Buddhism - Religion or philosophy inspired by the 5th century B.C. Its key beliefs center on a transcendent creator God, Ahura Mazda, and the concept of free will. Their scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib - also known as the Adi Granth - is considered the living Guru, or final authority of Sikh faith and theology.

It is primarily a form of polytheistic shamanism, but includes elements of animism and ancestor worship. The faiths and beliefs of the Turkish Cypriots relating to religious bayrams have an important place in their lives. The capital of Cyprus is Nicosia. "I don't think the Cyprus problem has ever been a religious issue between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots," said Kakouris, who is a Greek Orthodox Christian. Christianity is one of the three monotheistic Abrahamic faiths, along with Islam and Judaism, which traces its spiritual lineage to Abraham of the Hebrew Scriptures. Adherents simultaneously worship Jesus Christ and Palauan goddesses. Northern Cyprus is simply a place where religion, both the teachings of the Bible and the Koran are taken seriously and treated with mutual respect, but where you can still find evidence of the old gods and superstitions.

Cyprus Religions.

The Druze have a key presence in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. Some of the old traditions for celebrating bayrams are still carried out with enthusiasm in North Cyprus. Badimo: a form of ancestor worship of the Tswana people of Botswana. The services are in Ancient Greek, and are often relayed on loudspeakers outside the buildings. Adherents are required to evangelize and to follow a strict moral code. Jehovah's Witnesses structure their faith on the Christian Bible, but their rejection of the Trinity is distinct from mainstream Christianity. It is supranational, and recognizes a hierarchical structure with the Pope, or Bishop of Rome, as its head, located at the Vatican. The Three Jewels of the Tao - compassion, simplicity, and humility - serve as the basis for Taoist ethics. Shia Islam represents 10-20% of Muslims worldwide, and its distinguishing feature is its reverence for Ali as an infallible, divinely inspired leader, and as the first Imam of the Muslim community after Muhammad. A Sunni Muslim may elect to follow any one of these schools, as all are considered equally valid. Visitors to North Cyprus are usually offered Turkish type of sweets during their short visits. The most common figures of devotion are the gods Vishnu, Shiva, and a mother goddess, Devi. Bahais are an open community, located worldwide, with the greatest concentration of believers in South Asia. Roman Catholic Churches in Cyprus include: the Latin Catholic Church of Paphos,  Terra Santa in Larnaka, St Catherine’s in Limassol, and Holy Cross in Nicosia. In modern Islam, Sunnis and Shia continue to have different views of acceptable schools of Islamic jurisprudence, and who is a proper Islamic religious authority. Religion in North Cyprus In Northern Cyprus, Turkish Cypriots - Muslims (known as sunni muslims) cover about 95% of the TRNC population however they have always accepted other religions and customs. Sunni Islam accounts for over 75% of the world's Muslim population. Further information about the Catholic Church in Cyprus Some history of the Catholic Church in Cyprus. Ismailis are located in various parts of the world, particularly South Asia and the Levant.

Sikhism emphasizes equality of humankind and disavows caste, class, or gender discrimination. Factbook > Countries > Cyprus > Demographics. An estimated 98 % of Turkish - Cypriot population of North Cyprus is considered Sunni Muslim.

The Latin Rite is by far the largest, making up about 98% of Catholic membership.

Hinduism has many scriptures; the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Bhagavad-Gita are among some of the most important. Orthodox churches are highly nationalist and ethnic. Santeria: practiced in Cuba, the merging of the Yoruba religion of Nigeria with Roman Catholicism and native Indian traditions. English, Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Bulgarian, etc., are some of the immigrant languages of Cyprus. Catholicism is comprised of 23 particular Churches, or Rites - one Western (Roman or Latin-Rite) and 22 Eastern. Wikipedia article about the Orthodox Church in Cyprus Details of the main bishoprics, with contact information Article about Eastern Orthodoxy in general, On a separate page you can find information about Protestant churches in Cyprus. Its guiding focus is to encourage the unity of all peoples on the earth so that justice and peace may be achieved on earth. Updated as of 2019. Traditional beliefs     Animism: the belief that non-human entities contain souls or spirits. Orthodox Christianity is the most popular religious belief in Cyprus and is practiced by an estimated 89.1% of the country’s population. The majority religion in Cyprus is that of Greek Orthodox Christianity. Protestant Christianity: Protestant Christianity originated in the 16th century as an attempt to reform Roman Catholicism's practices, dogma, and theology. Detailed Northern Cyprus Property Seach ».

This is part of the Eastern Orthodox communion.

The Cypriots have a high proficiency in English. There are several Orthodox churches in each town, and between towns, of varying sizes. Islam also has an active mystical branch, Sufism, with various Sunni and Shia subsets. An estimated 98 % of Turkish - Cypriot population of North Cyprus is considered Sunni Muslim.

Religion in North Cyprus. There is a small Turkish Cypriot Baha'i community in North Cyprus. In order to live an Islamic life, believers must follow the five pillars, or tenets, of Islam, which are the testimony of faith (shahada), daily prayer (salah), giving alms (zakah), fasting during Ramadan (sawm), and the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj). Chondogyo: or the religion of the Heavenly Way, is based on Korean shamanism, Buddhism, and Korean folk traditions, with some elements drawn from Christianity.

Formulated in the 1860s, it holds that God lives in all of us and strives to convert society into a paradise on earth, populated by believers transformed into intelligent moral beings with a high social conscience. Trousers on women are generally acceptable.

Jainism - Originating in India, Jain spiritual philosophy believes in an eternal human soul, the eternal universe, and a principle of "the own nature of things." Mormonism believes earlier Christian traditions, such as the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant reform faiths, are apostasies and that Joseph Smith's revelation of the Book of Mormon is a restoration of true Christianity.

The goal of religious life is to learn to act so as to finally achieve liberation (moksha) of one's soul, escaping the rebirth cycle. English is the most popular foreign language spoken in Cyprus.

Sunni has four schools of Islamic doctrine and law - Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali - which uniquely interpret the Hadith, or recorded oral traditions of Muhammad. others (Jews) that altogether make the remaining 2 %.

Basic Groupings    Catholicism (or Roman Catholicism): This is the oldest established western Christian church and the world's largest single religious body. Afghanistan ranked first for islam > percentage muslim amongst Landlocked countries in 2004.

Facts and statistics about the Religions of Cyprus.

In regard to religion it is usually characterized as neither a belief nor non belief in a deity. Alawi faith: Another Shia sect of Islam, the name reflects followers' devotion to the religious authority of Ali. Modekngei: a hybrid of Christianity and ancient Palauan culture and oral traditions founded around 1915 on the island of Babeldaob. Total is the percentage of the population age 15 and above who can, with understanding, read and write a short, simple statement on their everyday life. The Shia believe Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, Ali, was the only divinely ordained Imam (religious leader), while the Sunni maintain the first three caliphs after Muhammad were also legitimate authorities.

In 2011, adult literacy rate for Cyprus was 98.7 %. Zoroastrianism is generally a closed religion and members are almost always born to Zoroastrian parents. In Pew Research Center telephone surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019, 65% of American adults describe themselves as Christians when asked about their religion, down 12 percentage … Mormons have a hierarchical religious leadership structure, and actively proselytize their faith; they are located primarily in the Americas and in a number of other Western countries.

There are also services every Sunday at the Nestorian Church of St George in North Cyprus Famagusta. Since this statistic covers the whole island, and there are few Christians in the North, this means that probably 80% of people in the South are affiliated in some way with the Greek Orthodox Church.

While Muslims make up more than 99 percent of Turkey's population, according to the CIA World Factbook, Ambassador Kakouris says it's "not a Muslim-Christian issue." Divine revelation of principles and prohibitions in the Hebrew Scriptures form the basis of Jewish law, or halakhah, which is a key component of the faith. Cyprus, an island in the eastern Mediterranean Sea renowned since ancient times for its mineral wealth, superb wines and produce, and natural beauty.

Christianity - Descending from Judaism, Christianity's central belief maintains Jesus of Nazareth is the promised messiah of the Hebrew Scriptures, and that his life, death, and resurrection are salvific for the world. Atheism: the belief that there are no deities of any kind.

Eastern-Rite Churches, such as the Maronite Church and the Ukrainian Catholic Church, are in communion with Rome although they preserve their own worship traditions and their immediate hierarchy consists of clergy within their own rite. Local communities have their own religious leadership. Although Islam is the dominant religion in the North of Cyprus, there are very few Muslims in the South. IMPORTANT:  please note that from March 15th, until April 30th 2020 no visitors or tourists to Cyprus are permitted due to the pandemic crisis. It encompasses several forms or denominations which are extremely varied in structure, beliefs, relationship to state, clergy, and governance. While North Cyprus is predominantly Muslim, the islanders have always been very accepting of other religions and customs. It emphasizes compassion for all living things, seeks liberation of the human soul from reincarnation through enlightenment, and values personal responsibility due to the belief in the immediate consequences of one's behavior. Hindus may worship one or many deities, usually with prayer rituals within their own home. Zoroastrianism - Originating from the teachings of Zoroaster in about the 9th or 10th century B.C., Zoroastrianism may be the oldest continuing creedal religion. Kimbanguist: a puritan form of the Baptist denomination founded by Simon Kimbangu in the 1920s in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Men and women sit on different sides of the church. This usually means ensuring that skirts are at least knee-length. Its sacred texts include the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament (or the Christian Gospels).

Factbook > Countries > Cyprus > Demographics, note: data represent only the government-controlled area of Cyprus.

Taoism - Chinese philosophy or religion based upon Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, which centers on belief in the Tao, or the way, as the flow of the universe and the nature of things. Islam - The third of the monotheistic Abrahamic faiths, Islam originated with the teachings of Muhammad in the 7th century.

According to ‘Operation World’ 72% of people in Cyprus consider themselves to be Christian. Several schools and sects of Buddhism exist, differing often on the nature of the Buddha, the extent to which enlightenment can be achieved - for one or for all, and by whom - religious orders or laity. Shintoism has no fixed tradition of prayers or prescribed dogma, but is characterized by individual ritual.