Protestants in Ethiopia

Protestants in Ethiopia are Christians not belonging to Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo, Roman Catholic or Ethiopian Catholic churches. In Amharic they are known as pentay, which is derived from "pentecostal" even though actual pentecostals are only a minority of the overall Protestant population in Ethiopia.

The total number of Protestants in Ethiopia is believed to be about 20% of the population (according to the magazine Christianity Today, September, 2011, edition, p. 18), or about 17 million.

Established Protestant denominations are relatively abundant in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region. Some urban areas are also evangelizing very fast. Other big Protestant churches in Ethiopia include Meserete Kristos (Mennonite), Gubae Egziabehare (Assembly of God), Mulu Wongel, and Misgana church. There officially is freedom of religion. In Gambela, Mekane Yesus followers are about 60% of the population. In regions with an Islamic majority, Christians face opposition from local authorities and radical Muslims.

According to "Voice of the Martyrs", there have been brutal killings of Pentay Christians in rural areas that tend to be overlooked by the Ethiopian government and stay undisclosed to international organizations. "Voice of the Martyrs" also states that Pentay Christians have been murdered by Islamic militants because they refused to renounce their faith. Other Protestant denominations include United Pentecostal, Full Gosp-Mulu Wengel, Heywet Birhane, Seventh-day Adventist, Meserete Kristos, Sefer Genet, Churches of Christ, Birhane Wengel and Emmanuel Baptist churches. The Protestant minority is growing by about 6.7% per year.

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