Christianity in Orissa

Followers of Christianity are a small minority in Orissa state of India. According to the 2001 Census, Christians make up about 2.44% of the population (about 898,000 people).^[1]

Church of God (Anderson), Council of Baptist Churches in Northern India and Evangelical Missionary Society in Mayurbhanj are among the Protestant denominations of Orissa.^[2] Christ Church the full Gospel Church, Gospel Outreach Ministries, India Evangelistic Association and Orissa Baptist Evangelical Crusade are among the non-Catholic denominations of Orissa as well.^[3]

The Church of North India is present in Orissa as well with the dioceses of Cuttack, Phulbani, and Sambalpur. The diocese of Chota Nagpur also serves a small part of Orissa.^[4]

Oraon, Kharia and Munda people are notable ethnic groups with a significant Christian population.

Religious composition in Orissa according to the 2001 census^[1]

Religion	Persons	%persons	Males	%males	Females	%females
Hindus	34,726,129	94.35%	17,615,951	94.40%	17,110,178	94.30%
Christians	897,861	2.44%	443,245	2.38%	454,616	2.51%
Muslims	761,985	2.07%	391,234	2.10%	370,751	2.04%
Sikhs	17,492	0.05%	9,448	0.05%	8,044	0.04%
Buddhists	9,863	0.03%	5,180	0.03%	4,683	0.03%
Jains	9,154	0.02%	4,736	0.03%	4,418	0.02%
Others	361,981	0.98%	180,156	0.97%	181,825	1.00%
Religion not stated	20,195	0.05%	10,620	0.06%	9,575	0.05%
Totals	36,804,660		18,660,570		18,144,090

Roman Catholic Church

The archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar is Dr. Raphael Cheenath. Its suffragan dioceses are:

• Balasore
• Berhampur
• Rourkela
• Sambalpur

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Census of India - Socio-cultural aspects". Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs. http://censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Social_and_cultural/Religion.aspx. Retrieved 2011-03-02. 
2. ^ World Christian Encyclopedia , Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 369
3. ^ World Christian Encyclopedia , Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 369-370
4. ^ "The Dioceses - The Church of North India". The Church of North India. http://www.cnisynod.org/tehdisc.aspx. Retrieved 2011-04-02.