Exogenous religions
Converted by missionaries from the last quarter of the 19th century onwards, Ugandans are predominantly Christian, with about as many Catholics as Protestants. The religious distribution, according to the latest population census (2014), is as follows: 84% Christians (including 39% Catholics and 32% Anglicans), 14% Muslims, and 2% followers of other religions (Hinduism, animism, Baha'i, Judaism...). According to some academics, there are more Muslims than the data published by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics would suggest. In any case, the districts with the highest share of Mohammedans are mainly located in the south-east of the country. Yumbe District, bordering Southern Sudan, stands out both geographically and sociologically, as it is the only territorial subdivision with more Muslims than Christians. Sunni Islam, introduced by Swahili merchants and Egyptian troops, is predominant. Shi'ism - like Ismailism, whose spiritual leader is the wealthy Aga Khan - is also present. Finally, let us note, subsumed under the denomination of Protestantism, a plethora of churches and evangelical movements (Pentecostalism, Baptistry...) very active in Uganda.
Traditional religions
In rural areas, animist beliefs are still alive. They give credence to a vital force, a spirit or a protective genie, immaterial and inaccessible, but present in everything (tree, river, stone...) playing the role of medium between this spiritual entity and men. In the event of a natural disaster, external aggression or illness, it is often the spirits, and particularly those of the ancestors, that are consulted and invoked, much more so than the Christian God. The summoning of the spirits (such as those of Nakayima in Mubende) involves propitiatory and sacrificial rites and offerings. Let us exemplify this by looking at the traditional religion of the Baganda. This is based on a hierarchy at the top of which dominates Katonda ("creator of all things"), honoured in three sanctuaries, but relatively distant from men and their daily concerns. The twenty-eight balubaale ("guardians"), spirits of illustrious men, come second. Omnipresent, they are venerated in temples where their oracles are collected by a priest or priestess(mandwa). Sacrifices are made to attract their good graces (fertility, abundant harvests...). Finally, at the bottom of the ladder, there are a myriad of souls of the deceased - benevolent or not, living in the mountains, forests, rivers or incarnated in animals (like the python) - that must be satisfied, notably by making offerings to them (coffee beans, money...) in a basket provided for this purpose in every home.
