Christianity in Jharkhand

Christianity is a minority religion in Jharkhand, a state (formerly Southern region of Bihar state, colloquially Chota Nagpur division) of India. Jharkhand is known for tribals such as Munda, Santhal, Oraon and Kharia. A Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ranchi exists. St. Mary's Cathedral in Ranchi has been a cathedral since 1909.{{Cite web |url=http://www.vikasmaitri.org/churches.htm |title=Churches in Jharkhand |access-date=2011-04-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110117080533/http://www.vikasmaitri.org/churches.htm |archive-date=2011-01-17 |url-status=dead }} The Church of North India has a Diocese of Chota Nagpur with a seat at Ranchi. The Church of North India has a St. Paul's Cathedral in Ranchi. Gossner Theological College is in Jharkhand. Many Munda & Kharia are Christians.{{Cite web|url=http://www.suedasien.info/laenderinfos/465|title=Suedasien.info - das Informationsportal zu Südasien|date=January 2005}} The then pope visited Ranchi in 1986.{{cite web |url=http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers6%5Cpaper511.html |title=Impact of Christianity on the Tribes of Jharkhand |accessdate=2011-04-03 |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217234802/http://southasiaanalysis.org/papers6/paper511.html |archivedate=2010-12-17 }} The Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chotanagpur and Assam has its seat in Ranchi. Dhanbad has Oriental Orthodox Churches.{{Cite web|url=http://orthodox-world.org/world_index.php?country=India&state=Jharkhand&city=Dhanbad&type=Church|title=Churches in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India - World Orthodox Directory}} Christian missionaries arrived in today's Jharkhand in 1845.{{Citation needed|date = February 2016}}

{{See also|Christianity in India}}

File:Christian Mission Stations of the Indian Empire.jpg of the Indian Empire, 1893]]

By the year 1765 Britishers were successful in their military mobilization to bring Santhal Pargana under British rule. After this conquest, the British colonial planters in India indentured tribal people of the Chota Nagpur Plateau region into Northeast India about 150 years ago for the purpose of being employed in the tea gardens industry as workers and came to be known as Tea tribes. These tribals were influenced by the Christian missionaries who came along with the British. These Christian missionaries worked for the improvement standard of living and providing education to the children of the tribals.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

Nearly 15 decades later missionaries from Germany left started their voyage to India in 1844 and reached Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) in 1845. These missionaries were initially heading for Mergui in Myanmar (formerly Burma) in view of preaching the Christian faith among the Karen people or in the areas located in the footsteps of the Himalayas. However, on meeting some people from Ranchi, they changed their plan and headed for Chhotanagpur and its main town, Ranchi. They reached Ranchi on 2 November 1845 and camped on, what is now known as, the 'Bethesda Ground' in Ranchi.{{Citation |last=Devalle |first=Susana B.C. |title=Tribe in India: The Fallacy of a Colonial Category |date=1990 |work=Studies on Asia and Africa from Latin America |page=104 |editor-last=Lorenzen |editor-first=David N. |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv3f8qc7.8 |jstor=j.ctv3f8qc7.8 |doi=10.2307/j.ctv3f8qc7.8 |access-date=2025-05-13 |edition=1 |publisher=El Colegio de Mexico |isbn=978-968-12-0459-4 |url-access=subscription }} By 1872, the Christian population in the Jharkhand region was 16,190, which increased to {{formatnum:43535}},{{nbsp}}{{formatnum:96125}}, and {{formatnum:155606}} in the 1881, 1891, and 1901 censuses, respectively.{{Efn|name=AreaNote|Area of consideration: Chota Nagpur Tributary States (39,940 km², incl. northern part of present-day Chhattisgarh), the District of Chota Nagpur Division, and Santhal Parganas, with the {{convert|49389|sqmi|sqkm}} total area, which corresponds to the present-day 79,710 square kilometres area of Jharkhand.}} The growth of Christianity in the region was largely among the tribal communities, which contributed to the rise of anti-conversion movements like the Birsa Munda Movement and the Tana Bhagat Movement.

After India became independent, the missionaries who remained post independence, worked for the improvement standard of living and providing education to the children of the tribals. Evidently many of the tribals emerged as sportsmen especially in the game of hockey and football.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ucanews.com/story-archive/?post_name=/2004/12/09/successful-tribals-acknowledge-jubilee-dioceses-help&post_id=25064|title = Successful tribals acknowledge jubilee dioceses help}}

Even the first Prime Minister of India, Dr. Jawaharlal Nehru, in his The Discovery of India acknowledges the contribution of the early missionaries for development of tribals dialect stating that even laboured at the dialects of the primitive hill and forest tribes... {{cite web| url = https://www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/christian-impact-india-history| title = Christian Impact on India, History of {{!}} Encyclopedia.com}}

{{Gallery

|title=Christian missionaries work in tribal belt of Jharkhand, {{circa|1950|1960}}

|width=160 | height=150

|align=center

|footer=

|perrow=5

|whitebg=no

|state=collapsed

|File:Worker's Meeting, Hisri, Bihar, India, 1950 (16965888526).jpg

|Worker's Meeting, Hisri (1950).

|File:Chandwa Bible Training School, Bihar, India, 1957 (16982508905).jpg

|Trainee of Chandwa Bible Training School (1957).

|File:Basant Topono, Chandwa, Bihar, India, undated (16389870133).jpg

|Basant Topono in Chandwa, Bihar, for the occasion of Sunday School Training Conference.

|File:Bihar Church Conference, India, 1958 (16369226513).jpg

|Bihar (present-day Jharkhand) Church Conference, India (1958).

|Graduating class, Bihar, India, 1959 (16325742163).jpg

|Class of 12 who received diplomas. O. P. Lal, teachers: John and Miriam Beachy, Paul and Esther Kniss (1959).

|File:Bihar, India, 1961 (16751014138).jpg

|Christian bridegroom (1961)

|File:Evangelist P. Toppo, Bihar, India, 1962 (16750423870).jpg

|Evangelist Paikas Toppo preaching "Lo, I am with you always" (1962).

|File:Latehar church, Bihar, India, 1964 (16299139234).jpg|Mirchulal (on left) talks with Christians of the Latehar congregation (1964).

|File:New church members, Nareshgarh, Bihar, India, 1967 (16379265143).jpg

|Pastor Sushil Khakha welcomes three newly baptized members into church fellowship in Nareshgarh (1967).

}}

{{See also|Religion in Jharkhand|Tribes of Jharkhand|Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes#Demographics}}

{{Historical population

|title=Christianity in Jharkhand

|1872|16190

|1881|43535

|1891|96125

|1901|155606

|1911|209923

|1921|234724

|1931|389770

|1941|

|1951|415548

|1961|502195

|1971|658717

|1981|740186

|1991|843717

|2001|1093382

|2011|1418608

|footnote=Note: Prior to the 1951, the area corresponding to present-day Jharkhand is used;{{Efn|name=AreaNote}} 1951–2001 census, Bihar's figure also included (but the Christian population in present-day Bihar was minimal), from which Jharkhand was bifurcated in 2000.

|source=Census of India{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_data_finder/C_Series/Population_by_religious_communities.htm|title=Total population by religious communities|publisher=Censusindia.gov.in|access-date=20 November 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080119031333/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_data_finder/C_Series/Population_by_religious_communities.htm|archive-date=19 January 2008|df=dmy-all}}{{cite web|publisher=Census Department, Government of India|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/c-01.html|title=Indian Census 2011|access-date=25 August 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913045700/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01.html|archive-date=13 September 2015|df=dmy-all}}}}

{{Pie chart

|caption= Christianity among social group of Jharkhand, 2011 census{{multiref2

|{{cite web|title=C-01: Population by religious community, India - 2011 |publisher=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/11361/download/14474/DDW00C-01%20MDDS.XLS |format=XLS |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826023408/https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/11361/download/14474/DDW00C-01%20MDDS.XLS |archive-date=26 August 2022 |url-status=live}}

|{{cite web|title=ST-14: Scheduled tribe population by religious community (State/UT level), Jharkhand - 2011 |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/11908/download/15021/ST-20-00-014-DDW-2011.XLS |publisher=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India}}}}

|value1 = 94.33

|label1 = Scheduled Tribes

|color1= dodgerblue

|other = yes

|other-label = General (incl. converted Scheduled Castes) population

|other-color = gold

}}

File: Concentration of Christianity in Jharkhand, 2011.svg

According to the 2011 census, the Christian population in the state stood at 1,418,608, reflecting an increase of 29.75% from the 2001 census, which recorded 1,093,382 Christians. Simdega district has the highest concentration of Christians, accounting for 51.14% of its population, followed by Khunti at 25.66% and Gumla at 19.75%. The Scheduled Tribes, primarily Oraon, Munda, Santal, Kharia, Mal Paharia, Sauria Paharia, Ho (Kolha) constitute {{percent and number|1338175|1418608|2}} of the Christian population, while remaining {{percent and number|80433|1418608|2}} belongs to the general population (including converted Scheduled Castes) of the state. The breakdown of Christianity among Scheduled Tribes is:

{{static row numbers}}{{sort under}}{{Table alignment}}{{row hover highlight}}

The major denominations and church bodies in the state are given below.

• Roman Catholic Church having 1,058,812 members in 8 dioceses and 280 parishes.

• Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church having 583,960 members in 1,895 congregations.

• North Western Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church having 135,000 members in 735 congregations.

The other smaller denominations are:

• India Pentecostal Church of God
• Dipti Mission
• Bihar Mennonite Mandli
• Gospel Echoing Missionary Society

Source:World Christian Encyclopedia, Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 369{{cite web |url=http://www.mennonitechurch.ca/news/releases/2009/03/Release05.htm |title=Namasté: Stories and voices from the Mennonite church in India - Mennonite Church Canada |website=www.mennonitechurch.ca |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613164219/http://www.mennonitechurch.ca/news/releases/2009/03/Release05.htm |archive-date=2011-06-13}}

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{{reflist}}

• {{Cite book |last=Horo |first=Prem Chand |editor-first=Jose |editor-last=Kalapura |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dD0wrgEACAAJ |title=Christian Missions in Bihar and Jharkhand Till 1947: A Study by P.C. Horo |date=2014 |publisher=Christian World Imprints |isbn=978-93-5148-039-6 |oclc=900598587 |language=en}}

{{Christianity in India by region}}

Category:Christianity in India by state or union territory