The Government of Tanzania generally respects the right of religious freedom, an international religious freedom report for 2008 says.

The country's constitution still provided for the freedom of worship which did not change during the period of reporting, according to the report prepared by the US department of State.

The report, however, said, "some societal tensions between Muslims and Christians persisted, as well as a few cases of increased tension between secular and fundamentalist Muslims."

The report, usually forwarded to the US Congress and released on Friday, gave Tanzania the highest level of respect for religions assigned by the report. Countries in this category were said to have "generally respected" freedom to worship.

Its primary focus is to document Government actions that repress religious expression, persecute believers and tolerate violence against religious minorities and those that protect and promote religious freedom.

The report drew its data from the period between July 1, 2007 and June 3, 2008.

Tanzania lacked current statistics on religious demography as such surveys were eliminated from Government census reports after 1967.

However, religious leaders and socialists estimate that Christian and Muslim communities are equal in size. Each accounts for 30 to 40 percent of the population and the remainder are practitioners of other faiths. But in Zanzibar 99 percent of the population is Muslim.

The Christian population is mostly composed of Roman Catholics, Protestants, Pentecostals, Seventh-day Adventists, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and members of Jehovah's Witnesses. Buddhists, Hindus and Baha'is are also present on the mainland.

The report said Tanzania's constitution does not establish an official religion. However, it recognizes eight holidays, divided equally between Christian and Muslim holy days.

"There is also an unwritten rule that the presidency alternates between a Christian and a Muslim at least every ten years, the normal cycle of a two-term president," read the report.

Religious organizations are banned from getting involved in politics. Politicians are restricted from using a language intended to incite one religious group against another or encourage religious groups to vote for certain political parties.

The report also said that in March 2008 three Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church followers were jailed for two years for keeping their children out of school in order to await the imminent return of Jesus Christ and end of the world.

And on March 30, 2008, an Anglican and a Baptist preacher were both arrested for breaking the law against sedition and making public statements likely to cause a breach of the peace.

They were accused of making public statements against Prophet Mohammed (SAW). Until this story was being filed, they were still being held in custody until a court date or bail could be arranged.