INDIAN CHRISTIANITY ORIGIN, CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS
INDIAN CHRISTIANITY ORIGIN, CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS

Summary/Abstract: The First Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, in his “Circular” published on 17 October 1952, wrote: “Remember that Christianity is a religion of large numbers of people in India and that it came to the south of India nearly 2000 years ago. It is as much a part of the Indian scene as any other religion.”2 Indeed, Christianity in India is as old as world Christianity. Kerala is the cradle of Christianity in India, which traces its origin to the Apostle St. Thomas. As per the Census of 2011, Christianity is the third most followed religion in India (after Hinduism and Islam), with approximately 28 million followers. Christians, including Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants, are found all across India, with major populations in parts of South India, Kerala, the Konkan Coast, and Northeast India. Indian Christians have the highest ratio of women and men among the various religious communities in India.

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