The Central African country of Uganda is known for a conservative Protestant Christianity that has a significant political influence. Indeed, there is hardly any separation between the sacred and the secular in its everyday life. Religion's intimate social role is not new; it is part of the society's tradition. Because life in premodern Uganda was often short and precarious, invocation of the supernatural played an important role in helping people cope with life's daily challenges. Since then, numerous natural and man-made disasters (e.g., disease epidemics, Arab slavery, political dictatorships, and civil war), poverty, the challenges of modern life, and the evangelizing activities of world religions have all played a part in sustaining the central place of religion in modern Ugandan society.

Uganda's religious landscape consists of ...