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Bhutan Hinduism and Islam
The minority religion of Bhutan is Hinduism, whose
adherents--
those of Nepalese origin--officially constitute 28 percent
of the
population
(see Hinduism and Islam
, ch. 2). Despite Buddhism's
status as the
state religion, Hindus had de facto freedom of religion.
The Druk
Gyalpo decreed major Hindu festivals as national holidays,
and the
royal family participated in them. An even smaller
religious
minority--about 5 percent of the population in
1989--practiced
Islam. Although foreign religious personnel were permitted
to work
in Bhutan, primarily as educators, they were not allowed
to
proselytize.
Data as of September 1991
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