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It is a crime in Ethiopia to incite one religion against another. Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church published works by an unknown author written in Ge'ez and translated to Amharic in 1986 which claimed Habesha should refrain from sexual intercourse with Oromo, Muslims, Shanqella, Falasha and animals because it was an abomination. [30]
The culture of Ethiopia is diverse and generally structured along ethnolinguistic lines. The country's Afro-Asiatic-speaking majority adhere to an amalgamation of traditions that were developed independently and through interaction with neighboring and far away civilizations, including other parts of Northeast Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, India, and Italy.
Christianity in Ethiopia is the country's largest religion with members making up 68% of the population. [ 3 ] Christianity in Ethiopia dates back to the ancient Kingdom of Aksum , when the King Ezana first adopted the faith in the 4th century AD.
Islam was in 2007 the second largest religion in Ethiopia with over 33.9% of the population. [2] The faith arrived in Tigray , north of Ethiopia, at an early date, shortly before the hijira . [ 7 ] The Kingdom of Aksum in Ethiopia was the first foreign country to accept Islam when it was unknown in most parts of the world. [ 8 ]
The Ethiopian Church does not call for circumcision, yet it is a cultural practice, [84] as is abstention from pork and other meats deemed unclean. It is not regarded as being necessary to salvation. The liturgy mentions, "let us not be circumcised like the Jews." [85] The Ethiopian Orthodox Church observes days of ritual purification.
Before the coup, Ethiopian peasants' way of life was thoroughly influenced by the church teachings; 280 days a year were religious feasts or days of rest. Mengistu's years in office were marked by a totalitarian-style government and the country's massive militarization, financed by the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc, and assisted by Cuba .
Other superstitious Ethiopian practices and beliefs include: [6] The common practice of slaughtering a goat before the birth of a baby (this may be due to Ethiopia's relatively high infant mortality rate). The belief is that if a spotted hyena scratches a house, the resident will be victim to a future war. That a hyena screaming is an omen of ...
History of religion in Ethiopia (5 C, 2 P) I. Islam in Ethiopia (3 C, 4 P) J. Jews and Judaism in Ethiopia (7 C, 9 P) L. Ethiopian religious leaders (3 C, 2 P) O.