Protestantism in Sri Lanka

Last updated
Protestantism in Sri Lanka
Evang.svg
Protestant Church Flag
Total population
Decrease2.svg 160,518 (2012)
Regions with significant populations
Province
Western Province Flag (SRI LANKA).png  Western Increase2.svg 108,321
North Western Flag.png  North Western Decrease2.svg 8,702
Flag of the Northern Province.svg  Northern Increase2.svg 2,530
Central Province.png  Central Increase2.svg 29,867
Eastern Province Flag (SRI LANKA).png  Eastern Increase2.svg 11,098
Religions
Protestantism
Languages
The Christian Reformed Church in Sri Lanka (formerly known as the Dutch Reformed Church in Sri Lanka), the oldest Protestant church on the island. SL Colombo asv2020-01 img01 Wolvendaal Church.jpg
The Christian Reformed Church in Sri Lanka (formerly known as the Dutch Reformed Church in Sri Lanka), the oldest Protestant church on the island.

According to the 2012 census, 6% of the population of Sri Lanka was Christian; of these, one in ten was Protestant, showing that there were approximately six Protestants for every 1,000 Sri Lankans. [1] Later estimates suggest that this share has doubled in less than ten years. [2]

Contents

History

Anglican and other Protestant missionaries arrived in Sri Lanka during the early 19th century, when the British took control of Sri Lanka from the Dutch. The oldest Protestant church in Sri Lanka is the Christian Reformed Church in Sri Lanka, formerly the Dutch Reformed Church in Sri Lanka, has over 30 congregations and more than 5,000 members.

In 1842 the Church of Scotland established St. Andrew's Church, Colombo and in 1845 opened a second church in Kandy. These two Scottish church communities forming the Presbytery of Ceylon. The Dutch Reformed Church subsequently joined the Presbytery of Ceylon however in 1952 doctrinal controversies occurred in the Dutch Reformed Church, which led to a split. The dissenting group forming the Presbyterian Church Colombo, with the Presbytery of Ceylon eventually folding. In 1954 the Presbyterian Church Colombo was joined by the Scots Kirk, Kandy to form the Presbytery of Lanka. The St. Andrew's Church, Colombo continues to operate as part of the Church of Scotland, under the jurisdiction of the International Presbytery.

Salvation Army Church in Kandy. Salvation Army Church Kandy.jpg
Salvation Army Church in Kandy.

The Salvation Army established themselves in Ceylon on 26 January 1883 under the leadership of Captain William Gladwin. He was joined in 1885 by Frederick Booth-Tucker (the son-in-law of William Booth, the Salvation Army's founder). In 1909 the Salvation Army established a territorial headquarters in Colombo. Up until 1920 Ceylon was administered as a sub-territory of South India. In 1921 it was granted full territorial status, with Colonel Millner appointed as its first territorial commander.

The Lanka Lutheran Church was founded in 1978 but went defunct in the mid-2000s. It was replaced in 2017 by the Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church (CELC). The CELC has fifteen congregations and about 1,200 members.

Freedom of religion

In 2023, the country was scored 2 out of 4 for religious freedom. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presbyterianism</span> Branch of Protestant Christianity in which the church is governed by presbyters (elders)

Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church. Presbyterian churches derive their name from the presbyterian form of church government by representative assemblies of elders. Many Reformed churches are organised this way, but the word Presbyterian, when capitalized, is often applied to churches that trace their roots to the Church of Scotland or to English Dissenter groups that formed during the English Civil War.

The Dutch Reformed Church was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and the foremost Protestant denomination until 2004. It was the larger of the two major Reformed denominations, after the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands was founded in 1892. It spread to the United States, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Brazil, and various other world regions through Dutch colonization. Allegiance to the Dutch Reformed Church was a common feature among Dutch immigrant communities around the world and became a crucial part of Afrikaner nationalism in South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kandyan Wars</span> British Army expeditionary campaigns

The Kandyan Wars refers generally to the period of warfare between the British colonial forces and the Kingdom of Kandy, on the island of what is now Sri Lanka, between 1796 and 1818. More specifically it is used to describe the expeditionary campaigns of the British Army in the Kingdom of Kandy in 1803 and 1815.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Conference of Asia</span>

The Christian Conference of Asia is a regional ecumenical organisation representing 15 National Councils and over 100 denominations (churches) in New Zealand, Australia, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Sri Lanka</span>

Sri Lanka is officially a Buddhist country, while Sri Lankan's practices a variety of religions. As of the 2012 census, 70.2% of Sri Lankans were Buddhists, 12.6% were Hindus, 9.7% were Muslims, 7.4% were Christians. Buddhism is declared as the State religion of Sri Lanka and has been given special privileges in the Sri Lankan constitution such as the government is bound for protection and fostering of Buddhist Dharma throughout the nation. However, the constitution also provides for freedom of religion and right to equality among all its citizens. In 2008 Sri Lanka was the third most religious country in the world according to a Gallup poll, with 99% of Sri Lankans saying religion is an important part of their daily life.

The International Presbytery covers the Church of Scotland's congregations in continental Europe, Sri Lanka and the Caribbean. Until 2016 it was called the Presbytery of Europe. In October 2014 it was agreed to move towards changing the name to the International Presbytery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Church in Sri Lanka</span>

The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome. The country comes under the province of Colombo and is made up of 12 dioceses including one archdiocese. There are approximately 1.2 million Catholics in Sri Lanka representing around 6.1% of the total population. Later estimates suggest that there are over 1.6 million in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Ceylon</span> Crown colony from 1796 to 1948

British Ceylon, officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931and finally the Island of Ceylon and its Dependencies from 1931 to 1948, was the British Crown colony of present-day Sri Lanka between 1796 and 4 February 1948. Initially, the area it covered did not include the Kingdom of Kandy, which was a protectorate, but from 1817 to 1948 the British possessions included the whole island of Ceylon, now the nation of Sri Lanka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in Sri Lanka</span> Minority religion in Sri Lanka

Christianity is a minority religion in Sri Lanka. It was introduced to the island in first century. Traditionally, after Thomas the Apostle's visit in Kerala in AD 52, Christianity is said to have been introduced to Sri Lanka because of its close geographical and commercial ties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Calvinism</span>

Calvinism originated with the Reformation in Switzerland when Huldrych Zwingli began preaching what would become the first form of the Reformed doctrine in Zürich in 1519.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protestantism in South Africa</span> Christian religion in South Africa

Protestantism in South Africa accounted for 73.2% of the population in 2010. Approximately 81% of South Africans are Christian and 5 out of 6 Christians are Protestant. Later censuses do not ask for citizens’ religious affiliations. Estimates in 2017 suggested that 62.5% of the population are Protestant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Colombo</span> Church in Colombo, Sri Lanka

St. Andrew's Scots Kirk, is located at 73 Galle Road, Colombo. The church was founded in the late 19th century, and prospered during the colonial and post-colonial periods. It was the centre for the Scottish community in Colombo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of Ceylon</span>

The Church of Ceylon is the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka. It is an extraprovincial jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who serves as its Metropolitan. It was established in 1845 with the appointment of the first Anglican Bishop of Colombo, James Chapman and until 1950 it consisted of a single diocese; in that year a second diocese was established at Kurunegala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Ceylon period</span> History of Sri Lanka between 1815 and 1948

The British Ceylon period is the history of Sri Lanka between 1815 and 1948. It follows the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom into the hands of the British Empire. It ended over 2300 years of Sinhalese monarchy rule on the island. The British rule on the island lasted until 1948 when the country regained independence following the Sri Lankan independence movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Reformed Church in Sri Lanka</span>

The Christian Reformed Church of Sri Lanka is the oldest Protestant church on the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinhalese–Portuguese conflicts</span> 1527–1658 conflict in Sri Lanka

Sinhalese–Portuguese conflicts refers to the series of armed engagements that took place from 1518 to 1658 in Sri Lanka between the native Sinhalese kingdoms and the Portuguese Empire. It spanned from the Transitional to the Kandyan periods of Sri Lankan history. A combination of political and military moves gained the Portuguese control over most of the island, but their invasion of the final independent kingdom was a disaster, leading to a stalemate in the wider war and a truce from 1621. In 1638 the war restarted when the Dutch East India Company intervened in the conflict, initially as an ally of the Sinhalese against the Portuguese, but later as an enemy of both sides. The war concluded in 1658, with the Dutch in control of about half the island, the Kingdom of Kandy the other half, and the Portuguese expelled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolvendaal Church</span> Doric church in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Wolvendaal Church is located in Pettah, a neighbourhood of Colombo. It is one of the most important Dutch Colonial era buildings in Sri Lanka, and is one of the oldest Protestant churches still in use in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dutch Reformed Church, Kalpitiya</span>

The Dutch Reformed Church is located between the Dutch fort and the village of Kalpitiya. The church was built by the Dutch in 1706 and is a smaller version of the church in the Matara fort. It is one of the oldest Protestant churches in the country.

Scots Kirk or Presbyterian Church, Kandy, is Presbyterian church, located at 127 D. S. Senanayake Street, Kandy.

References

  1. "Population by religion and district, Census 1981, 2001, 2012" (PDF). Department of Census and Statistics of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  2. World Religions Database at the ARDA website, retrieved 2023-08-08
  3. Freedom House website, retrieved 2023-08-08