Religion
According to the CIA World Factbook, Library of Congress, Oxford University, over 97% of the population of Pakistan is Muslim and the remaining 3% is Christian, Hindu and others. Majority of the Muslims practice Sunni Islam with Shi'as being the minority who make up 10–15%.
Nearly all Pakistani Sunni Muslims belong to the Hanafi school, although there are some Hanbalis and Ahlul Hadeeth. The majority of Shia Muslims belong to the Ithnā‘Ashariyyah branch, while a smaller number practice Ismailism. There are small non-Muslim religious groups, including Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Parsis, Bahá'ís and Zoroastrians (Parsis).
The religious breakdown of the Pakistani population is as follows:
- Muslims: 181,723,000
- Christians: 2,700,000 (approx. 1.8%)
- Hindus: 1,800,000 (approx. 1.6%)
- Buddhists: 50,000
- Sikhs: 30,000
- Zoroastrian/Parsis: 25,000 (many are undocumented migrants from Iran)
- Jews: 200
- Animists, Baha'i, Atheists: n/a
Read more about this topic: Demographics Of Pakistan
Famous quotes containing the word religion:
“Ethics and religion differ herein; that the one is the system of human duties commencing from man; the other, from God. Religion includes the personality of God; Ethics does not.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“There is not enough religion in the world even to destroy religion.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“The proper office of religion is to regulate the heart of men, humanize their conduct, infuse the spirit of temperance, order, and obedience; and as its operation is silent, and only enforces the motives of morality and justice, it is in danger of being overlooked, and confounded with these other motives.”
—David Hume (1711–1776)