Introduction

On December 18, 2018, in accordance with the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the Secretary of State placed Sudan on a Special Watch List for having engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom.

Sudan was designated as a Country of Particular Concern from 1999-2018 and moved to a Special Watch List after the Secretary determined the government had made substantial progress in improving respect for religious freedom. However, on December 2020, the Secretary of State removed the country from the Special Watch List since it was determined that it no longer engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom.

The constitutional declaration signed in August 2019 includes several provisions protecting the right to freedom of religious belief and worship in accordance with the requirements of the law and public order. It makes no reference to sharia as a source of law, as was the case under the former 2005 constitution.

Laws promulgated under the former constitution would remain in effect. Following the October 2021 military takeover, the laws put in place by the Civilian-Led Transitional Government (CLTG) were maintained but work on amendments was ceased, all according to the 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Sudan.

Religious Demography

The 2020 Pew Research Center data estimates Muslims as the majority of the Sudanese population at 91%, 5.4% Christian, 2.8% following indigenous religions, and the rest following other religions or not affiliated. However, some religious advocacy groups estimate non-Muslims make up more than 13% of the population.

The 2020 Pew Research Center data estimates Muslims as the majority of the Sudanese population at 91%, 5.4% Christian, 2.8% following indigenous religions, and the rest following other religions or not affiliated. However, some religious advocacy groups estimate non-Muslims make up more than 13% of the population.

Muslim community

Almost all Muslims are Sunni, although there are significant distinctions among followers of different Sunni traditions, particularly among Sufi orders. There is a small Shia Muslim community based predominantly in Khartoum.

Other communities

• There is at least one Jewish family remaining in the Khartoum area.
• The government reports the presence of 36 Christian denominations in the country.
• Relatively small but long-established groups of Coptic Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Christians exist, as well as Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox communities.
• Other larger Christian groups include the Catholic Church, Episcopal Anglican Church, Sudan Church of Christ, Sudan Evangelical Presbyterian Church, and Presbyterian Church of Sudan. Smaller Christian groups include the Africa Inland Church, Armenian Apostolic Church, Sudan Interior Church, Sudan Pentecostal Church, Seventh-day Adventist Church, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
• Less than 1 percent of the population, primarily in Blue Nile and South Kordofan States, adhere to traditional African religious beliefs. Some Christians and Muslims incorporate traditional beliefs into their religious practice.
• A small Baha’i community primarily operates underground.

Government policies

The state treats us as a bunch of foreign spies working to destroy our homeland. -Head of the Evangelical Synod in Sudan, Pastor Rafaat Sameer Masaad, 2019

Since the takeover, UNITAMS, the AU, and IGAD along with the international community facilitated a process with Sudan stakeholders to build consensus to establish a civilian-led government and a new constitutional order. Religious actors played a part in this.