with accommodation providers in the tourism industry. Languages The Tuvaluan language and English are the national languages of Tuvalu. Tuvaluan is of the Ellicean group of Polynesian languages, distantly related to all other Polynesian languages such as Hawaiian, Māori, Tahitian, Rapa Nui, Samoan and Tongan. It is most closely related to the languages spoken on the Polynesian outliers in Micronesia and northern and central Melanesia. The Tuvaluan language has borrowed from the Samoan language, as a consequence of Christian missionaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries being predominantly Samoan. The Tuvaluan language is spoken by virtually everyone, while a Micronesian language very similar to Gilbertese is spoken on Nui. English is also an official language but is not spoken in daily use. Parliament and official functions are conducted in the Tuvaluan language. There are about 13,000 Tuvaluan speakers worldwide. Radio Tuvalu transmits Tuvaluan-language programming. Religion The Congregational Christian Church of Tuvalu, which is part of the Calvinist tradition, is the state church of Tuvalu; although in practice this merely entitles it to "the privilege of performing special services on major national events". Its adherents comprise about 97% of the 10,837 (2012 census) inhabitants of the archipelago. The Constitution of Tuvalu guarantees freedom of religion, including the freedom to practice, the freedom to change religion, the right not to receive religious instruction at school or to attend religious ceremonies at school, and the right not to "take an oath or make an affirmation that is contrary to his religion or belief". Other Christian groups include the Catholic community served by the Mission Sui Iuris of Funafuti, and the Seventh-day Adventist which has 2.8% of the population. According to its own estimates, the Tuvalu Brethren Church has about 500 members (i.e. 4.5% of the population). The Baháʼí Faith is the largest minority religion and the largest non-Christian religion in Tuvalu. It constitutes 2.0% of the population. The Baháʼís are the majority on the Nanumea Island of Tuvalu. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community consists of about 50 members (0.4% of the population). The introduction of Christianity ended the worship of ancestral spirits and other deities (animism), along with the power of the vaka-atua (the priests of the old religions). Laumua Kofe describes the objects of worship as varying from island to island, although ancestor worship was described by Rev. D. J. Whitmee in 1870 as being common practice. Health The Princess Margaret