Christianity in Sri Lanka

Christianity by Country

Africa Algeria • Angola • Benin • Botswana • Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cameroon • Cape Verde • Chad • Comoros • Côte d'Ivoire • D.Rep. of Congo • Djibouti • Egypt • Eritrea • Ethiopia • Gabon • Ghana • Guinea-Bissau • Kenya • Lesotho • Liberia • Libya • Madagascar • Mali • Mauritania • Mauritius • Morocco • Mozambique • Namibia • Niger • Nigeria • Somalia • Sudan • Tanzania Asia Bangladesh • Bhutan • Brunei • Burma • Cambodia • China • Hong Kong • India • Indonesia • Japan • Kazakhstan • Korea • Laos • Malaysia • Maldives • Mongolia • Nepal • North Korea • Pakistan • Philippines • Russia • Singapore • South Korea • Sri Lanka • Taiwan • Tajikistan • Thailand • Turkmenistan • Uzbekistan • Vietnam Europe Albania • Armenia • Austria • Azerbaijan • Belarus • Belgium • Bosnia & Herzegovina • Bulgaria • Cyprus • Denmark • Finland • France • Georgia • Germany • Greece • Iceland • Ireland • Italy • Jersey • Kosovo • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Macedonia • Netherlands • Norway • Malta • Moldova • Montenegro • Poland • Portugal • Romania • Russia • Serbia • Turkey • Ukraine • United Kingdom North America Antigua & Barbuda • Belize • Canada • Costa Rica • Cuba • Dominican Republic • El Salvador • Guatemala • Mexico • Nicaragua • Panama • United States South America Brazil • Chile • Colombia • Ecuador • Guyana • Paraguay • Peru Middle East Afghanistan • Bahrain • Iran • Iraq • Israel • Jordan • Kuwait • Lebanon • Oman • Qatar • Saudi Arabia • Syria • United Arab Emirates • Yemen Oceania Australia • East Timor • Fiji • Kiribati • Marshall Islands • Micronesia • Nauru • New Zealand • Palau • Papua New Guinea Samoa • Tonga • Tuvalu • Vanuatu • Full list  •   v · d · e

Christianity is a minority religion in Sri Lanka. Roman Catholicism was introduced by the Portuguese in 1505. There were conversions by Dutch persons in the 17th century, which resulted in a percentage of church members in excess of 10%. This figure decreased. The Christian population of Sri Lanka includes members of both the Sinhalese and Tamil ethnic groups.

Roman Catholic Church

Distribution of Christians in Sri Lanka. This includes all Christian denominations and are from 2001 census except for the districts where the number is in cursive; these are from 1981 census.^[1]

About 7% of the population (1,400,000 persons) are Roman Catholic. Catholicism was first introduced by the Portuguese, who left a notable mark in the continued use of Portuguese surnames even today by many Catholics. Dutch missionaries continued to maintain the religion after the Portuguese were expelled, and today most Sri Lankan Christians are Catholic. There is a Roman Catholic archbishop and 10 other Roman Catholic bishops. The other dioceses are:

1. Diocese of Anuradhapura
2. Diocese of Badulla
3. Diocese of Chilaw
4. Diocese of Galle
5. Diocese of Jaffna
6. Diocese of Kandy
7. Diocese of Kurunegala
8. Diocese of Mannar
9. Diocese of Ratnapura
10. Diocese of Trincomalee-Batticaloa

Protestants

About 160,000 persons in Sri Lanka (0.8%) are Protestants. There are about 2000 people (1998) affiliated with congregations belonging to the Baptist World Alliance. The Lanka Lutheran Church has about 1,200 members. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claims 1,200 members in Sri Lanka.^[2]

According to Operation World, there has been a significant growth of evangelical Christianity since 1980. The main Protestant churches in Sri Lanka are Anglican, Methodist, Baptist and Salvation Army. The Church of Ceylon is an extra-provincial Anglican church, while the Church of South India (a united church of Anglicans, Presbyterians, and other Protestants) is a full member of the Anglican Communion and has a diocese in Jaffna. The Anglican Church has a strong effect on people in some areas. Methodist missionaries established 187 school of which only 2 remains (Wesley College and Methodist College) because all the other schools were taken over by the government. Methodism has over 40,000 followers in Sri Lanka with 45 circuits, 200 churches and 120 pastors. Moratuwa Area and Kutunayake Negombo Areas are the regions where many Methodists live. In 2005 and 2006 the Methodist Church of Sri Lanka had a very difficult time during a period of anti-Christian violence.

St. Andrew's Church in Colombo is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. For administrative purposes it is part of the Church of Scotland's Presbytery of Europe.

As per 2010 year book of Jehovah's Witnesses there are around 4,706 active member's in Sri Lanka.

See also

• Religion in Sri Lanka
• Roman Catholicism in Sri Lanka
• Protestantism in Sri Lanka
• Lanka Lutheran Church
• House of Prayer Church
• Status of religious freedom in Sri Lanka
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Sri Lanka

References

1. ^ Department of Census and Statistics
2. ^ LDS Newsroom (Statistical Information)Sri Lanka - LDS Newsroom

External links

• Open Doors Int'l, Sri Lanka
• Adherents.com, Religion by Location, Sri Lanka
• SriLankanChristians.com
• St. Andrew's Church (Church of Scotland)