Exogenous religions
Converted by missionaries from the last quarter of the 19th century onwards, Ugandans are predominantly Christian, with roughly as many Catholics as Protestants. The religious breakdown, according to figures from the latest population census (2014), is as follows: 84% Christian (of which 39% Catholic and 32% Anglican/Protestant, with other Protestant Christian denominations, such as Evangelicals and Pentecostals, making up the remainder of the Christian percentage), 14% Muslim and 2% followers of other religions (Hinduism, Animism, Bahá'ism, Judaism...). According to some academics, Muslims are more numerous than the data published by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics suggest. In any case, the districts with the highest proportion of Mohammedans are mainly located in the south-east of the country. The district of Yumbe, bordering South Sudan, stands out both geographically and sociologically, as it is the only territorial subdivision with more Muslims than Christians. Sunni Islam, introduced by Swahili merchants and Egyptian troops, is predominant. Shi'ism - like Ismailism, whose spiritual leader is the wealthy Aga Khan - is also present. Finally, a plethora of evangelical churches and movements (Pentecostal, Baptist, etc.), subsumed under the heading of Protestantism, are very active in Uganda. In fact, since 2014, evangelical and Pentecostal churches have gained in influence in Uganda. By 2024, around 25% to 30% of the population will belong to these evangelical movements, marking significant growth compared with the 11% of Pentecostals recorded ten years ago.
Traditional religions
In rural areas, animist beliefs are still alive. They give credence to a vital force, a spirit or a protective genie, immaterial and inaccessible, but present in everything (tree, river, stone...) playing the role of medium between this spiritual entity and men. In the event of a natural disaster, external aggression or illness, it is often the spirits, and particularly those of the ancestors, that are consulted and invoked, much more so than the Christian God. The summoning of the spirits (such as those of Nakayima in Mubende) involves propitiatory and sacrificial rites and offerings. Let us exemplify this by looking at the traditional religion of the Baganda. This is based on a hierarchy at the top of which dominates Katonda ("creator of all things"), honoured in three sanctuaries, but relatively distant from men and their daily concerns. The twenty-eight balubaale ("guardians"), spirits of illustrious men, come second. Omnipresent, they are venerated in temples where their oracles are collected by a priest or priestess(mandwa). Sacrifices are made to attract their good graces (fertility, abundant harvests...). Finally, at the bottom of the ladder, there are a myriad of souls of the deceased - benevolent or not, living in the mountains, forests, rivers or incarnated in animals (like the python) - that must be satisfied, notably by making offerings to them (coffee beans, money...) in a basket provided for this purpose in every home.
