page_title: Religion in Tonga
section_title: Christianity
hierarchical_section_title: Religion in Tonga / Christianity
caption_attribution_description: English: The Nuku alofa Tonga Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the Liahona area of Tongatapu, Nuku'alofa, Tonga.
context_page_description: The overwhelming majority of people in Tonga consider themselves Christians, which is dominated by Methodists. The constitution of Tonga establishes the freedom of religion, which is respected in practice by both the government and general society, although there are some laws which restrict commerce and broadcast media in accordance with Christian religious norms.
context_section_description: Tongans are ardent church goers. Church service usually follows a call and response structure. Singing in the church is often done a cappella. Although a church attends primarily to the spiritual needs of the population, it also functions as the primary social hub.
  Sunday in Tonga is celebrated as a strict sabbath, enshrined so in the constitution, and despite some voices to the opposite, the Sunday ban is not likely to be abolished soon. No trade is allowed on Sunday, except essential services, after special approval by the minister of police. Those that break the law risk a fine or imprisonment.
  Along with others from Oceania, some Tongan Christians have attempted to develop their own unique theology which addresses the contextual questions offered by people of the Pacific. This includes the coconut theology of the Methodist Sione 'Amanaki Havea or the incarnational theology of the Roman Catholic Bishop Patelesio Finau.
  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Tonga claims it has over 65,532 members (about 60% of the population) with 170 congregations as of 2019. According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Tonga has a higher per-capita number of Latter-day Saints than any other country in the world. However, according to 2011 census, only 18.01% of Tongans belong to LDS Church and Tongans belonging to mainstream Christian denominations represent majority of the population.
caption: LDS Tonga Temple
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