Followers of Christianity are a significant minority in Odisha state of India. According to the 2011 Census, Christians make up about 2.77% of the population (about 1,160,000 people). [1] Kurukh, Sora, Kharia and Panos are notable ethnic groups with a significant Christian population.
Church of God (Anderson), Evangelical Missionary Society in Mayurbhanj and Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church are among the Protestant denominations of Odisha. [2] Christ Church the full Gospel Church, Gospel Outreach Ministries, India Evangelistic Association, Orissa Baptist Evangelistic Crusade and The Pentecostal Mission are among the non-Catholic denominations of Odisha as well. [3] [4] The Church of North India is present in Odisha as well with the dioceses of Cuttack, Phulbani, and Sambalpur. The diocese of Chota Nagpur also serves a small part of Odisha. [5] and Christian Revival Church is also serving.
The first version in the Odia language of India [6] was translated by William Carey in 1808 and was distributed among pilgrims at Puri to introduce them to Christianity. Then came the standard version by Amos Sutton in the 1840s. [7]
The archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar is Archbishop John Barwa. Its suffragan dioceses are:
| Year | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 [8] | 897,861 | 2.44 |
| 2011 [1] | 1,161,708 | 2.77 |
| Religion | Persons | % persons | Males | % males | Females | % females |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hindus | 39,300,341 | 93.62 | 19,877,014 | 93.70 | 19,423,327 | 93.55 |
| Christians | 1,161,708 | 2.76 | 570,979 | 2.69 | 590,729 | 2.84 |
| Muslims | 911,670 | 2.17 | 465,992 | 2.19 | 445,678 | 2.14 |
| Sikhs | 21,991 | 0.05 | 11,561 | 0.05 | 10,430 | 0.05 |
| Buddhists | 13,852 | 0.03 | 7,216 | 0.03 | 6,636 | 0.03 |
| Jains | 9,420 | 0.02 | 4,885 | 0.02 | 4,535 | 0.02 |
| Others | 478,317 | 1.13 | 235,607 | 1.11 | 242,710 | 1.16 |
| Religion not stated | 76,919 | 0.18 | 38,882 | 0.18 | 38,037 | 0.18 |
| Totals | 41,974,218 | 21,212,136 | 20,762,082 |
The Christians are mostly from the adivasi or tribal communities of the state with 8,16,981 Christians among STs and the major tribes are as below with number of Christians and percentage of Christians in each tribe. [10]
| Tribe | Christians | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Munda | 1,74,119 | 31.1% |
| Khond | 1,59,783 | 9.8% |
| Oraon | 1,49,866 | 41.8% |
| Soura | 1,36,369 | 25.5% |
| Kharia | 87,069 | 39.1% |
| Sabar | 37,933 | 7.3% |
| Kisan | 25,675 | 7.7% |
The figures indicate % of Christians within the districts: [11]
Odia is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the official language in Odisha, where native speakers make up 82% of the population, and it is also spoken in parts of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Odia is one of the many official languages of India; it is the official language of Odisha and the second official language of Jharkhand.
Rayagada district is a district in southern Odisha, a state in India, which became a separate district in October 1992. Its population consists mainly of tribes, primarily the Khonds and the Soras. In addition to Odia, Kui and Sora are spoken by the district's indigenous population. It was founded by Maharajah Biswanatha Deba Gajapati of the Surjyabansha dynasty of Jeypore.
Koraput district is a district of India in southern Odisha, with headquarters at Koraput. The district is located in the Eastern Ghats and is known for its hilly terrain, rich and diverse types of mineral deposits and its tribal culture and traditions. The district headquarters town of Koraput and its largest city, Jeypore are major centres of trade and commerce for South Odisha and fall on an important road connecting Visakhapatnam to Raipur.
Cuttack district is one of the 30 districts of Odisha state in India. It is located in the coastal part of the state and its administrative headquarters are located in the city of Cuttack. As of 2011 Census, after Ganjam, it is the second most populous district of Odisha, with a population of 2,624,470. The name is an anglicized form of Kataka or Katak meaning Fort – referring to the Barabati Fort. The district is bisected by the river Mahanadi and its numerous distributaries and occupies a large portion of the river's delta. It is bounded by the Angul, Dhenkanal, Nayagarh and Khurda districts to the west while its southern and eastern boundaries touch Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Jajpur districts.
Sambalpuri is an Indo-Aryan language variety spoken in western Odisha, India. It is alternatively known as Western Odia, and as Kosali, a recently popularised but controversial term, which draws on an association with the historical region of Dakshina Kosala, whose territories also included the present-day Sambalpur region.
Christianity is a minority religion in Maharashtra, a state of India. Approximately 79.8% of the population of Maharashtra are Hindus, with Christian adherents being 1.0% of the population. The Roman Catholic archdiocese whose seat is in Maharashtra is the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bombay. There are two different Christian ethnic communities in Maharashtra: the Bombay East Indians, who are predominantly Roman Catholic, and the Marathi Christians, who are predominantly Protestant with a small Roman Catholic population. The Catholics in Maharashtra are mainly concentrated in coastal Maharashtra, especially Vasai, Mumbai, and Raigad, and are known as Bombay East Indians; they were evangelized by Portuguese missionaries during the 15th–16th centuries. Protestants, who reside throughout the Maharashtra, being significant in Ahmednagar, Solapur, Pune, Aurangabad, and Jalna, are called Marathi Christians, who were evangelized by British and American missionaries during British rule in the Bombay Presidency. The Church of North India has dioceses in the state and is a large Protestant church with full communion with the Anglican Church.
Christianity is one of the religions in Tripura, a state in North East India. According to the Indian Census 2011, the population of Christians in Tripura is 159,882 or 4.35% of the total population. Christians are mostly found among the indigenous communities of the state such as the Tripuri, Lushai, Kuki, Darlong, Halam etc. Among the Scheduled Tribes of the state Christians share is 13.12% of the population.
Christianity in the state of Tamil Nadu, India is the second largest religion in the state. According to tradition, St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, landed in Malabar Coast in AD 52. In the colonial age many Portuguese, Dutch, British and Italian Christians came to Tamil Nadu. Priests accompanied them not only to minister the colonisers but also to spread the Christian faith among the non-Christians in Tamil Nadu. Currently, Christians are a minority community comprising 6% of the total population. Christians are mainly concentrated in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu - Kanyakumari, Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli.
Christians are a religious community residing in the Indian state of Jharkhand. As per 2011 Census of India, 4.3% of people in Jharkhand are Christians. Christians are majority in Simdega district of Jharkhand.
Christianity is the third largest religion in Assam, a state in the north-eastern region of India. The total population of Christians in the state is 1,165,867, which according to the 2011 census comprises about 3.74% of the state's total population. After Islam, Christianity is also the second-fastest growing religion of Assam. The largest concentration of Christians in Assam can be found in the Dima Hasao District, where Christians number approximately 30% of the population. The second largest concentration is in the Karbi Anglong district where they form approximately 16.5% of the population.
Christianity is the fastest growing and second most followed religion in Manipur, a state in Northeast India, according to 2011 census data of India.
Christianity is the largest religion in the Northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, which borders China. According to the census of 2011 Christians constitute 30.26% of the state's population. The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination in the state with around 180,000 adherents. The Arunachal Baptist Church Council is the second largest denomination with 150,000 baptized members in about 1,200 churches and Arunachal Pradesh Christian Revival Church Council (APCRCC) which started in 1987 at Naharlagun also growing fast.
Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church is a major Lutheran Christian denomination in India. It was established in 1882. At that time, the founder of The Schleswig Holstein Evangelical Lutheran Mission Society of Germany (SHELM) in Germany was Pastor Christian Jensen, who was praying for the people of India. Pioneer missionaries Rev. Ernest Pohl and Rev. Herman Bothmann came to India and reached the Koraput district of Odisha on 31 May 1882 and started mission work.
Telugu Christians or Telugu Kraistava are a religious community who form the third-largest religious minority in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. According to the Census of India, there are over a million Christians in Andhra Pradesh, constituting 1.51% of the state's population, although a decrease from the 1971 census figure which was 2%, as a result of low birth rates and emigration. Most Telugu Christians are Protestant, belonging to major Indian Protestant denominations such as the predominant Anglican Church of South India, Pentecostals such as Assemblies of God in India, India Pentecostal Church of God, The Pentecostal Mission, the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches, the Salvation Army and several others. There also is a significant number of Roman Catholics and Evangelicals. Although the Franciscans of the Roman Catholic Church brought Christianity to the Deccan area in 1535, it was only after 1759 AD, when the Northern Circars came under the rule of the East India Company, that the region opened up to greater Christian influence. The first Protestant missionaries in Andhra Pradesh were Rev. Cran and Rev. Des Granges who were sent out by the London Missionary Society. They set up their station at Visakhapatnam in 1805 AD. Regions with significant populations of Telugu Christians include the erstwhile Northern Circars, the coastal belt and the cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Telugu Christians have one of the highest literacy and work participation figures and most even male-to-female ratio figures among the various religious communities in the state.
Puroshottam Choudhary also spelled Purushottama Chaudhary or Purushothama Choudhari was a great 19th century Telugu Christian poet. He was a Christian preacher, evangelist, and pastor of the Berhampur Church, founded by Isaac Stubbins in 1838.
The largest religion in Nagaland is Christianity. The state's population is 1,978,502, as of 2011, out of which 87.93% are Christians. The 2011 census recorded the state's Christian population at 1,745,181, making it, with Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram as the four Christian-majority states in India. The state has a very high church attendance rate in both urban and rural areas. The majority of churches are found in Kohima, Chümoukedima, Dimapur and Mokokchung.
Evangelization of Meghalaya began in the 19th century during the British era. In the 1830s, American Baptist Foreign Missionary Society had become active in Northeast to evangelize indigenous tribes to Christianity. Later, they were offered to expand and reach into Sohra Meghalaya, but they lacked the resources to do so and declined. Welsh Presbyterian Mission took the offer and they began work at Sohra mission field. By the early 1900s, other Protestant denominations of Christianity were active in Meghalaya. The outbreak of World Wars forced the preachers to return home to Europe and America. It is during this period that Catholicism took root in Meghalaya and neighbouring region. Currently, Catholics, Presbyterians and Baptists are three most common Christian denominations found in Meghalaya.
Chatikona is a small village of Rayagada district in the state of Odisha, India. It is one of the identified Tourist Centres of Odisha.
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