Christianity in Morocco
[3] Indigenous Christianity in North Africa effectively continued after the Muslim conquest until the early 15th century.
According to Article 220 of the Moroccan Penal Code, "anyone who employs incitements to shake the faith of a Muslim or to convert him to another religion" incurs a sentence of three to six months' imprisonment and a fine of 200 to 500 dirhams.
[18] Christianity was introduced to the region in the 2nd century AD, and gained converts in the towns and among slaves as well as among Berber farmers.
By the end of the 4th century, the Romanized areas had been Christianized, and inroads had been made among the Berber tribes, who sometimes converted en masse.
[19] Since the Tetrarchy (Emperor Diocletian's reform of governmental structures in 296), Mauretania Tingitana became part of the Diocese of Hispaniae (a Latin plural) and hence in the Praetorian Prefecture of the Gauls (Mauretania Caesariensis was in the diocese of Africa, in the other pretorian prefecture within the western empire), and remained so until its conquest by the Vandals.
Named after the Berber Christian bishop Donatus Magnus, Donatism flourished during the fourth and fifth centuries.
[33] In June 1225, Pope Honorius III issued the bull Vineae Domini custodes, which permitted two friars of the Dominican Order, named Dominic and Martin, to establish a mission in Morocco and look after the affairs of Christians there.
[35] Innocent IV asked the emirs of Tunis, Ceuta and Bugia to permit Lope and Franciscian friars to look after the Christians in those regions.
[38] During the era of the Spanish protectorate and the French protectorate over Morocco, the conditions of the Catholic Church have flourished, and Catholic churches, schools, and hospitals were built throughout the country, and until 1961, Sunday mass festivities were broadcast on radio and television networks.
[39] Prior to independence, Morocco was home to half a million European Christian settlers.
[40] During the French protectorate in Morocco, European Christians formed almost half the population of the city of Casablanca.
[43] In the years leading up to the First World War, European Christians formed almost a quarter the population of Tangier.
[12][51][14][52][16] Many Moroccan Christians of Berber or Arab descent mostly converted during the modern era or under and after French colonialism.
[6] The French and Spanish colonization of North Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth century further embedded Catholicism in the region.
[6] During the era of the Spanish protectorate and the French protectorate over Morocco, the conditions of the Catholic Church have flourished, and Catholic churches, schools, and hospitals were built throughout the country, and until 1961, Sunday mass festivities were broadcast on radio and television networks.
Most of them are European expatriates, principally French and Spanish due to the country's historic ties to France and Spain.
The Anglican Church of Saint Andrew, Tangier has become a tourist attraction, partly due to certain well-known figures buried in its churchyard.
[53] The church is an early twentieth-century replacement for an earlier smaller building, which was built with the express permission of the King of Morocco, on land donated by him.
The Anglican Church of St John the Evangelist, Casablanca, is centrally located, near to the Hyatt Regency hotel in the city centre.
Pointing out the absence of official data, Service de presse Common Ground, cites unspecified sources that stated that about 5,000 Moroccans became Christians between 2005 and 2010.
[12][51][14][57][16] Many Moroccan Christians of Berber or Arab descent mostly converted during the modern era or under and after French colonialism.
