Protestantism in Laos make up about 80% of the Christian population of the country in 2020. [1]
Most of the Protestants in Laos are part of the Lao Evangelical Church. [2] In 2021, estimates showed that it had 200,000 members; [3] the Methodist church had 4,700 members.
The first Protestants in Laos arrived at the start of the twentieth century, specifically in 1903 for South and 1929 for North. [4] However, none became firmly established until after independence in 1954 and then after European and American origin-denominations arrived. [5]
There are two Protestant denominations which are recognised by the government. One is the Lao Evangelical Church which is one of the Holiness churches of Laos and has branches in most of provinces across Laos. [6] The other denomination is the Seventh-day Adventist church of Laos which was founded in 1973 [7] There are many neo-Protestant groups in Laos with missionary actions are strongest towards minority groups, many of which refuse to take part in everyday society. [2] The government requires all non-Catholic Christian groups to operate under either the LEC or the Seventh-Day Adventists. [3]
The Mission Évangélique au Laos (MEL) is one of the largest Christian denominations of Laos. The MEL is a Christian Brethren church. [8] Most members of the MEL belong to ethnic minorities of the South of Laos, and membership exceeds 10,000.
According to the US government, there have been instances of discrimination in the country, particularly for citizens living in rural areas, or wishing to join the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) or the military. [3] In the past, Lao officials have considered this slander, denying that they have closed any churches and saying that those Christians imprisoned are not imprisoned because of their religion but for other reasons. [9]
Adventism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that believes in the imminent Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the Second Great Awakening when Baptist preacher William Miller first publicly shared his belief that the Second Coming would occur at some point between 1843 and 1844. His followers became known as Millerites. After Miller's prophecies failed, the Millerite movement split up and was continued by a number of groups that held different doctrines from one another. These groups, stemming from a common Millerite ancestor, collectively became known as the Adventist movement.
The Lao Evangelical Church (LEC) is the largest registered Christian church in Laos.
Protestants in Vietnam are a religious minority, constituting 1% of the population in 2022. Though its numbers are small, Protestantism is the country's fastest-growing religion, growing at a rate of 600% in the early 2000s.
The Catholic Church in Laos is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome. The Catholic Church is officially recognized by the government.
Protestants in India are a minority and a sub-section of Christians in India and also to a certain extent the Christians in Pakistan before the Partition of India, that adhere to some or all of the doctrines of Protestantism. Protestants in India are a small minority in a predominantly Hindu majority country, but form majorities in the north-eastern states of Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland and significant minorities in Konkan division, Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, with various communities in east coast and northern states. Protestants today trace their heritage back to the Protestant reformation of the 16th century. There are an estimated 20 million Protestants and 16 million Pentecostals in India.
Christianity is a minority religion in Laos.
There are around 500,000 to 1,000,000 Protestants in Egypt, with 300,000 to 600,000 being members of the Evangelical Church of Egypt, Pentecostals number 300,000 to 350,000, and various other Protestants scattered in smaller denominations.
Protestants are about 2,009,374 in Sudan. They are forbidden to proselytize. The law makes apostasy punishable by death. The southern ethnic groups fighting the civil war largely are followers of traditional indigenous religions or Christians.
Protestants in Russia constitute 1–2% of the overall population of the country. Additionally there are around 15.000–20.000 Doukhobors and 40.000 Molokans in Russia, who have similarities to Protestantism. By 2004, there were 4,435 registered Protestant societies representing 21% of all registered religious organizations, which is second place after Eastern Orthodoxy. By contrast in 1992 the Protestants reportedly had 510 organizations in Russia.
The population of Angola is more than 92% Christian as of 2023.
This article describes the relationship between the Seventh-day Adventist Church and other Christian denominations and movements, and other religions. Adventists resist the movement which advocates their full ecumenical integration into other churches, because they believe that such a transition would force them to renounce their foundational beliefs and endanger the distinctiveness of their religious message. According to one church document,
Protestantism is the dominant religion in Jamaica. Protestants make up about 65% percent of the population. The five largest denominations in Jamaica are: Church of God, Seventh-day Adventist, Baptist, Pentecostal and Anglican. The full list is below. Most of the Caribbean is Catholic; Jamaica's Protestantism is a legacy of missionaries that came to the island in the 18th and 19th centuries. Missionaries attempted to convert slaves to varying Protestant denominations of Moravians, Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians to name a few. As missionaries worked to convert slaves, African traditions mixed with the religion brought over by Europeans. Protestantism was associated with black nationalism in Jamaica, aiming to improve the lives of blacks who were governed by a white minority during colonial times. Today, Protestantism plays an important role in society by providing services to people in need.
Theravada Buddhism is the largest and dominant religion in Laos. Theravada Buddhism is central to Lao cultural identity. The national symbol of Laos is the That Luang stupa, a stupa with a pyramidal base capped by the representation of a closed lotus blossom which was built to protect relics of the Buddha. It is practiced by 66% of the population. Almost all ethnic or "lowland" Lao are followers of Theravada Buddhism; however, they constitute only 40-50% of the population. The remainder of the population belongs to at least 48 distinct ethnic minority groups. Most of these ethnic groups are practitioners of Tai folk religions, with beliefs that vary greatly among groups.
The Constitution of Laos provides for freedom of religion; however, the Government restricted this right in practice. Some government officials committed abuses of citizens' religious freedom.
Religion in Namibia is dominated by various branches of Christianity, with more than 90 percent of Namibian citizens identifying themselves as Christian. According to the government's survey, in 2013 up to two-thirds of the country was Protestant, including as much as 44% Lutheran.
Christianity is the largest religion in Mozambique, with substantial minorities of the adherents of traditional faiths and Islam.
Protestantism is a minority religion in the United Arab Emirates.
Christian privilege is a social advantage bestowed upon Christians in any historically Christian society. This arises out of the presumption that Christian belief is a social norm, that leads to the marginalization of the nonreligious and members of other religions through institutional religious discrimination or religious persecution. Christian privilege can also lead to the neglect of outsiders' cultural heritage and religious practices.
Protestants are the 4th largest religious group in Serbia, after Eastern Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics and Muslims. In the 2011 census, there were 71,284 Protestants in Serbia and they comprised 1% of the population of the country. Ethnic Slovaks constitute majority of Serbia's Protestant community. Some members of other ethnic groups are also adherents of various forms of Protestant Christianity.
Christianity is the most widely professed religion in Malawi, with significant populations of the adherents of Islam and traditional faiths. Religious pluralism is both a prominent social value and enshrined in the country's constitution.