Religion in Algeria Religion in Algeria Religion in Algeria is dominated by Muslims at about ninety-seven percent of the population. The vast majority of Muslims in Algeria adhere to Sunni Islam of Maliki school of jurisprudence. There are also almost 350,000 Christians, mostly Pentecostal Protestants. There are nearly 2,000 Jews still living in Algeria, according to the US department of State. Islam, the religion of almost all of the Algerian people, pervades most aspects of life. It provides the society with its central social and cultural identity and gives most individuals their basic ethical beliefs. Since the mid-20th-century Algerian War, led by the
Sociology of religion on individual salvation and conscience. Durkheim's definition of religion, from "Elementary Forms", is as follows: "A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden – beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them." This is a functional definition of religion, meaning that it explains what religion "does" in social life: essentially, it unites societies. Durkheim defined religion as a clear distinction between the sacred and the profane, in effect this can be paralleled with the