Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
About 0.7% of Indians are Protestant. In China numbers vary from 10 to as many as 60 million, which is 5% of the population. Either way, more than India.
Given China was never a British colony (outside HK) although the Brits did have treaty ports there, and India was, I find it interesting Protestantism is less common in India vs China. Did not the British send just as many if not more missionaries to India? African colonies like Zambia and Uganda are predominantly Protestant today, as is say Papua New Guinea. Even Singapore is 8%.
I think some of it has to do with how entrenched Hinduism was and is in India. Even today, only 2.7% of India, about 30 million, are Christian, mostly Catholics with some Syrian Orthodox, and mostly in the larger cities, the south and northeast. There was probably greater resistance to missionaries. In contrast, the Chinese didn't seem as tightly bound to their traditional 'triple religion' plus like in Korea Christianity, particularly Protestantism, was linked to nationalism. Sun Yat Sen was a Methodist, and the Taiping rebellion was led by a crazed cult leader influenced by Christian teachings.
British missionaries are child's play if you can withstand hundreds of years of warfare and persecution by Muslims. Protestant missionaries in India generally didn't use underhanded or strong-arm tactics like their Catholic counterparts. Catholics almost wiped out "native" Indian Christianity.
British missionaries are child's play if you can withstand hundreds of years of warfare and persecution by Muslims. Protestant missionaries in India generally didn't use underhanded or strong-arm tactics like their Catholic counterparts. Catholics almost wiped out "native" Indian Christianity.
Oh yeah, Christianity has a very long history in India. Supposedly the story goes St. Thomas introduced it to south India in 200 AD, before Rome became Christian. This community still persists today.
Really? I always thought Christianity was strongest in the big cities, especially Nanjing.
They are very strong in certain rural areas. I read somewhere people in Shandong tried to build a church but it was torn down by the government because it was not approved.
HK also have significant number of Christians, i think its something to do with faith crisis since the country has been living for so long without religion.... same thing happened in Russia, religion quickly revives after the collaspe of Communism and is growing at a slow pace which is a total contrast to Western Europe where religion slowly declines. Christianity simply become a new hope and faith amongst the Chinese people and their number is still rapidly multiplying.
Oh and unlike the Spanish and Portuguesse, Britain didn't really spread and forced their religion into the colonized area, just look at Malaysia for an instance.
HK also have significant number of Christians, i think its something to do with faith crisis since the country has been living for so long without religion.... same thing happened in Russia, religion quickly revives after the collaspe of Communism and is growing at a slow pace which is a total contrast to Western Europe where religion slowly declines. Christianity simply become a new hope and faith amongst the Chinese people and their number is still rapidly multiplying.
Oh and unlike the Spanish and Portuguesse, Britain didn't really spread and forced their religion into the colonized area, just look at Malaysia for an instance.
HK seems less Christian than Singapore (8% vs 18%) they mostly seem irreligious but yes the presence has already been there. The situation is different than Russia since most Chinese were never Christian of course. I think Christianity is growing on the mainland though. But yes, Christianity is growing outside Europe and America, although I wonder if prosperity will see that sort of halted.
They are very strong in certain rural areas. I read somewhere people in Shandong tried to build a church but it was torn down by the government because it was not approved.
Interesting. I'd imagine there's probably no region that is dominated by Christians in China, maybe some of the tribal areas in Yunnan. The northeast of India is dominated by Christians, Nagaland being the most Baptist state in the world. Most Taiwanese aborigines are also Christian.
I met several Indian Christians in Bahrain. My understanding is they were from a rural region of India that has a significant Christian presence. Hinduism and Islam are embedded deeply into the Indians...of course Muslims don't accept anyone leaving Islam and I think Hinduism is so embedded in the fabric of Indian society that it's difficult to leave.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
