Most Jehovah’s Witnesses in Rwanda are first-generation converts (87%) from families with varied religious backgrounds. Mirroring the religious composition of Rwanda as a whole, at birth about half of respondents had Catholic parents and others had Protestant, Muslim, or nonreligious parents. As the faith community increased over time, so has the number of second-generation Jehovah’s Witnesses. (Figure 3.1)
Figure 3.1, Parents’ Religious Affiliation at Time of Respondents’ Birth
Chart Summary
The pie chart shows the distribution of parents’ religious affiliation at the time of respondents’ birth, with slices labeled by category and percentage, enabling comparison across major affiliations. Catholic is the largest segment at 52.1%, followed by Jehovah’s Witness as the second largest slice at 11.1%. Anglican accounts for 8.1%; 6.6% report they have No religion. Those who indicated they do not know their parents’ religion account for 7.5%, followed by Seventh-day Adventist at 4.2% and Pentecostal at 3.5%. Other Protestant religions account for 4.4%, while the category of Other accounts for 2.5%. These findings appear in Section 3 of the report.