An estimated 39 percent of Lebanon's population practices Christianity, according to the CIA World Factbook. The 1.6 million Christians are predominantly Maronite Christians, but include a sizable number of Greek Orthodox Christians and small numbers of other denominations.
Christians were once the dominant religious group in Lebanon. But the 15-year civil war that began in the 1970s prompted at least 1 million Lebanese Christians to flee and left the country divided along religious lines. Today, relations between Christians and Muslims are calm and Lebanese Christians retain significant political sway through a powersharing agreement that distributes the top three government positions among the country’s main religious and ethnic groups – Christians, Sunni Muslims, and Shiite Muslims.
(Editor's note: The original article overstated the size of Lebanon's Christian population.)
