There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom during the period covered by this report. There were no reports of religious detainees or prisoners. There were no reports of the forced religious conversion of minor U.S. citizens who had been abducted or illegally removed from the United States, or of the Government's refusal to allow minor U.S. citizens who had been forced to convert their religion to be returned to the United States. Societal Attitudes Tensions between the Hindu majority and Christian Creole and Muslim minorities persist and resulted in violent confrontations during the period covered by this report. Creole and Muslim minorities attempted to keep public attention focused on alleged societal injustices and Hindu discrimination against them.
Intermarriage is relatively rare.
An individual's name easily identifies his or her ethnic and religious background. There is a strong correlation between religious affiliation and ethnicity. Citizens of Indian ethnicity are usually Hindus or Muslims. Citizens of Chinese ancestry usually practice both Buddhism and Catholicism. Creoles and citizens of European-descent are usually Catholic.