Percentage of Christians in India

Although the exact origins of Christianity in India remain unclear, there is a general scholarly consensus that Christianity was rooted in India by the 6th century AD. (based on the available documents).

·         However, according to the St.Thomas tradition, Christianity's existence in India can be traced back to the 1st century

·         Christianity was established in Indian even before some of the European nations became Christianity.

·         Christianity is India's third largest religion, with approximately 24 million followers, constitution 2.3 percent (according to the census) of India's population.

·         However, the Census does not take into consideration those who do not explicitly identify themselves as Christians.

·         Christians are found all across India and in all walks of life, with major populations in parts of South India, God and North East India.

·         Major urban centers also have sizable Christian presence. (something around 13% of urban population, 6% in Bangalore, 5% in Chennai).

·         Strong pockets of Christians are also found in south Gujarat,, Punjab, chattisgarh and Bihar.

Categories of Christians

·         Syrian, Orthodox, Mar Thoma Christians

·         Anglo Indian Christians (first Methodist missionary to India, focused on them, so there are good number of Anglo Indians are Methodists)

·         Christians from the upper castes background. (William wilberforce played vital role in 1813 rule which allows missionaries to do ministry among Indians)

o    From 1813-1860 lots of early converts of these missionaries were upper castes. most of them were Brahmins and some are Sathyiars.

·         Christians from Dalit background. (1850 onwards, there was significant mission movement among Dalits)

o    The era of mass movement began from 1850 onwards.

·         Christians from Tribal background.

o    Most missionaries did not want to go inner part of country. But once mass movement taken place, they started go inside the country.

·         Crypto Christians with dual identity. (Crypto - those who do not want reveal their real identity) (they are found in church but not necessarily)

·         Secret followers of Christ. (they are not found in church)

·         Anonymous Christians.

Some more Categories

·         Yesu Bhaktas - (devotees of Christ - mostly they live in Varanasi)

·         Yesu Satsongis - mostly from Punjab, they don’t say that they are not Christians but they follow the teachings of Christ.

·         Yesu Darbaris - in the court yard of Christ, everyone is welcome, we don’t need to Christians. It was developed by Narayanverma Thilak in Maharastra.

·         Believers found in house churches - they don’t feel the need of Christians but they strictly follow the principles of Christ.

·         Except the first five categories, the Cencsus of Indian does not record other categories of people as Christians

·         The fourth and fifth categories of people largely became Christians through mass movements.

If we put together all these categories, Indian at least should have 5-7% of Christians. It approximately 50 million Christians.