Christianity In Saudi Arabia
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Accurate religious demographics are difficult to obtain in
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
, but there were approximately 2.1 million
Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
in Saudi Arabia in 2020.


Early history

Christians had formed churches in Arabia prior to the time of
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
in the 7th century. Ancient Arab traders had traveled to
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
for trade purposes and heard the gospel from
Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...
( Acts 2:11) and
Paul the Apostle Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...
spent several years in Arabia ( Galatians 1:17), later further strengthened by the ministry of Saint Thomas who went to Arabia, Mesopotamia, Persia and later to the Indian subcontinent. One of the earliest church buildings ever, known as Jubail Church, is located in Saudi Arabia; it was built around the 4th century. Some parts of modern Saudi Arabia (such as
Najran Najran ( '), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of Najran Province. Today, the city of Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As of the 2022 census, the city population was 381,431, wi ...
) were predominantly Christian until the 7th to 10th century, when most Christians were expelled or converted to Islam or left the region via the Sea route to Asia, with which merchant trade already existed, others migrated north to Jordan and Syria and settled into those new places. Some Arab Christians who remained lived as crypto-Christians, or secret Christians. Some Arabian tribes, such as Banu Taghlib and
Banu Tamim The Banū Tamīm () are an Arab tribe that originated in Najd and Hejaz in the Arabian Peninsula. It is mainly present in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Jordan and Lebanon, and has a strong presence in Algeria, and Morocco, Palestine, ...
, followed Christianity. Ancient Arabian Christianity has largely vanished from the region, due to prosecution, conversion and migration.


Persecution


Pre-Islamic

Dhu Nuwas Dhū Nuwās (), real name Yūsuf Asʾar Yathʾar ( Musnad: 𐩺𐩥𐩪𐩰 𐩱𐩪𐩱𐩧 𐩺𐩻𐩱𐩧, ''Yws¹f ʾs¹ʾr Yṯʾr''), Yosef Nu'as (), or Yūsuf ibn Sharhabil (), also known as Masruq in Syriac, and Dounaas () in Medieval G ...
, a Jewish king of
Himyar Himyar was a polity in the southern highlands of Yemen, as well as the name of the region which it claimed. Until 110 BCE, it was integrated into the Qatabanian kingdom, afterwards being recognized as an independent kingdom. According to class ...
, after seizing the throne of the Ḥimyarites around 518 or 522, attacked Christian
Najran Najran ( '), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of Najran Province. Today, the city of Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As of the 2022 census, the city population was 381,431, wi ...
and its inhabitants, captured them and, burned their churches. The destruction fell out on Tuesday, during the 15th day of the lunar month
Tishri Tishrei () or Tishri (; ''tīšrē'' or ''tīšrī''; from Akkadian language, Akkadian ''tašrītu'' "beginning", from ''šurrû'' "to begin") is the first month of the civil year (which starts on 1 Tishrei) and the seventh month of the eccles ...
, in the year 835 of the
Seleucid era The Seleucid era ("SE") or (literally "year of the Greeks" or "Greek year"), sometimes denoted "AG," was a Calendar era, system of numbering years in use by the Seleucid Empire and other countries among the ancient Hellenistic period, Hellenistic ...
counting (corresponding with year 524 CE). After accepting the city's capitulation, he massacred its inhabitants who would not renounce Christianity. Earlier, the Himyarite monarch had attacked and killed the Abyssinian Christians who had settled in Zafar.


Modern

On June 15, 1858, 21 Christian residents of
Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...
, then an Ottoman town of 5,000 predominantly Muslim inhabitants, were massacred, including the French and British consuls, by "some hundreds of Hadramites, inhabitants of Southern Arabia". Twenty-four others, mostly Greeks and Levantines, some " under British protection" plus the daughter of the French consul and the French interpreter, both badly wounded, escaped and took refuge, some by swimming to it, aboard the ship HMS ''Cyclops''.''The Church of England quarterly review'', 185
p.218-219
/ref>John McDowell Leavitt, Nathaniel Smith Richardson, Henry Mason Baum G.B. Bassett, ''The Church Review'', Volume 11, 185
p.527
/ref> International Christian Concern (ICC) protested what it reported as the 2001 detention of 11 Christians in Saudi Arabia, for practicing their religion in their homes. In June 2004, at least 46 Christians were arrested in what the ICC described as a "
pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...
-like" action by Saudi police. The arrests took place shortly after the media reported that a
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
had been desecrated in the
Guantanamo Bay detention camp The Guantanamo Bay detention camp, also known as GTMO ( ), GITMO ( ), or simply Guantanamo Bay, is a United States military prison within Naval Station Guantanamo Bay (NSGB), on the coast of Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. It was established in 2002 by p ...
.


Community today

There are more than 500,000
Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
in Saudi Arabia. Most of them are expatriate Filipinos who work there, but are not Saudi Arabian citizens. , about 90% of the roughly 1.2 million Filipinos are
Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
.International Religious Freedom Report 2008 - Saudi Arabia
/ref> In the same year there were also Christians from Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Spain, Australia, Italy, Greece, South Korea, Ireland, the United Kingdom, India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and as well a number of Christians from sub-Saharan countries who are working in the Saudi Kingdom. Saudi Arabia allows Christians to enter the country as
foreign worker Foreign workers or guest workers are people who work in a country other than one of which they are a citizen. Some foreign workers use a guest worker program in a country with more preferred job prospects than in their home country. Guest worke ...
s for work or tourism, but does not allow them to practice their faith openly. Saudi Arabia states that they are permitted to privately practice their religion, but this is not codified and raids on private practice by the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice do occur, though these have decreased since their powers were curtailed in 2016. Bringing a Bible and other types of religious texts into the country is allowed as long as it is for personal use. Although textbooks in Saudi Arabia have moderated their extremist content since 2001, they still contain some content classified as "egregious" such as characterizing Christians and other non-Muslims as liars and are considered to promote religious hatred and intolerance towards non-Muslims, while the NGO
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
has also reported rising hate speech against Christians by Saudi leaders. The Saudi Arabian Mutaween (), or Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (i.e., the
religious police Religious police are any Police, police force responsible for the enforcement of religious norms and associated religious laws. Nearly all religious police organizations in modern society are Islamic and can be found in countries with a large Mu ...
) prohibits the public practice of any religion other than
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
.
Conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Convert'', a 2023 film produced by Jump Film & Television and Brouhaha Entertainment * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * ...
of a Muslim to another religion is considered
apostasy Apostasy (; ) is the formal religious disaffiliation, disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that is contrary to one's previous re ...
,US State Dept 2022 report
/ref> a crime punishable by death if the accused does not
recant Recantation is a public denial of a previously publishing, published opinion or belief. The word is derived from the Latin ''re cantare'' ("sing again"). It is related to repentance and revocation. Philosophy In philosophy, recantation is link ...
. There have been no confirmed reports of executions for either crime in modern times. The government permits non-Muslim clergy to enter the country for the purpose of conducting religious services. In spite of this, a 2015 study estimates that there are some 60,000 Christians with a Muslim background living in the country, though that does not mean that all of those are citizens of the country. There are also Christian communities on expatriate compounds, including Catholic services in the Aramco compound in
Dhahran Dhahran (, ) is a city located in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. With a total population of 143,936 as of 2022, it is a major administrative center for the History of the oil industry in Saudi Arabia, Saudi ...
. Currently there are no official churches in Saudi Arabia. According to the Society of Architectural Heritage Protection Jeddah and the Municipality of Jeddah, a long-abandoned house in Al-Baghdadiyya district has never been an Anglican church, contrary to the "'myth' that had spread on the Internet". However, in 1930 there was a non-Muslim cemetery in Jeddah. Discovered in 1986, the church ruins at Jubail originally belonged to the Church of the East, a branch of Eastern Christianity in the Middle East. The government has placed a fence around the church to prevent potential tourists from entering. However, the fences have not stopped locals from coming in to vandalise and damage the building. In 2018, Saudi Arabia had its first public
Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service. The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheranism, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divi ...
celebrated by
clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
of the
Coptic church The Coptic Orthodox Church (), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the Apostolic see, See of Alexandria i ...
. In 2022, the taboo around
Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...
s lightened, allowing for open sales and decorations.


Demographics

According to
Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center (also simply known as Pew) is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. It ...
, the percentage of Christians in Saudi Arabia in 2018 constituted 4.4% of the country's population. However, the percentage of Saudi Arabian citizens who are Christians is zero ''de jure'', as Saudi Arabia forbids religious conversion from Islam and punishes it by death. In 2022, the number of Christians living in Saudi Arabia was estimated at 2.1 million; however, it was unknown how many are Protestants, Catholics or Orthodox Other estimates put this at over 2 million.


Freedom of religion

In 2023, the Open Doors World Watch List ranked Saudi Arabia as the 13th most difficult country to be a Christian or any type of non-Muslim.Open Doors website, retrieved 2023-08-08
/ref>


See also

* Catholic Church in Saudi Arabia * Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Saudi Arabia * Oriental Orthodoxy in Saudi Arabia * Protestantism in Saudi Arabia * Freedom of religion in Saudi Arabia *
Human rights in Saudi Arabia Human rights in Saudi Arabia are a topic of concern and controversy. Known for its executions of political protesters and opponents, the government of the Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been accused of and denounced by various intern ...
* Non–Muslim Cemetery


References

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