The courts and government practice uphold the constitutional right to freedom of speech, thought, and belief, and no legislation to curb those rights has been adopted. The 2000 census found that 96% of citizens identified themselves as members of a Christian church; however, many citizens combine their Christian faith with some traditional indigenous religious practices. The census percentages were as follows:
• Catholic Church (27.0%)
• Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea (19.5%)
• United Church (11.5%)
• Seventh-day Adventist Church (10.0%)
• Pentecostal (8.6%)
• Evangelical Alliance (5.2%)
• Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea (3.2%)
• Baptist (0.5%)
• Church of Christ (0.4%)
• Bahá'í Faith (0.3%)
• Jehovah's Witnesses (0.3%)
• Salvation Army (0.2%)
• Other Christian (8.0%)
There are also approximately 4,000 Muslims in the country. Non-traditional Christian churches and non-Christian religious groups are active throughout the country. The Papua New Guinea Council of Churches has stated that both Muslim and Confucian missionaries are active, and foreign missionary activity in general is high.
Traditional religions, such as that of the Korowai, were often animist. Some also tended to have elements of ancestor worship, though generalisation is suspect given the extreme heterogeneity of Melanesian societies. Prevalent among traditional tribes is the belief in masalai, or evil spirits, which are blamed for "poisoning" people, causing calamity and death, and the practice of puripuri (sorcery)
