From: The Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples/Ethiopians/John Sorenson
Colonial powers and missionary groups established schools throughout the Horn of Africa, and the last emperor, Haile Selassie, made improvements in Ethiopia’s educational system, although regional disparities continued to exist. Despite the repressive and violent character of the Marxist Derg, literacy rates rose considerably during Mengistu’s rule, while opposition forces also carried out literacy programs.
In Canada, Ethiopians continue to place a high value on education. Because illiterate refugees face additional problems of adjustment in Canada, Ethiopian community associations stress the need for more English-language training. As noted above, however, the subordinate status of women is reflected in their lower level of education.
Ever since the fourth century, Ethiopia has officially been a Christian state. For most of its existence, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church was jurisdictionally subordinate to the Coptic Church of Egypt, but since 1951 it has had its own hierarchy headed by a primate (abuna) resident in the country’s capital Addis Ababa. Despite the designation Orthodox, the Ethiopian church is not in communion with the Eastern Orthodox or, for that matter, with the Roman Catholic Church. This is because, like the Copts, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is monophysite (recognizing only the divine nature of Christ). Whereas its rites of worship are similar to the Coptic Church, the Ethiopians use Ge’ez, an ancient Ethiopian language no longer spoken, in their liturgies. Because of its ancient lineage and close association with the state, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is considered one of the foundations of Ethiopian national identity. In Toronto, an Ethiopian Orthodox Church has been opened, and some Ethiopian Christians also belong to the Ethiopian Evangelical Church in that city.
Ethiopian elites long traced their origin to the union of Solomon and Sheba, as recounted in Christian mythology. Legend states that their son Menelik I returned from Jerusalem bearing the Ark of the Covenant, indicating that Ethiopians had replaced the Hebrews as the chosen people. Ethiopia’s emperors, including Haile Selassie, emphasized this link with the ancient Israelites. Until the 1980s Ethiopian Jews, known as Beta Israel or Falashas, formed a distinct group estimated to number 30,000 people living in the northwestern region. Suffering both discrimination and the effects of famine, thousands fled to Sudan and were clandestinely transferred from there to Israel in 1979–82 and 1983–85. Others were evacuated from Addis Ababa in 1992 just as the Mengistu regime collapsed. A small Beta Israel community exists in Montreal and has good relations with the Jewish community there.
Despite Ethiopia’s identification with Christianity, it also has a long association with Islam. Some of the original Muslims found shelter in Ethiopia and proximity to Arabia ensured prolonged contact. The Oromos and other groups practised indigenous forms of religion but many later adopted Islam as a sign of opposition to the Christian Amharas who had conquered their territory. Approximately one-half of Ethiopia’s population is now Muslim. In Canada, however, there are no mosques exclusively for Ethiopian Muslims.
