page_title: Religion in Israel
section_title: Jerusalem
hierarchical_section_title: Religion in Israel / Sanctity of certain sites / Jerusalem
caption_attribution_description: English: The Western wall and Dome of the Rock in the old city of Jerusalem.
context_page_description: Religion in Israel is a central feature of the country and plays a major role in shaping Israeli culture and lifestyle.
  The majority of Israeli citizens are Jews, but not all are religious. Many Israeli Jews are secular or atheistic. Some are hostile to all forms of religious beliefs and practices. One measure of Jewish religious observance in Israel is the proportion of Jewish Israelis that vote for religious parties to represent them in the Knesset. Roughly one third of Jewish Israelis vote for religious parties such as the Religious Zionists and the Haredi.
  Religion has played a central role in Israel's history. Israel is also the only country in the world where the majority of citizens is Jewish. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, the population in 2011 was 75.4% Jewish, 20.6% Arab, and 4.1% minority groups. The religious affiliation of the Israeli population as of 2019 was 74.2% Jewish, 17.8% Muslim, 2.0% Christian, and 1.6% Druze, with the remaining 4.4% including faiths such as Samaritanism and Baha'iism, and irreligious people with no faith.
context_section_description: Jerusalem plays an important role in three monotheistic religions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — and Haifa and Acre play a role in a fourth, Baha'i. Mount Gerizim is a holy site to what can be considered a fifth, Samaritanism. The 2000 Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem lists 1204 synagogues, 158 churches, and 73 mosques within the city. Despite efforts to maintain peaceful religious coexistence, some sites, such as the Temple Mount, have been a continuous source of friction and controversy. Jerusalem has been sacred to the Jews since the 10th century BC. The Western Wall, a remnant of the Second Temple, is a holy site for Jews, second only to the Temple Mount itself.
  Christianity reveres Jerusalem not only for its role in the Old Testament but also for its significance in the life of Jesus. The land currently occupied by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is considered one of the top candidates for Golgotha and thus has been a Christian pilgrimage site for the past two thousand years. In 1889, the Ottoman Empire allowed the Catholic Church to re-establish its hierarchy in Palestine. Other ancient churches, such as the Greek, Armenian, Syrian, and Coptic churches are also well represented in Jerusalem.
  Despite not being explicitly mentioned in the Quran, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city in Islam, after Mecca and Medina. The Temple Mount is topped by two Islamic landmarks intended to commemorate the event — al-Aqsa Mosque, derived from the name mentioned in the Quran, and the Dome of the Rock, which stands over the Foundation Stone, from which Muslims believe Muhammad ascended to Heaven.
caption: The Western Wall and Dome of the Rock, on top of the Temple Mount
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