Christianity in Odisha
Christianity in Indian state
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Followers of Christianity are a significant minority in Odisha state of India. According to the 2011 Census, Christians make up about 2.77% of the population (about 1,160,000 people).[1] Kurukh, Sora, Kharia and Panos are notable ethnic groups with a significant Christian population.
History
Bible translations into Odia
The first version in the Odia language of India[2] was translated by William Carey in 1808 and was distributed among pilgrims at Puri to introduce them to Christianity. Then came the standard version by Amos Sutton in the 1840s.[3]
Demographics
According to the 2011 Census of India, Odisha had 1,161,708 Christians, constituting 2.77% of the state's population. Odisha had the eighth-largest Christian population among India's states and union territories, accounting for approximately 4.18% of India's total Christian population of 27,819,588. Of Odisha's Christian population, 83.93% lived in rural areas and 16.07% lived in urban areas. The Christian population had a sex ratio of 1,035 females per 1,000 males, compared with 978 females per 1,000 males for Odisha's total population.
| District | Population | Christian population | Christians (% of district population) | Share of Odisha's Christian population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bargarh | 1,481,255 | 11,744 | 0.79% | 1.01% |
| Jharsuguda | 579,505 | 10,462 | 1.81% | 0.90% |
| Sambalpur | 1,041,099 | 50,637 | 4.86% | 4.36% |
| Debagarh | 312,520 | 14,518 | 4.65% | 1.25% |
| Sundargarh | 2,093,437 | 385,011 | 18.39% | 33.14% |
| Kendujhar | 1,801,733 | 9,141 | 0.51% | 0.79% |
| Mayurbhanj | 2,519,738 | 15,008 | 0.60% | 1.29% |
| Baleshwar | 2,320,529 | 6,434 | 0.28% | 0.55% |
| Bhadrak | 1,506,337 | 745 | 0.05% | 0.06% |
| Kendrapara | 1,440,361 | 1,423 | 0.10% | 0.12% |
| Jagatsinghapur | 1,136,971 | 1,604 | 0.14% | 0.14% |
| Cuttack | 2,624,470 | 11,985 | 0.46% | 1.03% |
| Jajapur | 1,827,192 | 1,623 | 0.09% | 0.14% |
| Dhenkanal | 1,192,811 | 727 | 0.06% | 0.06% |
| Angul | 1,273,821 | 3,383 | 0.27% | 0.29% |
| Nayagarh | 962,789 | 383 | 0.04% | 0.03% |
| Khordha | 2,251,673 | 12,527 | 0.56% | 1.08% |
| Puri | 1,698,730 | 4,239 | 0.25% | 0.36% |
| Ganjam | 3,529,031 | 23,975 | 0.68% | 2.06% |
| Gajapati | 577,817 | 219,482 | 37.98% | 18.89% |
| Kandhamal | 733,110 | 148,895 | 20.31% | 12.82% |
| Boudh | 441,162 | 522 | 0.12% | 0.04% |
| Subarnapur | 610,183 | 2,374 | 0.39% | 0.20% |
| Balangir | 1,648,997 | 16,271 | 0.99% | 1.40% |
| Nuapada | 610,382 | 1,778 | 0.29% | 0.15% |
| Kalahandi | 1,576,869 | 11,160 | 0.71% | 0.96% |
| Rayagada | 967,911 | 84,916 | 8.77% | 7.31% |
| Koraput | 1,379,647 | 68,550 | 4.97% | 5.90% |
| Malkangiri | 613,192 | 10,039 | 1.64% | 0.86% |
| Nabarangpur | 1,220,946 | 32,152 | 2.63% | 2.77% |
| Odisha | 41,974,218 | 1,161,708 | 2.77% | 100.00% |
- Scheduled Tribes (70.3%)
- General (incl. converted Scheduled Castes) population (29.7%)
The Christians are mostly from the adivasi or tribal communities of the state with 816,981 (70.33%) Christians among STs. The major tribes are as below with number of Christians and percentage of Christians in each tribe.[10]
Places with the largest proportions
The figures indicate percentage of Christians within the districts:[11][dead link]
- Gajapati
- Serango– 84%
- Adava– 75%
- R.Udayagiri– 50%
- Damadua- 70%
- Aligonda- 90%
- Kandhamal
- Brahmanigaon– 72%
- Daringbadi– 64%
- Kotagarh– 58%
- Sundargarh
- Raiboga– 62%
- Rayagada
- Puttasing– 80%
- Chandrapur– 51%
Denominations
Church of God (Anderson), Evangelical Missionary Society in Mayurbhanj and Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church are among the Protestant denominations of Odisha.[12] Christ Church the full Gospel Church, Gospel Outreach Ministries, India Evangelistic Association, Orissa Baptist Evangelistic Crusade and The Pentecostal Mission are among the non-Catholic denominations of Odisha as well.[13] [14] The Church of North India is present in Odisha as well with the dioceses of Cuttack, Phulbani, and Sambalpur. The diocese of Chota Nagpur also serves a small part of Odisha.[15]
Roman Catholic Church
The archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar is Archbishop John Barwa. Its suffragan dioceses are: