Egypt promotes religious inclusivity by granting legal status to 293 more churches

Egypt has granted legal status to an additional 293 churches and service buildings under a 2016 law designed to protect Christians' rights to establish places of worship, as reported by The Jerusalem Post.

Before the 2016 law, Christians in Egypt were prohibited from building churches near schools, canals, government buildings, railways, and many residential areas, according to Vatican News. Despite these restrictions, some Christians proceeded with construction, which sometimes led to sectarian violence attributed to the existence of these unauthorized churches.

In recent years, however, many of these previously unrecognized places of worship have gained legal status. Since 2016, Egypt has legalized a total of 3,450 churches and affiliated buildings, according to Egypt Today.

The U.S. government estimates that Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of approximately 117 million people. Most of Egypt's Christians belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church, whose origins trace back to the 1st century AD.