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Index / Religions
  Algeria /
Religions
Islam is the totally dominant religion, the official figures show that 100% of the population is Muslim.
With the foreign community so drastically reduced since independence, that Christians count for less than 0.1% today. As a country that has been dominated by Western culture and learning, however, research has proven that this has led to a certain percentage of Atheists. An estimated 2- 3% Atheists would probably be correct for Algeria.
In Berber communities, there are many examples of extra-Islamic religious practices, practices that hardly any scholar would claim to be part of popular Islam. The rain cult of the male deity Anzar is the foremost example of this.
In Algeria it is Sunni Islam that holds the ground. Islam is a political force in Algeria, where three views dominate. The Islamist view regards Islam as a holistic religion, embracing all aspects of life, public and private. The secular view, which seems to claim most followers, considers Islam a guideline, and allows more freedom to deviate than Islamism does. The third view is the traditional, the one most common among elderly and people in rural areas. This view is somewhere between Islamism and secularism, but unlike these two, involves scepticism towards modern society.
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By: Tore Kjeilen
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