In Syria today there are only 25,000 Maronites who have three Dioceses and live in Aleppo, Tartus, Latakia and Damascus. The majority live Damascus and Aleppo. A few thousand members of various denominations form the Superior Evangelical Council of Syria and Lebanon. Relations with the State In Syria, Islam is not the state religion. The country is secular, which ensures equality for members of other religions.
Christians can buy land and build churches.
Clerics are exempt from military service and schools provide Christian and Muslim religious instruction. Unlike other Arab countries, Syria represses Muslim fundamentalism. Christians support the government that guarantees their survival. Rural Christians are constantly moving to the cities, because of Muslim pressure and of lack of structures. They follow the full Sunna, sayings of Mohammed as handed down by his companions, and obey the Grand Mufti, elected for life.