Religious Beliefs In Saint Kitts And Nevis

Saint Kitts and Nevis, also known as the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is a country found in the West Indies. The country falls within the Commonwealth and Queen Elizabeth II is the official Head of State. Saint Kitts and Nevis is the smallest country in North America. Saint Kitts and Nevis gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1984, but the influence of British culture is especially evident in religion.

Religious Demographics 

Approximately 44% of the inhabitants of Saint Kitts and Nevis adhere to Protestantism, a sub-sect of Christianity. Anglicans make up 10.9% of the population of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Anglicanism evolved from the Church of England following a period known as the Protestant Revolution. Individuals who identify themselves as Pentecostal make up almost 12% of the total population of this country. Catholics make up 4.7% of the population and other Christian denominations account for 5.6% of the total population.

Atheism, and a non-religious belief system, can be applied to 5.4% of the citizenry and just over 14% of the population have not stated their religion, or it is unknown.

Importance of Religion 

There are many Anglican churches in Saint Kitts and Nevis, some of which are well over 100 years old. Religion is a very important area of life on Saint Kitts and Nevis. The people of this nation believe that religion guides socially respectable behavior, provides guidelines, and solidarity in the community.

Religious freedom is considered to be very robust in Saint Kitts and Nevis with no incidents of religious intolerance, violence, or discrimination having been reported in recent history. Every religious community in Saint Kitts and Nevis has the right to build a place of worship, education, and can practice freely without any worry about discrimination or marginalization.

Obeah

As with other countries such as Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis has a small section of the population that practice Obeah. This religious doctrine is often associated with witchcraft and curses.