European missionaries, notably the White Fathers, introduced Christianity to Rwanda in the late 19th century. A 2001 study indicates that about 94% of the population are Christians: 50% Catholic and 44% Protestant. Muslims account for about 5% of the total population and about 2% professed no religion at all. A small number of people practice indigenous religions exclusively, but is believed that many adherents of other faiths incorporate traditional elements into their own practice. These elements include belief in a supreme being, Imaana, and a number of lesser deities, who can be communicated with through the spirits of ancestors. There are small groups of Baha'is, Hindus, and others.
Though relations between religious groups are generally amicable, social and political discrimination against Jehovah's Witnesses has developed based on the refusal of its adherents to serve in security patrols or participate in patriotic ceremonies and rituals.