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Christians in the United Arab Emirates account for 12.9% of the total population according to 2020 estimates. [1] The government recognises various Christian denominations. [2] Christians are free to worship and wear religious clothing, if applicable. The country has Catholic, Eastern, Oriental Orthodox and Protestant churches. [3]
Islam is the majority and official religion in the United Arab Emirates, professed by 74.5% of the population as of 2020. 63.3% are Sunni, 6.7% are Shia, while 4.4% follow another branch of Islam. [1] The Al Nahyan and Al Maktoum ruling families adhere to the Maliki school of jurisprudence.
The 2022 population of the UAE stands at 9.4 million, [3] Only approximately 20% of residents are UAE citizens. [4] According to the CIA World Fact Book, 76% of the residents are Muslim, 9% are Christian, other (primarily Hindu and Buddhist, less than 5% of the population consists of Parsi, Baha'i, Druze, Sikh, Ahmadi, Ismaili, Dawoodi Bohra Muslim, and Jewish) 15%. [5]
Christianity, which originated in the Middle East during the 1st century AD, [27] is a significant minority religion within the region, characterized by the diversity of its beliefs and traditions, compared to Christianity in other parts of the Old World.
The Church of the East monastery on Sir Bani Yas is an archaeological site in the United Arab Emirates discovered in 1992. The site is significant as evidence of the presence of Christianity in the UAE in the pre-Islamic period. Believed to be Nestorian, the Christian community continued for at least a century after the arrival of Islam . [1] [2]
In 2020 there were nearly 850,000 expatriates in the UAE who are Catholics, representing almost 9% of the total population, [1] largely from the Philippines, India, South America, Lebanon, Africa, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, Portugal, Spain, France and other parts of Europe, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
This was, in large part, due to the arrival of Christians who faced persecution in Iraq and Iran under the reign of Shapur II starting in 339. Another factor in the growing influence of Christianity was the migration of Christian traders to the region who were looking to capitalize on the well-established pearl trade. [7]
Many Christians in the United Arab Emirates are of Asian, African, and European origin, along with fellow Middle Eastern countries such as Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt. [295] The United Arab Emirates forms part of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia and the Vicar Apostolic Bishop Paul Hinder is based in Abu Dhabi. [296]