Religion in Uganda

The 2024 National Population and Housing Census recorded Roman Catholics as 36.2% of Uganda's household population, Anglicans associated with the Church of Uganda as 29.0%, Pentecostal and Evangelical Christians as 14.3%, Muslims as 13.2%, Seventh-day Adventists as 2.0%, Orthodox Christians as 0.1%, and Jehovah's Witnesses as 0.1%. Traditional religions accounted for 0.1%, other religions including Bahá'í, Hindu and Buddhist communities accounted for 1.5%, people reporting no religion accounted for 0.2%, and 3.3% were unclassified. Born Again churches, local congregations and mosques form part of Uganda's religious landscape. Owobusobozi and other traditional or syncretic practices may not appear as separate large statistical categories. Religious practice includes worship, prayer, preaching, Bible or Quran study, sacraments and other church rites. Muslim practice may include Ramadan, Eid celebrations, Friday prayer, Hajj and zakat, meaning charitable giving required within Islamic practice. Christian communities observe different fasts and feasts, while Seventh-day Adventist communities observe the Sabbath as their weekly day of worship. The details of services, membership, donations and rites vary between congregations, mosques and faith bodies. Uganda has no state religion. Article 29 of the Constitution protects freedom of thought, conscience and belief, the practice and manifestation of religion, and religious association. Article 21 prohibits discrimination on grounds including creed or religion, and Article 34(3) protects a child's access to education and related benefits without denial because of religious belief. These rights remain subject to the Constitution, public order, child protection and other generally applicable law. Religious bodies do not use one national religion registry or one unified licence. A body may use the Trustees Incorporation Act, the Companies Act or the Church of England Incorporations Act, depending on its legal form. A faith-based organization carrying out NGO-type activities may need registration and a permit from the NGO Bureau. An indigenous NGO generally proceeds through incorporation with the Uganda Registration Services Bureau and then the NGO Bureau. The stated fees are UGX 100,000 for a certificate and UGX 60,000 per year for a permit, with permit periods of one to five years. A community-based organization registered at district level has stated fees of UGX 40,000 for a certificate and UGX 60,000 for a permit. The NGO Bureau FAQ states that the NGO Act does not apply to a purely spiritual faith-based organization, while a separate policy or legal framework has been announced; the current legal position should therefore be checked for the specific organization. The Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, commonly abbreviated UMSC, has a structure from its headquarters through Muslim regions, Muslim districts and counties to mosques. The Inter-Religious Council of Uganda, or IRCU, was established in 2001 as a national platform for interfaith dialogue and coordination. Its participating bodies include the Roman Catholic Church, Church of Uganda, Uganda Orthodox Church, UMSC, the Seventh-day Adventist Uganda Union and Pentecostal or Evangelical networks, with possible participation by Bahá'í, Methodist and Lutheran bodies. IRCU dialogue is voluntary and does not create one binding doctrine for all religions. Religious education is part of Uganda's school system in different forms. Primary 1 to Primary 3 use Religious Education as a learning area. From Primary 4 to Primary 7, schools may provide Christian Religious Education or Islamic Religious Education, depending on available resources and the supporting faith foundation. At Primary 7, the school selects the relevant option under those conditions. Both subjects continue at lower secondary level, and an Islamic Religious Education syllabus for Advanced Level was introduced for 2025. The Ministry of Education and Sports and the National Curriculum Development Centre are responsible for the national education framework. Faith-based schools may operate within national education policy and standards. Good Friday, Easter Monday, Christmas Day, the birthday of the Prophet Muhammed, Idd el-Fitr, Idd Adhua or Idd-ul-Zuho, and 3 June Martyrs' Day are public holidays under the Public Holidays Act. Islamic dates vary because they follow the Islamic calendar. Work on a public holiday receives full remuneration under the Act. Martyrs' Day has both religious and historical significance, but that public status does not create a separate general tradition category. Religious ceremonies do not automatically replace civil registration. A religious marriage and the legal marriage process are separate. For statutory validity, the ceremony generally requires a licensed place of worship, a recognized minister, the relevant registrar certificate or minister's licence, at least two witnesses and open doors between 8:00 and 18:00. Stated Marriage Act fees include UGX 10,000 for notice, UGX 25,000 for a certificate, UGX 200,000 for a registrar ceremony, UGX 25,000 for registration and UGX 200,000 for a place-of-worship licence. Hindu and Mohammedan marriages have special statutory provisions. Baptism, nikah, naming ceremonies and funerals follow the practices of the relevant faith body, while the State separately registers every birth, marriage and death. Offerings, tithes and fundraising by a direct non-profit religious body may qualify for income-tax exemption only after the Uganda Revenue Authority issues an exemption letter and the organization provides no private benefit. Religious bodies with business activities, rental income, taxable supplies or imports, or employees may need a Tax Identification Number, accounting records and tax returns, with value-added tax and the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution applying where required. Donations, fees and rites are not standardized nationally, so access and costs depend on the congregation, mosque, school, organization or ceremony. Religious communities are generally accessed through local congregations and mosques. National affiliation data is comparatively clear, but practices, institutional arrangements and costs should not be assumed to be identical across districts or regions. There is no single umbrella authority for Religion in Uganda; formal bodies, local institutions, interfaith platforms and informal practices provide different functions.