Publication Date
Fall 2025
Abstract
In recent years, religious identity has become a locus of increasing contention as societies around the globe become more diverse. This issue has become increasingly prominent in Morocco as its population of non-Muslim migrants and foreign residents has grown and begun to challenge its many constitutional provisions limiting complete freedom of religion. The largest religious minority is Roman Catholics, but there has been minimal research on the Catholic community in Morocco. However, by analysing discrimination against Christians as defined by the Religion and State Minorities dataset and by interviewing Catholics in Morocco, I aim to address this research gap by outlining the Catholic Church’s unique position in Moroccan society in relation to Morocco’s colonial history and growing tourism industry. Furthermore, I explore the implications this position holds for the Moroccan government’s future accommodation of religious minorities.
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Pendyala, Valli, "The Catholic Church as a Model of Minority Religious Relations in Morocco" (2025). Morocco: Human Rights, Social Justice, and Cultural Transformation. 10.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/mor2/10