Israel Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Religion=== {{Main|Religion in Israel}} {{See also|Abrahamic religions}} [[File:Westernwall2.jpg|thumb|The [[Dome of the Rock]] and the [[Western Wall]], Jerusalem|alt=A large open area with people bounded by old stone walls. To the left is a mosque with large golden dome.]] The religious affiliation of the Israeli population as of 2022 was 73.6% Jewish, 18.1% [[Muslims|Muslim]], 1.9% [[Christians|Christian]], and 1.6% [[Druze]]. The remaining 4.8% included faiths such as [[Samaritanism]] and [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼí]], as well as "religiously unclassified".<ref name="CBS 2.1">{{cite book |url=http://www1.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnatonenew_site.htm |title=Statistical Abstract of Israel 2006 (No. 57) |publisher=[[Israel Central Bureau of Statistics]] |year=2006 |chapter=Table 2.1 — Population, by Religion and Population. As of may 2011 estimate the population was 76.0 Jewish. Group |chapter-url=http://www1.cbs.gov.il/shnaton57/st02_01.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120914092802/http://www1.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnatonenew_site.htm |archive-date=14 September 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Jewish religious movements|religious affiliation]] of [[Israeli Jews]] varies widely: a 2016 survey by [[Pew Research]] indicates that 49% self-identify as [[Hiloni]] (secular), 29% as [[Masortim|Masorti]] (traditional), 13% as [[Dati]] (religious) and 9% as [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] (ultra-Orthodox).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/08/in-israel-jews-are-united-by-homeland-but-divided-into-very-different-groups/ |title=In Israel, Jews are united by homeland but divided into very different groups |last1=Starr |first1=Kelsey Jo |last2=Masci |first2=David |date=8 March 2016 |publisher=Pew Research Center |access-date=14 January 2017}}</ref> Haredi Jews are expected to represent more than 20% of Israel's Jewish population by 2028.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/at-the-edge-of-the-abyss-1.3538 |author=Shahar Ilan |title=At the edge of the abyss |newspaper=Haaretz |date=24 November 2009}}</ref> [[Islam in Israel|Muslims]] constitute Israel's largest religious minority, making up about 17.6% of the population. About 2% of the population is [[Christianity in Israel|Christian]] and 1.6% is [[Druze in Israel|Druze]].<ref name="cia"/> The Christian population comprises primarily [[Arab Christians]] and [[Arameans in Israel|Aramean Christians]], but also includes post-Soviet immigrants, foreign laborers, and followers of [[Messianic Judaism]], considered by most Christians and Jews to be a form of Christianity.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel's Christian population numbers 148,000 as of Christmas Eve |first=Moti |last=Bassok |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/israel-s-christian-population-numbers-148-000-as-of-christmas-eve-1.208151 |newspaper=Haaretz |date=25 December 2006 |access-date=26 April 2012}}</ref> Members of many other religious groups, including [[Buddhism|Buddhists]] and [[Hinduism in Israel|Hindus]], maintain a presence in Israel, albeit in small numbers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton53/st_eng02.pdf |title=National Population Estimates |access-date=6 August 2007 |page=27 |publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807012547/http://www.cbs.gov.il/shnaton53/st_eng02.pdf |archive-date=7 August 2011 }}</ref> Out of more than one million [[1990s Post-Soviet aliyah|immigrants]] from the former Soviet Union, about 300,000 are considered not Jewish by the [[Chief Rabbinate of Israel]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/15675691 |title=Israel's disputatious Avigdor Lieberman: Can the coalition hold together? |date=11 March 2010 |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=12 August 2012}}</ref> Israel comprises a major part of the [[Holy Land]], a region of significant importance to all [[Abrahamic religions]]. The city of [[Jerusalem]] is of [[Religious significance of Jerusalem|special importance]] to Jews, Muslims, and Christians, as it is the home of [[List of places in Jerusalem|sites]] that are pivotal to their religious beliefs, such as the [[Old City (Jerusalem)|Old City]] that incorporates the [[Western Wall]] and the [[Temple Mount]] (Al-Aqsa Mosque compound) and the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Jerusalem: its sanctity and centrality to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam |last=Levine |first=Lee I. |year=1999 |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-8264-1024-5 |page=516}}</ref> Other locations of religious importance in Israel are [[Nazareth]] (holy in Christianity as the site of the [[Annunciation]] of [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]]), [[Tiberias]] and [[Safed]] (two of the [[Four Holy Cities]] in Judaism), the [[White Mosque, Ramla|White Mosque]] in [[Ramla]] (holy in Islam as the shrine of the prophet [[Salih|Saleh]]), and the [[Church of Saint George and Mosque of Al-Khadr, Lod]] (holy in Christianity and Islam as the tomb of [[Saint George]] or [[Al Khidr]]). A number of other religious landmarks are located in the [[West Bank]], among them [[Joseph's Tomb]], the [[Church of the Nativity|birthplace of Jesus]], [[Rachel's Tomb]], and the [[Cave of the Patriarchs]]. The [[Arc (Baháʼí)|administrative center]] of the [[Baháʼí Faith]] and the [[Shrine of the Báb]] are located at the [[Baháʼí World Centre]] in [[Haifa]]; the leader of the faith is [[Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh|buried]] in [[Acre, Israel|Acre]].<ref>{{cite book | title = Hebrew Phrasebook | publisher = Lonely Planet Publications |year=1999 | page = 156 |isbn=978-0-86442-528-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://info.bahai.org/article-1-6-0-5.html |title=The Baháʼí World Centre: Focal Point for a Global Community |publisher=The Baháʼí International Community |access-date=2 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629171538/http://info.bahai.org/article-1-6-0-5.html |archive-date=29 June 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |publisher=Baháʼí Library Online |title=Teaching the Faith in Israel |date=23 June 1995 |url=http://bahai-library.com/uhj_teaching_in_israel |access-date=6 August 2007 }}</ref> The [[Mahmood Mosque, Haifa|Mahmood Mosque]] is affiliated with the reformist [[Ahmadiyya in Israel|Ahmadiyya]] movement. [[Kababir]], Haifa's mixed neighbourhood of Jews and Ahmadi Arabs, is one of a few of its kind in the country.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.haifatrail.com/haifa-trail-segment14-eng.htm#./images/sect-14/Haifa-Trail-Sect14-P1610817.jpg | title=Kababir and Central Carmel – Multiculturalism on the Carmel | access-date=8 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.visit-haifa.org/eng/Kababir | title=Visit Haifa | access-date=8 January 2015}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page