Religion

Samoans had a pantheistic religion in which family elders performed most rituals. In the early nineteenth century, missionaries introduced Christianity to the country. Their profound influence on Samoa is especially visible in the religious landscape of modern society. Religion in Samoa is diverse, but nearly 100% of the population is Christian. This can be seen as one of the Unique Cultural Characteristics In Samoa. The 2001 Census revealed the following distribution of Christian groups: Congregational Christian, 34.8 percent; Roman Catholic, 19.6 percent; Methodist, 15 percent; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 12.7 percent; Assemblies of God, 6.6 percent; and Seventh-day Adventist, 3.5 percent.

There are also adherents of other religions, such as Islam and the Bahá'i Faith; according to a profile by the World Council of Churches and the online encyclopedia Encarta, the Bahá'i population in Samoa circa 2000 was 2% of the nation, making it the only non-Christian community of any size. The country is home to one of the world's only seven Bahá'i Houses of Worship. Although there is no official data, it is widely assumed that the capital city also has some practicing Hindus, Buddhists, and Jews.

None of the religious groups are exclusively made up of foreign nationals or native-born (Western) Samoans. With the exception of U.S. nationals from American Samoa, there are no significant foreign national or immigrant groups. Within the country, missionaries were free to operate. At the village and local level, there is strong societal pressure to participate in church services and other activities, as well as financially support church leaders and projects.