Christianity in Jordan
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Christians constitute about 6% of the population (about 200,000 people[1]), though the percentage dropped sharply from 12% in the early beginning of the twentieth century, this drop is largely due to lower birth rates in comparison with Muslims and a strong influx of Muslim immigrants from neighboring countries.
Nearly 70 - 75% of Jordanian Christians belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church, the other part adheres to the Roman Catholic Church with small minority to Protestant churches. Christians are well integrated in the Jordanian society and have a high level of freedom. Nearly all Christians belong to the middle or upper classes.
Moreover, Christians enjoy relatively high economic and social opportunities in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan compared to the rest of the Middle East. Although they constitute less than 10 per cent of the total population, they have a slightly larger representation, of 15%, in the Jordanian Parliament, and hold important government portfolios, ambassadorial appointments abroad, and positions of high military rank.
Jordanian Christians are allowed by the public and private sectors to leave their work to attend mass on Sundays. All Christian religious ceremonies are publicly celebrated in Jordan. Christians have established good relations with the royal family and the various Jordanian government officials and they have their own ecclesiastical courts for matters of personal status.
The government of Jordan has contributed to restoring pilgrimages to the baptism site of Jesus Christ. [2]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Pope visits Christ 'baptism site'". British Broadcasting Corporation. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/8042382.stm. Retrieved on 2009-05-12.
- ^ [1]
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