Ethiopian Beliefs

Traditional and Indigenous Faiths of Ethiopia

Ethiopia is best known for its past as a Christian African empire, but its modern borders house a diverse and complicated religious history. From traditional African faiths and an ancient connection to Judaism to modern Islam, Rastafarianism, and Bahá'í worship, Ethiopia is a nation of many beliefs living side by side. Christianity tends to be concentrated in the northern highland regions, while other faiths are more prevalent to the south and in lowland areas.

Perhaps the largest indigenous faith practiced in Ethiopia today is that of the Oromo people, Waaqeffanna. Waaqeffanna is a monotheistic religion recognizing a supreme and benevolent god, Waaqa. Rather than following a holy text or prophet, adherents see Waaqa’s deeds in natural laws and events, including the coming of rains, new life, and death. Waaqa can interact with humans through ayyaana spirits. When those spirits choose to communicate through a man or woman, that person becomes a priest, a Qaallu or Qaallitti. Because Waaqeffanna focuses on the natural patterns of life and right conduct, it is seen as compatible with other faiths. Oromo people today may practice Christianity or Islam alongside their older beliefs, known as syncretism.

Ethiopian Judaism

Modern Ethiopia is home to a relatively small Jewish population, but its cultural history is tied to that of Israel. According to tradition, the dynasty that ruled Ethiopia until 1974 receives its first historical mention in the Hebrew Bible shared by Abrahamic faiths. The Queen of Sheba, an Ethiopian queen, conceived a son while staying with King Solomon. As her son grew, he returned to Solomon to study Jewish laws and worship. That child, Menelik I, is credited with founding the Solomonic dynasty. Ethiopia has been home to a Jewish population, known as the Beta Israel, since antiquity. The vast majority, however, emigrated to Israel toward the end of the 20th century.

Christianity in Ethiopia

By the early 4th century CE, Christian missionaries and merchants had arrived at the ports and courts of Aksum. They found a society already familiar with Abrahamic, Greek, and Roman customs, a thriving commercial empire in the Mediterranean world. Christianity made gradual inroads among the population before becoming the official faith of Aksum. Its kings adopted the Lion of Judah as their symbol and fostered a strong monastic system to accompany priests and bishops. Ethiopia, alongside Armenia, Rome, and the Byzantine Empire, was one of the first political states to embrace the new religion.

Ethiopian Christianity developed in proximity to the Greek city of Alexandria and was heavily influenced by Coptic Orthodoxy. The major church of Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, split amicably from the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria in 1959. Other forms of Christianity are also present in the nation, including Catholicism and Protestantism. In the 16th and 17th century, Portuguese missionaries worked to convert Ethiopia to Catholicism and were briefly successful.

Islam in Ethiopia

The other primary religion of Ethiopia is Islam. Located just across the Red Sea from Arabia, the nation has witnessed the spread of the religion almost from its birth. When the Prophet Muhammad and his followers, or sahaba, underwent persecution in their homeland, some sought refuge in Aksum. Their journey to the safety of Ethiopia is remembered as the first hijra, before the more widely known pilgrimage of the prophet himself. In this way, Ethiopia is as integral to Islam as Muslims are to its society today.

Following this initial hospitality, relations between the Christian Amharic kings and the Muslim peoples all around them grew more contentious. Ethiopia turned back several attempted conquests to remain an independent Christian state, but it has always been home to Muslim citizens.

Haile Selassie and Rastafarianism

Another notable religious movement sprung out of Ethiopia in the 20th century. Rastafarianism began in Jamaica in the 1930s. Its early adherents pushed against colonialism and oppression of the African diaspora in the West. They reinterpreted the Bible through a black African lens and saw Emperor Haile Selassie as a messianic or prophetic figure to lead them home from “Babylon.” The movement’s name is derived from Ras Tafari, the title and name of Haile Selassie before he assumed the throne. The religious and social movement soon gained visibility through its close association with reggae music.

While the emperor did not claim that status himself, he did set aside land for Afro-Caribbean people to return to and settle. That village, Shashemane, is still home to a Rastafarian community today.

Modern Worship in Ethiopia

Today, Ethiopia is a nation built from all of these religious traditions and more. According to the CIA World Factbook, its religious makeup as of 2007 was estimated at:

• Ethiopian Orthodox: 43.5%

• Muslim: 33.9%

• Protestant: 18.5%

• Traditional: 2.7%

• Catholic: 0.7%

• Other: 0.6%

References

Cox, James L. Critical Reflections on Indigenous Religions. Routledge. 2016.

De Waal, Alexander. Evil Days: Thirty Years of War and Famine in Ethiopia. Human Rights Watch. 1991.

Freston, Tom, and Tom Freston. “A Visit to Shashemane, Ethiopia's Rastafarian Utopia.” Vanity Fair, Vanity Fair, 30 Jan. 2015, www.vanityfair.com/news/politics/2014/02/shashemane-ethiopia-rastafarian-utopia.

Karesh, Sara E and Mitchell M. Hurvitz. Encyclopedia of Judaism. Infobase Publishing. 2005.

Marcus, Harold G. *A History of Ethiopia. *University of California Press. 2002.

“The World Factbook: Ethiopia.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 1 Feb. 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/et.html.

Uhlig, Siegbert, David Appleyard, et. al. Ethiopia: History, Culture, and Challenges. LIT Verlag Münster. 2017.

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