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Protestants in Myanmar make up 5% of that nation's population in 2023. [1] Most Christians are from the minority ethnic groups such as Karen, Lisu, Kachin, Chin, and Lahu. [2] An estimated 0.1% of the Bamar population is Christian.
Protestant Christianity in Myanmar began in the early 19th century, largely through the missionary efforts of the Americans Adoniram and Ann Judson, Baptist missionaries who first arrived in 1813. Later missionaries such as Arthur and Laura Carson, also Baptist missionaries from America, established work in the Chin Hills in 1899. [3] By the 1920s, missionaries of the Assemblies of God brought Pentecostalism to the northern parts of modern-day Myanmar, among the Lisu people; Lisu evangelists would continue to spread Pentecostalism among the Kachin and, since the 1970s, among the Chin. [4]
In 1966 all missionaries were expelled by the Burmese government. Protestantism is strongest among minority ethnic groups, often juxtaposed against the Bamar majority ethnic group who tend to be Buddhists. [2]
Baptists, Assemblies of God, Methodists and Anglicans form the strongest denominations in Myanmar.
The Anglican Communion is represented in Burma by the Church of the Province of Myanmar. As of 2006 [update] , it has about 62,000 members. [5]
The Myanmar Baptist Convention is an association of Baptist churches in Myanmar. [6]
The famous American Baptist missionaries, Adoniram and Ann Judson, moved to Yangon in 1813 when British authorities refused to allow them to stay in India. The Judsons were in Burma six years before their first convert was baptised. Adoniram Judson gathered a group of believers and laboured under many trials, but his missionary tenure of almost 40 years helped firmly establish the Baptist work in Myanmar. His monumental work included translating the Bible into Burmese, which was completed in 1834. George Dana Boardman began a work among the Karen peoples in 1828. Today the Karen Baptist Convention is the largest member body of the Myanmar Baptist Convention, which was formed in 1865.
HIV/AIDS is a significant problem in Myanmar. In 1992, the Baptist Convention created a 32-member AIDS commission, because they see the problem as spiritual, as well as social and medical.
In Myanmar about 6% of the population is Christian, with two-thirds of them being considered Protestant. Almost half of these Protestants are Baptists. In 2012, the convention had over 1.6 million members in 4929 churches. The Myanmar Baptist Convention has 18 affiliated conventions and two directly affiliated local churches under its umbrella, and is a member of the World Council of Churches and the Baptist World Alliance.
During 5–8 December 2013 Myanmar Baptist Convention celebrated its 200th anniversary arrival of missionary Judson. They are actively planning to evangelise all the unreached people groups of it and plant as many as 1200 churches in their project entitled: Golden Myanmar Baptist Mission, Second Decade (2014–2024).
The convention operates the Myanmar Institute of Theology, the leading Christian seminary in Myanmar, founded in 1927 and located in Insein.
The British Methodist Missionary Society travelled to Upper Myanmar in 1887 and established a church in Mandalay. The Upper Myanmar Methodist Church became an autonomous church in 1964. [7] Methodists established several schools (including the Methodist English High School in Yangon) mainly to educate the Anglo-Burmese and British. The school exists to this day and is now known as Dagon State High School; it is still attached to the Methodist Church.
The United Methodist Church works with the Lower Myanmar Methodist Church which was founded by American Methodist missionaries in 1870. [8] There have been discussions about merging with the church in Upper Myanmar as they already conduct joint missions. The church concentrates on leadership development through scholarships and continuing education. It also provides a home for the elderly, helps youth develop job skills, cares for orphans and provides environmental education.
The Christian Reformed Church in Myanmar was founded in 1985 by Pastor Chan Thleng who was ordained in the Presbyterian Church in Myanmar. He was born into the Matu tribe in Southern Chin State in 1954 and become a Christian in 1974. In 1985 he founded the United Christian Church. After he graduated from Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, MI he returned to Burma and changed the denominations name to the Christian Reformed Church. [9] It has 52 congregations and 13 preaching points with more than 6,000 members. The church is divided into 10 Classes. Most of the evangelists work among Buddhist and Animist people.
The Church recognises the Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Canons of Dort and the Ecumenical Creeds. The Reformed Theological seminary was established in Yangon in 1997. The college offers a degree of Bachelor of Theology. The Christian Reformed Church also maintains a clinic which was opened in 1999 in Matupi.
The church belonged to the Reformed Ecumenical Council, the only Burmese denomination to do so. When the REC merged with the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, the Christian Reformed Church moved its affiliation to the World Communion of Reformed Churches. [10] [11] The denomination held its 26th General assembly in 17–20 March 2011. [12] It entered into official ecclesiastical fellowship with the Christian Reformed Church in North America in 2011.
The largest Presbyterian denomination in the country is the Presbyterian Church in Myanmar. It was formed in 1956 when missionaries arrived from India. In 2023, it has 245 congregations with more than 33,000 members. [13] Other denominations include;
The Mara Evangelical Church is one of the oldest church in Chin State. It was founded by English missionaries, Rev. Reginald Arthur Lorrain and his wife, in 1907. In 2023, the church has 97 congregations and 19,810 members. [14] It is affiliated with the World Communion of Reformed Churches.
The True Jesus Church is a nontrinitarian Christian denomination begun in China, growing out of the Pentecostal movement. Since its foundation it has spread to other countries including Myanmar.
In 2023, the church is present in Yangon, Kalaymyo and Sawbuayeshin. Two full-time local preachers serve 300 believers. [15]
Evangelicalism, also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes the centrality of sharing the "good news" of Christianity, being "born again" in which an individual experiences personal conversion, as authoritatively guided by the Bible, God's revelation to humanity. The word evangelical comes from the Greek word for "good news" (euangelion).
The Myanmar Baptist Convention is a Baptist Christian denomination in Myanmar. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and the World Council of Churches. The headquarters is in Yangon.
Adoniram Judson was an American Congregationalist and later Particular Baptist missionary, who worked in Burma for almost forty years. At the age of 25, Judson was sent from North America to preach in Burma. His mission and work with Luther Rice led to the formation of the first Baptist association in America to support missionaries.
Protestant denominations arrived in the Philippines in 1898, after the United States took control of the Philippines from Spain, first with United States Army chaplains and then within months civilian missionaries.
The Christian Reformed Church in Myanmar is a Reformed church of Myanmar, and was founded in 1985 by Pastor Chan Thleng who was formerly ordained in the Presbyterian Church in Myanmar. He belongs to the Matu tribe in Southern Chin State born in 1954, becoming Christian in 1974. In 1985 he founded the United Christian Church after he graduated from Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, MI. He returned to Burma and changed the denomination's name to the Christian Reformed Church. It has 52 congregations and 13 preaching points with more than 6,000 members. The church is divided into 10 classes. Most of the evangelists work among Buddhist and Animist people. The Church recognizes the Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Canons of Dort and the Ecumenical Creeds. To train pastors the church founded the Reformed Theological seminary in Yangon in 1997. The college offers a degree of Bachelor of Theology. The Christian Reformed Church maintains a clinic opened in 1999 in Matupi. It belonged to the Reformed Ecumenical Council, the only Burmese denomination to do so. But REC merged with the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, now the Christian Reformed Church is affiliated with the World Communion of Reformed Churches. The denomination held its 26th General assembly on March 17–20, 2011. It entered into official ecclesiastical fellowship with the Christian Reformed Church in North America in 2011.
Protestantism in Brazil began in the 19th century and grew in the 20th century. The 2010 Census reported that 22.2% of the Brazilian population was Protestant, while in 2020 the percentage was estimated to have risen to 31% of the population, over 65 million individuals, making it the second largest Protestant population in the Western world.
International Ministries is an international Baptist Christian missionary society. It is a constituent board affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. The headquarters is in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, United States.
Christianity in Myanmar has a history dating to the early 18th century. According to the 2016 census, Christianity is the country's second largest religion, practiced by 6.3% of the population, primarily among the Kachin, Chin and Kayin, and Eurasians because of missionary work in their respective areas. In 2023, almost 8% of the population is Christian; about two-thirds of the country's Christians are Protestants, in particular Baptists of the Myanmar Baptist Convention. One in six Christians are Roman Catholics.
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.
Protestants in Thailand constitute about 0.77% of the population of Thailand. Protestant work among the Thai people was begun by Ann Judson in Burma, who evangelized Thai war captives who were relocated to Burma. Protestantism was introduced to the country of Thailand in 1828 through the work of Karl Gutzlaff and Jacob Tomlin, the first two resident Protestant missionaries in Thailand.
Characteristic of Christianity in the 19th century were evangelical revivals in some largely Protestant countries and later the effects of modern biblical scholarship on the churches. Liberal or modernist theology was one consequence of this. In Europe, the Roman Catholic Church strongly opposed liberalism and culture wars launched in Germany, Italy, Belgium and France. It strongly emphasized personal piety. In Europe there was a general move away from religious observance and belief in Christian teachings and a move towards secularism. In Protestantism, pietistic revivals were common.
Protestantism is the largest grouping of Christians in the United States, with its combined denominations collectively comprising about 43% of the country's population in 2019. Other estimates suggest that 48.5% of the U.S. population is Protestant. Simultaneously, this corresponds to around 20% of the world's total Protestant population. The U.S. contains the largest Protestant population of any country in the world. Baptists comprise about one-third of American Protestants. The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest single Protestant denomination in the U.S., comprising one-tenth of American Protestants. Twelve of the original Thirteen Colonies were Protestant, with only Maryland having a sizable Catholic population due to Lord Baltimore's religious tolerance.
Karen Baptist Convention is a Baptist Christian denomination in Myanmar. The headquarters is in Yangon. It is affiliated with the Myanmar Baptist Convention. Leaderships in the organization are for a three-year term and can only be re-elected for two more terms if they do not reach the age of 60 years at the end of next three-year term. It has 20 associations. KBC is doing mission works not only in Karen people but also to other tribes and races. KBC maintains one press called the Go Forward Press. KBC also operates [Karen Baptist Theological Seminary] and Karen Baptist Convention's Hospital at Insein, Yangon.
Christianity in Taiwan constituted 3.9% of the population, according to the census of 2005; Christians on the island included approximately 600,000 Protestants, 300,000 Catholics and a small number of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Chin Baptist Convention is a Baptist Christian denomination Myanmar. The headquarters is in Falam, Chin State, Myanmar. It is a member of the Myanmar Baptist Convention.
The Zomi Baptist Convention of Myanmar is a Baptist Christian denomination in Myanmar. It is affiliated with the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation and the Baptist World Alliance. Their headquarters are in Sagaing.
