Protestantism in Pakistan

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Cathedral Church of the Resurrection in Lahore

Protestants are in a minority of less than 1.5% of the population of Pakistan. It is the largest Christian denomination in the country, followed by the Catholics. Most of the Protestant population resides in urban areas of the Punjab province.

Contents

History

In colonial India, the All India Conference of Indian Christians (AICIC) played an important role in the Indian independence movement, advocating for swaraj and opposing the partition of India. [1] The AICIC also was opposed to separate electorates for Christians, believing that the faithful "should participate as common citizens in one common, national political system". [1] [2] The meeting of the All India Conference of Indian Christians in Lahore in December 1922, which had a large attendance of Punjabis, resolved that the clergymen of the Church in India should be drawn from the ranks of Indians, rather than foreigners. [3] The AICIC also stated that Indian Christians would not tolerate any discrimination based on race or skin colour. [3] S. K. Datta of Lahore, who served as the principal of Forman Christian College, became the president of the All India Conference of Indian Christians, representing the Indian Christian community at the Second Round Table Conference, where he agreed with Mahatma Gandhi's views on minorities and Depressed Classes. [4] The All India Conference of Indian Christians and the All India Catholic Union formed a working committee with M. Rahnasamy of Andhra University serving as President and B.L. Rallia Ram of Lahore serving as General Secretary; in its meeting on 16 April 1947 and 17 April 1947, the joint committee prepared a 13 point memorandum that was sent to the Constituent Assembly of India, which asked for religious freedom for both organisations and individuals; this came to be reflected in the Constitution of India. [1] [2]

List of Christian denominations

See also

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The Presbyterian Church of Pakistan is the largest Presbyterian, Reformed denominations is the second largest Protestants in Pakistan. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of United Presbyterian Church of Pakistan (1855-1993) and Council of Churches of Lahore.

The United Presbyterian Church of Pakistan is the second-largest Presbyterian, Reformed denominations and the third-largest Protestant denomination in Pakistan. It was formed in 1968 by churches that split from the United Presbyterian Church of Pakistan (1855-1993).

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punjabi Christians</span> Ethnic Punjabis who are adherents of Christianity

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The All India Conference of Indian Christians (AICIC) is an ecumenical organisation founded in 1914 to represent the interests of Christians in India. It was founded to advocate for the moral, economic, and intellectual development of the Indian Christian community. The All India Conference of Indian Christians held its first meeting on 28 December 1914 and was led by Raja Sir Harnam Singh of Kapurthala, who was the president of the National Missionary Society (NMS); the first AICIC General Secretary was B. L. Rallia Ram of Lahore. Its creation united local and regional Indian Christian Associations, which existed in Bombay, Madras, Hyderabad, Punjab, United Provinces, Bengal and Burma, under one umbrella organisation. At the time of the Indian independence movement, the organisation allied itself with the Indian National Congress and the resolutions passed by All India Conference of Indian Christians advocated communal harmony, while also pressing for the rights of Christians in both colonial India and independent India. The India Conference of Indian Christians advocated for self-rule in a united and independent country, opposing the partition of India. During the era of the British Raj in India, the AICIC served as the mouthpiece for members of the Indian Christian community, conducting membership drives to boost its base, which included Protestant and Catholic Christians. As such, the presidents of the AICIC represented the Christians of undivided India at the Round Table Conferences.

For the current denomination, founded in 1968, dissenting from this, see United Presbyterian Church of Pakistan

References

  1. 1 2 3 Thomas, Abraham Vazhayil (1974). Christians in Secular India. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. pp. 106–110. ISBN   978-0-8386-1021-3.
  2. 1 2 Oddie, Geoffrey A. (2001). "Indian Christians and National Identity 1870-1947". The Journal of Religious History. 25 (3): 357, 361. doi:10.1111/1467-9809.00138.
  3. 1 2 Webster, John C. B. (2018). A Social History of Christianity: North-west India since 1800. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-909757-9. In December 1921, the Punjabi-dominated meetings of the All India Conference of Indian Christians in Lahore was more cautious in their proposals but less cautious in the rationale they offered. They passed resolutions, first indicating that the Protestant missions 'should be completely merged in the Indian Church and that in future all Foreign Missionaries should be related to it', and then urging the missions in the meantime to 'appoint Indians of ability and character on an increasing scale'. Among their supporting arguments were that 'Indian Christians are not going to put up with colour and racial distinctions', that foreign missionaries could not solve the community's problems 'because of lack of sympathy', that the missions were too divided by denominational differences to bring about a united Indian Church, and that 'In these days Indians look up to Indians and do not pay much attention to foreigners.'
  4. Black, Brian; Hyman, Gavin; Smith, Graham M. (2014). Confronting Secularism in Europe and India: Legitimacy and Disenchantment in Contemporary Times. A&C Black. pp. 88–91. ISBN   978-1-78093-607-9.