Religion in Algeria
[2] The remainder include other Islamic schools and branches (Shias and Ibadis), Christian denominations (Roman Catholics, Seventh-day Adventists, the Protestant Church of Algeria (a federation of Reformed and Methodist groups), Lutherans, Anglicans and Egyptian Copts), Baháʼís and Jews.
[8][9] Christianity is first attested in Roman Africa in 180 and produced for some time the Donatist schism before it became a major center for Catholic orthodoxy.
[15] A new chapter for the North African church begun in the thirteenth century when newcomers from Europe took up residence in the larger coastal towns.
[16] After the French conquest of Algeria in the 19th century, Christianity returned though few Algerians converted and the Church served mostly European settlers.
Although the Boumediene regime consistently sought, to a far greater extent than its predecessor, to increase Islamic awareness and to reduce Western influence, the rights of non-Muslims continued to be respected.
Sunni Islam, the larger of the two great branches of the faith, is the form practiced by the overwhelming majority of Muslims in Algeria, while there is a small Ibadi minority.
[11] One of the dominant characteristics of Islam in North Africa was the cult of holy men, or maraboutism, which goes back to the traditional Berber religion.
[11] Jews and Christians, are according to the Qur'an recognized as the precursors of Islam and who were called "people of the book" because of their holy scriptures, were permitted to continue their own communal and religious life as long as they recognized the temporal domain of Muslim authorities, paid their taxes, and did not proselytize or otherwise interfere with the practice of Islam.
[18] Soon after arriving in Algeria, the French colonial regime set about undermining traditional Muslim Algerian culture.
Imams were trained, appointed, and paid by the state, and the Friday khutba, or sermon, was issued to them by the Ministry of Religious Affairs.
Al Qiyam called for a more dominant role for Islam in Algeria's legal and political systems and opposed what it saw as Western practices in the social and cultural life of Algerians.
[18] This proved to be the most difficult challenge for the immediate post-independent regimes as they tried to incorporate an Islamic national identity alongside socialist policies.
Chadli's regime was much more tolerant with Islamists, and with Algeria in the midst of an socio-economic crisis including unemployment and inflation, social tensions were high.
The violence resulted in the state's cracking down on the movement, a confrontation that would intensify throughout the 1980s and early 1990s (see The Islamist Factor, ch.
[20] Algerian Christians reside mostly in the main cities such as Algiers, Bejaia, Tizi Ouzou, Annaba, and Oran, and the Kabylia region.
[6] The Jewish community of Algeria dates back to antiquity,[8] with some members claiming descent from immigrants from Palestine at the time of the Romans.
Although no untoward incidents occurred during the Arab-Israeli wars of 1967 and 1973, a group of youths sacked the only remaining synagogue in Algiers in early 1977.
[20] According to a survey by Arab Barometer for a June 2019 report by BBC News, the percentage of Algerians identifying themselves as non-religious increased from around 8% in 2013 to around 15% in 2018.
