There are conflicting reports as to the religious beliefs in South Sudan, though all agree that the three main religions are African Traditional Religion, Christianity and Islam. The South Sudanese President Kiir, a Roman Catholic, while speaking at Saint Theresa Cathedral in Juba, South Sudan, stated that South Sudan would be a nation which respects freedom of religion. The reported estimated relative proportions of adherents of African Traditional Religion and Christianity have varied.
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History
In 1920, the Church Missionary Society originated a Diocese which expanded to form Lui, South Sudan.
Religious membership
In the early 1990s, official records of Sudan as a whole (Sudan and South Sudan) showed that a large percentage adhered to African Traditional Religion (17%) and Christianity (8%) (though both located mainly in the south, some also at Khartoum). Among Christians, most are Catholic and Anglican, though other denominations are also active, and African Traditional Religion beliefs are often blended with Christian beliefs.
In addition to news sources, the Anglican and Catholic churches claim large membership. The US Episcopal Church claimed 2 million members in 2005 in the Episcopal Church of the Sudan.
The most recent Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life report from December 2012 estimated that in 2010, there were 6.010 million Christians (60.46%), 3.270 million followers of African Traditional Religion (32.9%), 610,000 Muslims (6.2%) and 50,000 unaffiliated (no known religion) of a total 9,940,000 people in South Sudan.
These figures are also disputed as the Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life report cites 'The United Nations provided the Pew Forum with special estimates for Sudan and the new nation of South Sudan'. The UN does not have any official figures on ethnicity & religion outside National Census figures.