Religion in Mauritius

The constitution prohibits discrimination on religious grounds and provides for freedom to practice or change one's religion. The government provides money to the Catholic Church, Church of England, Presbyterian Church of Mauritius, Seventh-day Adventists, Hindus, and Muslims according to their numbers in the census in addition to tax-exempt status. Other religious groups can register and be tax-exempt but receive no subsidy. Religious public holidays are the Hindu festivals of Maha Shivaratree, Ougadi, Thaipoosam Cavadee, Ganesh Chaturthi, and Diwali; the Christian festivals of Assumption and Christmas; and the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr. ==Dharmic religions==

Hinduism Hinduism originally came to Mauritius mainly through Indians who worked as indentured labourers on the island following the abolition of slavery. Today, Hinduism is a major religion in Mauritius, representing 38.4% of the total population of the country according to the 2011 census carried out by Statistics Mauritius. This makes Mauritius the country having the highest percentage of Hindus in Africa and third highest percentage of Hindus in the world after Nepal and India, respectively. One of the biggest festivals on the island is Maha Shivaratri, or the 'Great Night of Siva'. During this annual Hindu celebration, which takes place in the months of February and March, four to nine days of ceremony and fasting lead up to an all-night vigil of Siva worship and Ganesha worship. Gran bassin.JPG|Hanuman, Ganga and Shiva statue under construction in the background at Ganga Talao. GangaTalaoLake.jpg|Temple at Ganga Talao's Grand Bassin Buddhism About 0.4% of the population of Mauritius adheres to Buddhism. It is practiced by a significant minority of Sino-Mauritians. ==Abrahamic religions==

Christianity Christianity came to Mauritius with the first inhabitants, the Dutch. However, the Dutch abandoned the island in 1710. The French brought Christianity again when they arrived in 1715. From 1723, there was a law whereby all slaves coming to the island must be baptised Catholic. This law does not seem to have been strictly adhered to. By 2011 Christianity was practiced by 31.7% of the total population. the 2022 census reported 10. having an understanding of the Urdu language. Within the Muslim community, there are three distinct ethnicities that exist, notably the Memons and the Surtees (who are rich merchants who came from Kutch and Surat province of Gujarat in India), then the "Calcuttiyas" who came to Mauritius as indentured labourers from Bihar. Other languages include Bhojpuri, Gujarati, and Tamil. Among the Shi'a minority, some have their origins in different parts of South Asia, while others are adherents of the Shia Ismaili sect from East Africa. The majority of Shias are Ithnā‘ashariyyah with small Ismaili sect. According to the 2011 census, there were 1265 Ahmadis. For opening a new territory to the Faith during the Ten Year Crusade, Ottilie Rhein was designated a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh by Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith. According to the 2011 government census, there were 639 Baháʼís in Mauritius. ==Others==

Taoism and Confucianism are also practiced by small numbers of both Chinese people and Japanese people in Mauritius. Punjabis are a subgroup of Indo-Mauritians who mainly practice Sikhism. In 2011 census, there were only 43 Jews practicing Judaism in Mauritius. ==Freedom of religion==

In 2023 the country was scored 4 out of 4 for religious freedom. ==See also==