Christianity in India
Christianity is India's third-largest religion with about 26 million adherents, making up 2.3 percent of the population as of the 2011 census. The written records of Saint Thomas Christians mention that Christianity was introduced to the Indian subcontinent by Thomas the Apostle, who sailed to the Malabar region (present-day Kerala) in 52 AD.
Saint Thomas Christian cross from the 9th century Kadamattom Church | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 26 million (2.3%) (2011) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Largest Christian population in Kerala at 6.14 million (18.4% of state population), Majority in Nagaland at 87%, Mizoram at 86% and Meghalaya at 75%. Plurality in Manipur at 42% and Arunachal Pradesh at 30%. Significant populations in Goa at 25%, Pondicherry at 6.3% and Tamil Nadu at 6.2%. | |
| Religions | |
| Protestant (59.22%), Catholic (33.19%), Syrian Orthodox (7.44%), Others (0.15%) etc. | |
| Languages | |
| Malayalam, Syriac, Latin, Bengali, Punjabi, English, Tamil, Hindi-Urdu, Bodo, Khasi, Karbi, Mizo, Rabha, Mushing, Naga, Kuki, Garo, Hmar, Nepali, Assamese, Odia, Gujarati, Marathi, Kokborok, Konkani, Kadodi, Kannada, Telugu, Bombay East Indian and various Indian languages | |
| Names in native languages include Eesai, Kristhava, Masihi-Qaum, Nasrani |
| Part of a series on |
| Christianity in India |
|---|
| Christianity by country |
|---|
| Christianity portal |
The Acts of Thomas say that the early Christians were Malabarese Jews, who had settled in present-day Kerala before the birth of Christ. St Thomas, an Aramaic-speaking Jew from Galilee (present-day Israel) and one of the disciples of Jesus Christ, came to India in search of Indian Jews. Following years of evangelism, Thomas was martyred and then buried at St Thomas Mount, Mylapore. A scholarly consensus exists that a Christian community had firmly established in Malabar, by 600 AD at the latest; these communes were composed mainly of Nestorians belonging to the Church of the East in India, that used the East Syriac Rite.
Following the discovery of a sea route to India by the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama in the 15th century AD, Western Christianity was established in the European colonies of Goa, Tranquebar, Bombay, Madras and Pondicherry; in the form of Catholicism (particularly of Latin Rite) and Protestantism. Conversions took place through the Goan Inquisition; with the oppression of Hindus and the destruction of Hindu temples. Christian missionaries introduced the western educational system to the Indian subcontinent, to spread Christianity and campaign for Hindu social reforms.
Among North India's oldest Christians are those of Bettiah, Bihar, formed in the early 1700s. The Church of North India, the Church of Pakistan, and the Church of South India are a United Protestant denomination, that resulted from the evangelism and ecumenism by Anglicans, Calvinists, Methodists and other Indian Protestants; who flourished in colonial India. Consequently, these churches are part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, World Communion of Reformed Churches and World Methodist Council. Christianity is the largest religion in some parts of Northeast India, specifically in Nagaland, Mizoram, and Meghalaya. It also is a significant religion in Arunachal, where approximately 30 percent of the state is Christian.
Christians were involved in the Indian National Congress and the Indian independence movement. The All India Conference of Indian Christians advocated for swaraj (self rule) and opposed the partition of India. Along with native Christians, small numbers of mixed Eurasian peoples such as Anglo-Indians, Luso-Indians & Armenian Indians also existed in the subcontinent. There are also reports of a number of crypto-Christians in recent years, due to the fear of persecution by Hindu extremists.