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In terms of religion, the central role that Christian missionaries played in helping Moshoeshoe I secure his kingdom helped to ensure widespread Basotho conversion to Christianity. Today, the bulk of Sesotho speakers practice a form of Christianity that blends elements of traditional Christian dogma with local, pre-Western beliefs.
Christians are scattered throughout the country, while Muslims live mainly in the northeastern part of the country. Most practitioners of Islam are of Asian origin, while the majority of Christians are the indigenous Basotho. Many Christians still practice their traditional cultural beliefs and rituals along with Christianity.
The Sotho-Tswana ethnic group derives its name from the people who belong to the various Sotho and Tswana clans that live in southern Africa. Historically, all members of the group were referred to as Sothos; the name is now exclusively applied to speakers of Southern Sotho who live mainly in Lesotho and the Free State province in South Africa, while Northern Sotho is reserved for Sotho ...
Caves have been known throughout human existence, religion, and culture as isolated spaces perfect for meditation and reflection. The Basotho people traditionally regard caves as a dwelling place for ancestors. The caves are visited by thousands of people to perform spiritual rituals. [3]
One modern academic theory of religion, social constructionism, says that religion is a modern concept that suggests all spiritual practice and worship follows a model similar to the Abrahamic religions as an orientation system that helps to interpret reality and define human beings, [6] and thus believes that religion, as a concept, has been ...
Christianity is the dominant religion in Lesotho, [2] with Protestantism and Catholicism being its main denominations. [3] [4] The 2022 United States Department of State report found Protestants slightly outnumbered Catholics. [2] Non-Christian religions represent only 1.5% of the population, and those of no religion 3.5%. [5]
The Pedi / p ɛ d i / or Bapedi / b æ ˈ p ɛ d i / - also known as the Northern Sotho, [2] Basotho ba Lebowa, bakgatla ba dithebe, [3] Transvaal Sotho, [4] Marota, or Dikgoshi [5] - are a Sotho-Tswana ethnic group native to South Africa, Botswana, and Lesotho that speak Pedi or Sepedi, [6] which is one of the 12 official languages in South Africa. [7]
Many traditional practices involve prayers, songs, and offerings to seek the favor or blessings of the divine. Although Modimo is the most powerful being in the order of creation of the Sotho-Tswana religion, he is often seen as a deistic god who can be appealed to through intermediaries like the ancestors or Badimo , who are believed to be ...