Christianity is the largest religion in Ghana, with 71.3% of the population being member of various Christian denominations as of 2021 census. Islam is practised by 19.9% of the total population. According to a 2012 report by Pew Research, 51% of Muslims are followers of Sunni Islam, while approximately 16% belong to the Ahmadiyya movement and around 8% identify with Shia Islam, while the remainder are non-denominational Muslims. Christian celebrations of Christmas and Easter are recognized as national holidays. In the past, vacation periods have been planned around these occasions, thus permitting both Christians and others living away from home to visit friends and family in the rural areas. Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, is observed by Muslims and traditional occasions are celebrated. These festivals include the Adae, which occur fortnightly, and the annual Odwira festivals. There is the annual Apoo festival activities, which is a kind of Mardi Gras and is held in towns. There is "no significant link between ethnicity and religion in Ghana". Statistics Christianity The presence of Christian missionaries on the coast has been dated to the arrival of the Portuguese in the fifteenth century. It was the Basel/Presbyterian and Wesleyan/Methodist missionaries, who, in the nineteenth century, laid the foundation for the Christian church in Ghana. Beginning their conversions in the coastal area as "nurseries of the church" in which an educated African class was trained. There are secondary schools, including exclusively boys and girls schools, that are mission- or church-related institutions. Church schools have been opened to all since the state assumed financial responsibility for formal instruction under the Education Act of 1960. Christian denominations are represented, including Evangelical Presbyterian and Catholicism. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), in addition to chapels, has a temple in Accra. A second temple has been announced for the city of Kumasi. The unifying organization of Christians in the country is the Ghana Christian Council, founded in 1929. Representing the Methodist, Anglican, Mennonite, Presbyterian, Evangelical Presbyterian, African Methodist Episcopal Zionist, Christian Methodist, Evangelical Lutheran, and Baptist churches, and the Society of Friends, the council serves as the link with the World Council of Churches and other ecumenical bodies. The Seventh-day Adventist Church, not a member of Christian Council, has a presence. The Church opened the premier private and Christian University. The National Catholic Secretariat, established in 1960, coordinates the in-country dioceses. These Christian organizations,