Christianity in Odisha

Followers of Christianity are a small minority in Odisha 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 Odisha.[2] Christ Church the full Gospel Church, Gospel Outreach Ministries, India Evangelistic Association, Orissa Baptist Evangelical Crusade and The Pentecostal Mission are among the non-Catholic denominations of Odisha as well.[3] [4] 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.[5]

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

Religious composition in Odisha 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

Bible translations into Odia

The first version in the Odia language of India[6] 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.[7]

Roman Catholic Church

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

Most Christian inhabited areas (Sub-Districts) in Odisha as per Census 2011, Govt. of India

The figures indicate % of Christians and within brackets are District names.

(1) Serango – 84% (Gajapati)

(2) Puttasing – 80% (Rayagada)

(3) Adava – 75% (Gajapati)

(4) Brahmanigaon – 72% (Kandhamal)

(5) Daringbadi – 64% (Kandhamala)

(6) Raiboga – 62% (Sundargagh)

(7) Kotagarh – 58% (Kandhamal)

(8) Chandrapur – 51% (Rayagada)

(9) R.Udayagiri – 50% (Gajapati)

[8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Census of India - Socio-cultural aspects". Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs. 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. ↑ http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/2008/08/26/christians-attacked-throughout-orissa-state-north-india/
  5. ↑ "The Dioceses - The Church of North India". The Church of North India. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  6. ↑ Subhakanta Behera Construction of an identity discourse: Oriya literature and the ... 2002 - this work misspells Carey from Odia script back into English as "William Kerry"
  7. ↑ Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions - Page 652 Gerald H. Anderson - 1999 The first Odia conversion was recorded in 1828. Sutton devoted himself to grammatical work on the Odia language and Bible translation. In 1841 he began training the first three Odia evangelists at Cut tack. By 1846 there were eight students"
  8. ↑ Census India 2011
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