Christianity in Nagaland

See also: Nagaland Baptist Church Council

Religion in Nagaland (2011)[1]

Religion |  | Percent
Christians |

| 87.9%
Hindus |

| 8.7%
Muslims |

| 2.5%
Buddhists |

| 0.3%
Others* |

| 0.6%
Distribution of religions

* Includes Jains, Sikhs, Animists.

The largest religion in Nagaland is Christianity. The state's population is 1,978,502, as of 2011, out of which 87.93% are Christians. The 2011 census recorded the state's Christian population at 1,745,181, making it, with Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram as the four Christian-majority states in India.[2] The state has a very high church attendance rate in both urban and rural areas. The majority of churches are found in Kohima, Chümoukedima, Dimapur and Mokokchung.

It was in the early part of October 1871, Supongmeren from Molungkimong village was baptised at Sibsagar and enrolled as an American Baptist Church member. He became the bridge between the American Baptist Missionary E. W. Clark, Evangelist Godhula and the then-animist Ao Nagas. Kosasanger Council of Molungkimong Village (Dekahaimong) dispatched 60 warriors to escort Dr. E. W. Clark to escort him. It took almost three days from Sibsagar to reach Molungkimong. Clark arrived on Wednesday, 18 December and baptized 15 new converts on Sunday, 22 December 1872 at a Village drinking well called Chungli Tzübu which was permitted by the Village Council. Another miracle for Clark after which they had a worship service and celebrated the first Lord's supper. Thus, on this day, the first Naga Church was founded with 28 Baptized members. They were Dr. Clark, Godhula and his wife, Supongmeren, 9 converts baptized on 10 November at Sibsagar, and 15 converts baptized at Molungkimong on 22 December 1872.

Nagaland was one of several regions of Northeast India that experienced Christian revival movements in the 1950s and 1960s. The "Nagaland Christian Revival Church", formed in 1962, grew out of the initial phase of this movement.[3] It had its origin in Gariphema Village of Kohima District where, in 1962, an event known as "The Great Awakening" started [citation needed].

The revival emphasised believers having a "personal encounter with Christ", the witnessing of "signs and wonders" (such as miraculous healings), and having a missionary outreach to non-believing or nominally-Christian Nagas.[3] The result was that Nagaland became an overwhelmingly Christian state, known as "the only predominantly Baptist state in the world."[4] Among Christians, Baptists are the predominant group, constituting more than 75% of the state's population, thus making it more Baptist (on a percentage basis) than Mississippi in the southern United States, where 55% of the population is Baptist.[5][6] Catholics, Revivalists, and Pentecostals are the other Christian denomination numbers. Catholics are found in significant numbers in parts of Wokha District and Kohima District as well as in the urban areas of Kohima, Chümoukedima and Dimapur.

Hinduism and Islam practiced by the non-Naga community are minority religions in the state, at 7.7% and 1.8% of the population respectively.

The Naga National Council had a popular plebiscite in 1951, culminated to the 1956 Constitution whose preamble affirmed the sovereignty of God the Almighty in all the universe and the entrustment of the nation to Him who never ended to sustain the descendants of the forefathers.[7] religious relationships with India have also a specific discipline in the article A371 of the Constitution that come into force in 1963 and reserves to the Legislative Assembly of Nagaland the right to approve by resolution any Act of the Indian Parliament in respect of "religious or social practices of the Nagas".[8]

An ancient indigenous religion known as the Heraka is followed by a few people (4,168) belonging to the Zeliangrong tribe living in Nagaland. Rani Gaidinliu was an Indian freedom fighter who struggled for the revival of Heraka, the traditional animist religion of the Naga people.

## Statistics[edit]

Christians in Nagaland  Year | Number | Percentage

|
|

2001[9] |

1,790,349

89.96

2011[1] |

1,739,651

87.93

Historical Christian Population in Nagaland[10]Year| Pop.| ±%

|
|

1901 | 601| —
1911 | 3,308| +450.4%
1921 | 8,734| +164.0%
1931 | 22,908| +162.3%
1941 | 9| −100.0%
1951 | 98,068| +1089544.4%
1961 | 195,588| +99.4%
1971 | 344,798| +76.3%
1981 | 621,590| +80.3%
1991 | 1,057,940| +70.2%
2001 | 1,790,349| +69.2%
2011 | 1,739,651| −2.8%
Source: census of India

### Trends[edit]

Percentage of Christians in Nagaland by decades[10]

Year | Percent | Increase

|
|

1901 | 0.59% | -
1911 | 2.22% |

+1.63%

1921 | 5.5% |

+3.28%

1931 | 12.81% |

+7.31%

1941 | 0% |

-12.81%

1951 | 46.05% |

+46.05%

1961 | 52.98% | +6.93%
1971 | 66.76% | +13.78%
1981 | 80.21% | +13.45%
1991 | 87.47% | +7.26%
2001 | 89.97% | +2.5%
2011 | 87.93% | -2.04%

### Tribes[edit]

Percentage of Christians in the Scheduled Tribes[11]

Tribe | Christians | Percent

|
|

Konyak | 2,32,619 | 97.92%
Sümi | 2,34,762 | 99.34%
Ao | 2,24,525 | 99.07%
Lotha | 1,71,771 | 99.23%
Chakhesang | 1,53,740 | 99.27%
Angami | 1,39,781 | 98.62%
Sangtam | 74,439 | 99.26%
Zeliang | 71,305 | 95.23%
Yimkhiung | 66,514 | 99.32%
Chang | 63,603 | 99.03%
Rengma | 62,285 | 98.94%
Khiamniungan | 61,246 | 99.35%
Phom | 52,255 | 99.19%
Pochury | 21,704 | 98.89%
Kuki | 18,514 | 98.65%
Tikhir | 7,468 | 99.08%
Kachari | 3,938 | 30.21%
Viswerna | 3,536 | 96.51%

## See also[edit]

* Christianity in India
* List of Christian denominations in North East India

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Indian Census 2011". Census Department, Government of India. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
2. ^ "The early story of Christianity in Northeast India". 9 October 2020.
3. ^ a b Allan Anderson, ed., "Asian and Pentecostal: The Charismatic Face of Christianity in Asia", p237-238.
4. ^ Olson, C. Gordon. What in the World Is God Doing. Global Gospel Publishers: Cedar Knolls, NJ. 2003.
5. ^ American Religious Identification Survey Archived 14 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine www.gc.cuny.edu.
6. ^ Mississippi Denominational Groups, 2000 Archived 29 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine Thearda.com. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
7. ^ "History from Naga Nationalism from the religious perspective". 17 November 2015.
8. ^ "How do Naga peace and Article 371A belong together?". 11 September 2019.
9. ^ "Total population by religious communities". Censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on 19 January 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
10. ^ a b http://www.cpsindia.org Archived 18 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine › BlogsPDF Web results The Christianisation of the Northeast – Centre for Policy Studies
11. ^ blog.cpsindia.org/2016/10/religion-data-of-census-2011-xxxi.html

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Christianity in Nagaland.

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Christianity in India by state and union territory

States|

* Andhra Pradesh
* Arunachal Pradesh
* Assam
* Bihar
* Chhattisgarh
* Goa
* Gujarat
* Haryana
* Himachal Pradesh
* Jharkhand
* Karnataka
* Kerala
* Madhya Pradesh
* Maharashtra
* Manipur
* Meghalaya
* Mizoram
* Nagaland
* Odisha
* Punjab
* Rajasthan
* Sikkim
* Tamil Nadu
* Telangana
* Tripura
* Uttar Pradesh
* Uttarakhand
* West Bengal

Union territories|

* Andaman and Nicobar Islands
* Chandigarh
* Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
* Delhi
* Jammu and Kashmir
* Ladakh
* Lakshadweep
* Puducherry

* v
* t
* e

Christian denominations in India

Catholic|

* Catholic Church in India
* Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
* Syro-Malankara Catholic Church

Eastern Christianity|

| Oriental Orthodox|

* Jacobite Syrian Christian Church
* Malabar Independent Syrian Church
* Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
* Brahmavar Orthodox Church

|

Nestorian|

* Chaldean Syrian Church

Oriental Protestant|

* Believers Eastern Church
* Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church
* St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India

Western Christianity|

| Protestant|

| Lutheran|

* Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church
* Arcot Lutheran Church
* Bodo Evangelical Lutheran Church
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in Madhya Pradesh
* Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Himalayan States
* Gossner Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chotanagpur and Assam
* India Evangelical Lutheran Church
* Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church
* Northern Evangelical Lutheran Church
* South Andhra Lutheran Church
* Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church
* United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India

|

Reformed|

* Congregational Church in India
* Evangelical Church of Maraland
* Free Presbyterian Church, Kalimpong
* Presbyterian Church of India
* Presbyterian Free Church of Central India
* Reformed Presbyterian Church North East India
* Reformed Presbyterian Church of India
* South India Reformed Churches
* United Church of Northern India – Presbyterian Synod

Anglican/United|

* Church of North India
* Church of South India

Baptist|

* Baptist Church of Mizoram
* Baptist Union of North India
* Bengal Orissa Bihar Baptist Convention
* Boro Baptist Church Association
* Boro Baptist Convention
* Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars
* Council of Baptist Churches in Northeast India
* (Arunachal Baptist Church Council
* Assam Baptist Convention
* Garo Baptist Convention
* Karbi-Anglong Baptist Convention
* Manipur Baptist Convention
* Nagaland Baptist Church Council)
* Evangelical Baptist Convention
* Mising Baptist Kebang
* North Bank Baptist Christian Association
* Orissa Baptist Evangelistic Crusade
* Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches
* Telugu Baptist Church Council
* Tripura Baptist Christian Union

Pentecostal|

* Assemblies of God in India
* Christian Congregation in India
* Christian Revival Church
* Manna Full Gospel Churches
* The Pentecostal Mission
* Indian Pentecostal Church of God
* Pentecostal Maranatha Gospel Church

Adventist|

* Southern Asia Division of Seventh-day Adventists

Restorationism|

* The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Interdenominational
organisations|

* All India Christian Council
* Church's Auxiliary for Social Action
* National Council of Churches in India

See also|

* Christianity in India
* Assam
* Jharkhand
* Karnataka
* Maharashtra
* Manipur
* Meghalaya
* Mizoram
* Nagaland
* Odisha
* Tamil Nadu
* List of Christian denominations in Northeast India
* Malankara Church
* Saint Thomas Christians

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