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Beirut is one of the most religiously diverse cities of the Middle East, with Muslims (Sunni and Shi'ite), Christians (Maronite Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholics, Armenian Orthodox, Armenian Catholics, Roman Catholics, Syriacs, Copts, Methodists, Protestants), Druze and atheists all having a significant presence. However, most of the Jews of Beirut emigrated to the United States when the Lebanese Civil War started in 1975, though there are also populations of Lebanese Jews in France and Brazil, one of the more famous ones being Edmond Safra. Many of the denominations are actually tiny minorities or, like the Jews, almost non-existent (estimates place the Jewish population at less than 30). The Armenian Catholics, Roman Catholics, Syriacs, and Copts all number in the thousands and have a negligible prescence when compared to the other religions. For all intents and purposes, Lebanon really only has 8 major religions (Sunni Muslims, Shiite Muslims, Druze, Maronite Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Armenian Catholics, and Protestants). There is no counting of atheist people or non believers in Lebanon because of the predominance of religion in public life and in the governmental and administrative sphere.
Beirut was torn apart during the Lebanese Civil War and was divided between the Muslim West Beirut and the Christian East. The city today has been reunited and rebuilt, and its Christian-Muslim balance remains, even if it is a precarious balance. Tensions remain high between the various groups. Some say these tensions always existed, and the 1975-1990 Lebanese Civil War brought those tensions out into the open. Today, there is still much tension, especially between the Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
The patron god of Beirut in Phoenician mythology is Baal-Berit, also god of the sea.
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