Catholic Church in Lesotho

In 2020, over 90 percent of the population were Christians;[1] followers of traditional religion, along with Muslims, Hindus and Baha'is, constitute the remainder.

Most practitioners of Islam are of Asian origin, while the majority of Christians are the indigenous Basotho.

The Catholic Church used to own about 75 percent of all primary and secondary schools in the country, and was instrumental in establishing the National University of Lesotho; as of 2007, however, it owned less than 40 percent of the primary and secondary schools.

[4] The Catholic Church helped found the Basotho National Party (BNP) in 1959 and sponsored it in the independence elections in 1966.

The then-opposition Basutoland Congress Party (BCP) historically has been aligned with the Protestant Lesotho Evangelical Church.