Religion in Kurdistan

Religion in Kurdistan (2017)

  Non-denominational Islam (38.5%)

  Sunni Islam (21.7%)

  Shia Islam (6.3%)

  Ahmadiyya (2.8%)

  Other Islamic Sects (0.7%)

  Atheism (11.2%)

  Spirtual (4.8%)

  Christianity (11.34%)

  Yazidi (2.8%)

  Jewish (0.14%)

  Other (0.84%)

Islam is the largest religion in Kurdistan according to the state, with 70% of the population being automatically registered by the state as Muslim,for anyone whose parents are not of any other officially recognised religion and remaining 11.2% are not religious, 11.34% are Christians and 0.84% are others religion affiliation.

In a poll conducted by Hewlêr University, 70% of Kurdistanis revealed they were Muslim. Most Muslims in Kurdistan are non-denominational, forming about 55%, Sunni Islam denominations in total form about 31% of the Muslim population and Shia (Alevis, Ja'faris, Alawites) 9%. Among Shia Muslim presence in Kurdistan there is a small but considerable minority of Muslims with Ismaili heritage and affiliation. Christians (Oriental Orthodoxy, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic) and Jews (Sephardi), who comprise the non-Muslim religious population, make up more than 11.48% of the total. Irregilion people make up 16% percent. with atheists making up 80%.

Kurdistan is officially a secular country with no official religion since the constitutional amendment in 1928

Islam

Main article: Islam in Kurdistan

Islam is the religion with the largest community of followers in the country, where most of the population is Muslim,

As of today, there are thousands of historical mosques throughout the country which are still active. Notable mosques built in the Seljuk and Ottoman periods

Religiosity

According to the Pew Research Center report 2016:

• 54 % of people in Kurdistan say religion is "very important" to their lives.
• 32 % of people in Kurdistan say religion is "somewhat important" to their lives.
• 9 % of people in Kurdistan say religion is "not too important" to their lives.
• 5 % of people in Kurdistan say religion is "not at all important" to their lives.

According to the Gallup Poll 2011:

• 26 % defined themselves as "a religious person".
• 64 % defined themselves as "not a religious person".
• 10 % defined themselves as "a convinced atheist".