Christianity in West Bengal

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Christianity in West Bengal, India is a minority religion. According to

the 2011 census, there were 658,618 Christians in West Bengal, or
0.72% of the population.[1] Although Mother Teresa worked in Kolkata
(Calcutta), Christianity is a minority religion in Kolkata as well. West
Bengal has the highest number of Bengali Christians. Bengali
Christians have been established since the 16th century with the advent
of the Portuguese in Bengal. Later in the 19th and 20th centuries, many
upper-class Bengalis converted to Christianity during the Bengali
renaissance under British Rule, including Krishna Mohan Banerjee, St. Paul's Cathedral - seat of the
Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Anil Kumar Gain, and Gnanendramohan Anglican Diocese of Calcutta, Church of
Tagore. North India

Bengali Christians are considered a model minority, due to their

significant contributions to Bengali culture and society for the past
two centuries. They are considered to be among the most
progressive communities in Bengal, and have the highest literacy
rate, the lowest male-female sex ratio, along with better socio-
economic status.[2] Christian missionaries run major social
institutions dealing with education and healthcare, such as those
run by the Jesuit Catholics, and the dominant Protestant Church of
North India (CNI).

Contents The Bandel Church, rebuilt in 1660 on the site

of an older 1599 church.
1 History
2 Denominations
3 Notable Institutions
3.1 Schools
3.2 Colleges and Universities
4 Notable people
5 Population
5.1 Population by district
5.2 Trends
6 References

History St. Andrew's Church, Darjeeling. Built: 1843,

Rebuilt: 1873

Christianity has been present in Bengal since the 16th century. The
Portuguese established a settlement in Bandel, Hooghly district in
the 16th century, and Bandel Church, perhaps the first church in West Bengal, was built in 1599.[3] Burnt down
during the sacking of Hooghly in 1632, the church was rebuilt in 1660. The followers of Christianity mainly
settled in Barddhmann, Bankura, Kolkata and Hooghly district of West Bengal.

William Carey, who founded the Baptist Missionary Society, went to India in 1793 and worked as a missionary
in the Danish colony of Serampore, because of opposition from the British East India Company. He translated
the Bible into Bengali (completed 1809) and Sanskrit (completed 1818). His first Bengali convert was Krishna
Pal, who renounced his caste after conversion. In 1818, the first theological college in Bengal, Serampore
College, was founded.
Denominations
St. Paul's Cathedral, Kolkata is the seat of the Anglican Diocese of Calcutta (1813) of the Church of North
India. The Roman Catholic ecclesiastical province which has its seat in the Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary
is the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta (1834).

Other denominations include:[4]

Armenian Apostolic Church

Bethel Apostolic Assemblies(IBAA) India
Bengal Orissa Bihar Baptist Convention
Brethren in Christ Church in India
Church of God (Anderson)
Council of Baptist Churches in Northern India
El Shaddai
New Life Fellowship Association
United Missionary Church of India

Notable Institutions
Schools
Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy (Armenian
Apostolic Church and Orthodox)
Assembly of God Church School (Pentecostal and Protestant)
Don Bosco High & Technical School, Liluah (Jesuit and
Catholic)
Don Bosco School, Park Circus (Jesuit and Catholic)
Don Bosco School, Bandel (Jesuit and Catholic)
La Martiniere Calcutta (Church of North India and Protestant)
Loreto Schools, Kolkata (Catholic) La Martinire Calcutta, one of India's
Scottish Church Collegiate School (Church of North India and most prestigious schools, is run by the
Protestant) Protestant Church of North India
St. James' School (Church of North India and Protestant)
St. John's Diocesan Girls' Higher Secondary School (Church of
North India and Protestant)
St. Lawrence High School, Kolkata (Jesuit and Catholic)
St Thomas School, Kolkata (Church of North India and
Protestant)
St. Xavier's Collegiate School (Jesuit and Catholic)
The Frank Anthony Public School, Kolkata (Non-denominational
and Protestant)

Colleges and Universities

St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, run by the
catholic Jesuits, is one of India's best
Loreto College, Kolkata (Catholic)
colleges
Scottish Church College (Church of North India and Protestant)
Senate of Serampore College (University) (Non-denominational
and Protestant)
Serampore College (Non-denominational and Protestant)
South Asia Theological Research Institute (Non-denominational and Protestant)
St. Paul's Cathedral Mission College (Church of North India and Protestant)
St. Thomas' College of Engineering and Technology (Church of North India and Protestant)
St. Xavier's College, Kolkata (Jesuit and Catholic)
Women's Christian College, Kolkata (Non-denominational and Protestant)
Notable people
Leander Paes
Lesley Claudius

Population
Population by district

Christians in West Bengal by district (2011)[5]

# District Total population Christian population %

1 Jalpaiguri 3,872,846 186,279 4.81%

2 Darjiling 1,846,823 141,848 7.68%

3 South 24 Parganas 8,161,961 66,498 0.81%

4 Kolkata 4,496,694 39,758 0.88%

5 Nadia 5,167,600 33,835 0.65%

6 North 24 Parganas 10,009,781 26,933 0.27%

7 Dakshin Dinajpur 1,676,276 24,794 1.48%

8 Paschim Medinipur 5,913,457 23,287 0.39%

9 Barddhaman 7,717,563 21,220 0.27%

10 Murshidabad 7,103,807 18,102 0.25%

11 Uttar Dinajpur 3,007,134 16,702 0.56%

12 Maldah 3,988,845 13,209 0.33%

13 Birbhum 3,502,404 10,906 0.31%

14 Haora 4,850,029 8,666 0.18%

15 Puruliya 2,930,115 8,646 0.30%

16 Hugli 5,519,145 7,300 0.13%

17 Koch Bihar 2,819,086 4,122 0.15%

18 Bankura 3,596,674 3,865 0.11%

19 Purba Medinipur 5,095,875 2,648 0.05%

West Bengal (Total) 91,276,115 658,618 0.72%

Trends
 Trends in Christian population of West
Bengal[6]

Census year % of total population

1951 0.70%

1961 0.59%

1971 0.57%

1981 0.59%

1991 0.56%

2001 0.64%

2011 0.72%

References
1. Population by religious community: West Bengal (http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW
19C-01%20MDDS.XLS). 2011 Census of India.
2. Indian Christians Treat Their Women Better, Sex Ratio Highest (http://www.medindia.net/news/indiaspec
ial/Indian-Christians-Treat-Their-Women-Better-Sex-Ratio-Highest-31076-1.htm)
3. Roma Bradnock, Footprint India (https://books.google.com/books?id=nWKaR6LbEGcC&pg=PA584),
Footprint Travel Guides, 2004, ISBN 1-904777-00-7, p. 584.
4. World Christian Encyclopedia , Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 368-371
5. Population by religious community: West Bengal (http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW
19C-01%20MDDS.XLS). 2011 Census of India.
6. B.P. Syam Roy (28 September 2015). "Bengals topsy-turvy population growth" (http://www.thestatesma
n.com/news/opinion/bengal-s-topsy-turvy-population-growth/93152.html). The Statesman.

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This page was last edited on 22 July 2017, at 09:34.

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