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Christianity is a minority religion in Sri Lanka. Roman Catholicism was introduced by the Portuguese in 1505. There
were conversions by Dutch persons in the 17th century, which
resulted in a percentage of church members in excess of 10%. This
figure decreased. The Christian population of Sri Lanka includes
members of both the Sinhalese and Tamil ethnic groups.
Roman
Catholic Church
Distribution of Christians in Sri Lanka. This includes all
Christian denominations and are from 2001 census except for the
districts where the number is in cursive; these are from 1981
census.
[1]
About 7% of the population (1,400,000 persons) are Roman
Catholic. Catholicism was first introduced by the Portuguese, who
left a notable mark in the continued use of Portuguese surnames
even today by many Catholics. Dutch missionaries continued to
maintain the religion after the Portuguese were expelled, and today
most Sri Lankan Christians are Catholic. There is a Roman Catholic
archbishop and 10 other Roman Catholic bishops. The other dioceses
are:
- Diocese of Anuradhapura
- Diocese of Badulla
- Diocese of Chilaw
- Diocese of Galle
- Diocese of Jaffna
- Diocese of Kandy
- Diocese of Kurunegala
- Diocese of Mannar
- Diocese of Ratnapura
- Diocese of Trincomalee-Batticaloa
Protestants
About 160,000 persons in Sri Lanka (0.8%) are Protestants. There
are about 2000 people (1998) affiliated with congregations
belonging to the Baptist World Alliance. The Lanka
Lutheran Church has about 1,200 members.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claims 1,200
members in Sri Lanka.[2]
There has been a significant growth of evangelical Christianity since 1980. The
main Protestant churches in Sri Lanka are Anglican, Methodist, Baptist and Salvation Army. The
Church of
Ceylon is an extra-provincial Anglican church, while the
Church of South India (a united church of Anglicans, Presbyterians,
and other Protesants) is a full member of the Anglican
Communion and has a diocese in Jaffna. The Anglican Church has
a strong effect on people in some areas. Methodist missionaries
established 187 school of which only 2 remains (Wesley College and
Methodist College) because all the other schools were taken over by
the government. Methodism has over 40,000 followers in Sri Lanka
with 45 circuits, 200 churches and 120 pastors. Moratuwa Area and
Kutunayake Negombo Areas are the regions where many Methodists
live. In 2005 and 2006 the Methodist Church of Sri Lanka had a very
difficult time during a period of anti-Christian violence.
St. Andrew's Church in Colombo is a congregation of the Church of
Scotland. For administrative purposes it is part of the Church
of Scotland's Presbytery of Europe.
See also
References
- ^ Department of Census and Statistics
- ^
LDS Newsroom (Statistical Information)Sri Lanka - LDS
Newsroom
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