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 The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, that adhere to some or all of the doctrines of

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. Protestants in India are a small minority in a predominantly

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

majority country, but form majorities in the north-eastern states of

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

Mizoram Mizoram is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its Capital city, capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres (449 miles) of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar t ...

and

Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...

. They are also significant minorities in

Punjab region Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, Konkan region,

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

and

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, with various communities in east coast and northern states. Protestants can trace their origins back to the Protestant Revolution of the 16th century. There are an estimated 20 million Protestants and 16 million Pentecostals in India.

History

Colonial India

As the

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

was the established church of England, "it had an impact on India with the arrival of the British". Citing the

Great Commission In Christianity, the Great Commission is the instruction of the Resurrection appearances of Jesus, resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciple (Christianity), disciples to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world. The Great Commission i ...

, Joseph White, a Laudian Professor of Arabic at the University of Oxford, "preached before the university in 1784 on the duty of promoting the universal and progressive message of Christianity 'among our Mahometan and Gentoo Subjects in India'." In 1889, the

Prime Minister of Great Britain The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pr ...

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for ...

expressed similar sentiments, stating that "It is not only our duty but is in our interest to promote the diffusion of Christianity as far as possible throughout the length and breadth of India." The growth of the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

led to the arrival of many

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

chaplains in India. Following the arrival of the Church of England's Church Mission Society in 1814, the Diocese of Calcutta of the Church of India, Burma and Ceylon (CIBC) was erected, with its St. Paul's Cathedral being built in 1847. By 1930, the Church of India, Burma and Ceylon had fourteen

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

s across the Indian Empire. Missionaries from other

Christian denominations 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 ...

came to British India as well;

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

missionaries, for example, arrived in Calcutta in 1836 and by "the year 1880 there were over 31,200 Lutheran Christians spread out in 1,052 villages". Methodists began arriving in India in 1783 and established missions with a focus on "education, health ministry, and evangelism". In the 1790s, Christians from the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed tradition, Reformed in outlook, with ...

and Baptist Missionary Society, began doing missionary work in the Indian Empire. In Neyoor, the London Missionary Society Hospital "pioneered improvements in the public health system for the treatment of diseases even before organized attempts were made by the colonial Madras Presidency, reducing the death rate substantially". After 1857, the establishment of schools and hospitals by British Christian missionaries became the "a pivotal feature of missionary work and the principal vehicles for conversion". Christ Church College (1866) and St. Stephen's College (1881) are two examples of prominent church-affiliated educational institutions founded during the colonial period India. Within educational institutions established during the British Raj in India, Christian texts, especially the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

, were a part of the curricula. During the colonial era in India, Christian missionaries developed writing systems for Indian languages that previously did not have one. Christian missionaries in India also worked to increase literacy and also engaged in social activism, such as fighting against prostitution, championing the right of widowed women to remarry, and trying to stop early marriages for women. Among British women, zenana missions became a popular method to win

converts to Christianity The following is a list of notable people who converted to Christianity from a different religion or no religion. This article addresses only past voluntary professions of faith by the individuals listed, and is not intended to address ethnic, c ...

. In

colonial India Colonial India was the part of the Indian subcontinent that was occupied by European colonial powers during and after the Age of Discovery. European power was exerted both by conquest and trade, especially in spice trade, spices. The search for ...

, the All India Conference of Indian Christians (AICIC) played an important role in the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

, advocating for swaraj and opposing the partition of India. 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". The All India Conference of Indian Christians and the All India Catholic Union formed a working committee with M. Rahnasamy of

Andhra University Andhra University is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. It is graded as an A++ institution by NAAC receiving a score of 3.74 on a scale of 4. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Mah ...

serving as president and B.L. Rallia Ram of

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

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 Constituent Assembly of India was partly elected and partly nominated body to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the Provincial assemblies of British India following the Provincial Assembly elections held in 1946 and nominated ...

, which asked for

religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...

for both organisations and individuals; this came to be reflected in the

Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures ...

Independent India

Many Protestant denominations are represented in India, the result of missionary activities throughout the country especially under

British rule in India The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. The largest Protestant denomination in the country is the Church of South India, since 1947 a union of

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

, and

congregations with approximately 4 million members as of 2014. The broadly similar Church of North India had 1 million members. (Both churches are in full communion with the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

.) There were about 1.3 million Lutherans, 473,000 Methodists, and 425,000 Baptists as of 1995. Pentecostalism, one of the largest Protestant denominations worldwide, is also a rapidly growing denomination in India. It is spreading greatly in

northern India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

and the southwestern areas, such as

. The largest indigenous Pentecostal denominations in India are The Pentecostal Mission (TPM) and the India Pentecostal Church of God (IPC). As for the smaller denominations, another prominent group is the Brethren. They include

Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where it originated from Anglica ...

Indian Brethren The Indian Brethren are a Christian Evangelical premillennial religious movement. Although they have some distinct characteristics, they have a lot in common, in both doctrine and practice, with the international Open Brethren movement, with ...

, Kerala Brethren etc. The

Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Churches in India Conference of the Mennonite Brethren Churches in India is a Mennonite denomination in India. Its membership exceeds 100,000 persons, in 840 congregations. The Presiding officer for the conference is Dr P B Arnold. The headquarters is in Jadc ...

has more than 100,000 members. One of the oldest denominations meanwhile is the Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Notable missionaries

Protestant

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

began to work throughout

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, leading to the growth of different Christian communities. In 1793, William Carey, an English Baptist Minister, came to India as a missionary. He worked in

Serampore Serampore (also called Serampur, Srirampur, Srirampore, Shreerampur, Shreerampore, Shrirampur or Shrirampore) is a city in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Srirampore subdivision. It is a part ...

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

and other cities founding churches. On the educational front, in addition to starting the Serampore College, he also translated the Bible into Bengali and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

, continuing with these labours until his death in 1834. Anthony Norris Groves,

missionary came to India in 1833. He worked in the Godavari delta area of then

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

, until his death in 1852. Missionaries such as

Amy Carmichael Amy Beatrice Carmichael (15 December 1867 – 18 January 1951) was an Irish Christian missionary in India who opened an orphanage and founded a mission in Dohnavur. She served in India for 55 years and wrote 35 books about her work as a mission ...

, Ida S. Scudder and Joyce M. Woollard continued the work in the 20th century.

21st century

According to the 2015 India Demographic and Health Survey, 2.6% of the population is Christian.US State Dept 2022 report
/ref> Other reports stated that Catholics make up 1.71% of the population, suggesting that less than 0.9% of the country has a Protestant background. A report in 2021 noted that many Indian Christians share Hindu beliefs, in particular in karma (54%), and reincarnation (29%);Pew Research website, article dated July 12, 2021
/ref> it also noted that three-quarters of Indian Christians come from a lower-caste background.

Protestant Churches in India

* Assemblies of God in India * Ao Baptist Arogo Mungdang (Ao Baptist Churches Convention) * Apatani Christian Fellowship * Assam Baptist Convention * Baptist Christian Association * Baptist Church of Mizoram * Baptist Union of North India *

Basel Mission The Basel Mission is a Christianity, Christian missionary society based in Switzerland. It was active from 1815 to 2001, when it transferred the operative work to , the successor organization of ''Kooperation Evangelischer Kirchen und Missione'' ...

* Bengal Baptist Fellowship * Bengal Orissa Bihar Baptist Convention. * Congregational Church in India * Church of North India * Church of South India * Evangelical Baptist Convention of India * Evangelical Church of Maraland. *

Garo Baptist Convention Garo Baptist Convention is a Baptist Christian denomination of India and Bangladesh. It is named after the ethnic group of the name Garo. Most members of this church are in Meghalaya. In Bangladesh the central office of the GBC is located in Bi ...

* Gospel Association of India * Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chotanagpur and Assam * India Association of General Baptists * India Evangelical Lutheran Church IELC *

Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church is a major Lutheran Christian denomination in India. It was established in 1882. At that time, the founder of The Schleswig Holstein Evangelical Lutheran Mission Society of Germany (SHELM) in Germany was Pastor ...

* Evangelical Church of India * Karbi Anglong Baptist Convention * Karnataka Baptist Convention *Lower Assam Baptist Union * Maharashtra Baptist Society * Manipur Baptist Convention * Mao Baptist Church *Mennonite Brethren Church India * Nagaland Baptist Church Council * North Bank Baptist Christian Association * North Western Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church * Orissa Baptist Evangelical Crusade * Poumai Baptist Church * Presbyterian Church in India * Presbyterian Church in India (Reformed) * Presbyterian Free Church of Central India * Rabha Baptist Church Union * Reformed Presbyterian Church of India * Reformed Presbyterian Church North East India * Presbyterian Church of South India * Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches * Separate Baptists in Christ * Sumi Baptist Church * Southern Asia Division of Seventh-day Adventists * Seventh Day Baptist Church * The Pentecostal Mission (formerly Ceylon Pentecostal Mission) * Mar Thoma Church * Tamil Baptist Churches *Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church *Tirunelveli C.M.S. Evangelical Church * Tripura Baptist Christian Union * United Church of Northern India - Presbyterian Synod * Indian Pentecostal Church of God Source of the list: World Christian Encyclopedia.

References

{{Churches in India