Religion in Botswana

[4] The missionaries were welcomed because the tribal chiefs believed they would help source guns to resist Afrikaner trekkers from south and to prevent other nations from taking power in the region.

[4] After the arrival of Christianity in Botswana, the missionaries established Bible schools and attempted to end old practices such as Bogwera (the tribe's traditional initiation ceremony into manhood) and Bojale (a girl's initiation ceremony into womanhood after she reached puberty), both of which were traditionally linked to the social acceptance of someone's readiness to marry as well the right to inherit property.

[citation needed] These practices continued to exist in private, despite missionary efforts to end them.

[3] The Christian missionaries were politically involved as interpreters between the tribal chiefs and the colonial administrators.

[5] In 1970s, its new leaders reviewed the Christian colonial curriculum in schools, and revised it in order to restore traditional values based on pre-Christian religious ideas, such as Kagisanyo and Botho, respectively harmony and humanism.

[3] The new leaders also adopted a policy of religious tolerance and freedom, an approach towards religion that continues in Botswana in the 21st century.

[3] The 2022 census detailed results have been presented on the Statistics Botswana official media channels broken down by various demographics.

The nationwide religious observations include Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension Day, and Christmas.

It came to the country through Muslim immigrants from South Asia, who settled in the area during the British colonial rule.

Shaykh Ali Mustapha of Guyana has proselytised in Botswana since the 1970s, where missions are concentrated in townships and prisons.

[7][18] The constitution of Botswana protects the freedom of religion and allows missionaries and proselytisers to work freely after they register with the government, but forced conversion is against the law.