Despite this, the total number of Christians remains very low relative to the populations of these countries. In 2009, the percentage of Christians in Algeria was less than 2%. In this same survey, the United Nations counted 100,000 Catholics and 45,000 Protestants in the country.[3] Although Christians are a religious minority in Algeria, churches built during French rule can still be found.
Conversions to Christianity have been most common in Kabylie,[4][5][6][7][8] especially in the wilaya of Tizi-Ouzou.[9] In Tizi-Ouzou, the proportion of Christians has been estimated to be between 1% and 5%. Christians have at times been subjected to religiously motivated attacks. A 2015 study estimated that 380,000 Muslims have converted to Christianity in Algeria.[3]
In 1996, Pierre Claverie, Bishop of Oran, was assassinated by terrorists. This murder occurred soon after that of seven monks of the Trappistes of Tibérine, and of six nuns. This terrorist act was part of a general trend of violence during the Algerian Civil War in the 1990s, commonly known as the Black Decade. During this time, between 100,000 and 200,000 Algerians lost their lives.
- ^ Deeb, Mary Jane. "Religious minorities" Algeria (Country Study). Federal Research Division, Library of Congress; Helen Chapan Metz, ed. December 1993. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. [1]
- ^ "Echorouk Online - A postal executive in Tlemcen province under security investigation into the shady circumstances surrounding his decision to embrace Christianity". Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2011.
- ^ a b "Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census | Duane A Miller Botero - Academia.edu". academia.edu. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
- ^ "Kabylia: Christian Churches Closed by Algerian Authorities". Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization. 28 May 2019.
Since 2000, thousands of Algerian Muslims have put their faith in Christ. Algerian officials estimate the number of Christians at 50,000, but others say it could be twice that number.
- ^ "Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada". Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. 30 June 2015. Archived from the original on 15 July 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
there is an estimated 20,000 to 100,000 evangelical Christians in Algeria, who practice their faith in mainly unregistered churches in the Kabyle region
- ^ P S Rowe, Paul (2018). Routledge Handbook of Minorities in the Middle East. Routledge. p. 133. ISBN 9781317233794.
- ^ "U.S. Report on Religious Freedom in Middle East". Wilson Center. 30 May 2013.
some Algerian Muslims who converted to Christianity kept a low profile due to concern for their personal safety and potential legal and social problem
- ^ Chapman, Colin (2012). Christians in the Middle East – Past, Present and Future. Sage Publications, Inc. p. 5. ISBN 9781608991167.
many as 20,000 to 40,000 Algerians, mostly Berbers, who have become Christian
- ^ *(in French) Sadek Lekdja, Christianity in Kabylie, Radio France Internationale, 7 mai 2001 Archived 2019-04-04 at the Wayback Machine