Followers of Christianity are a significant minority in Odisha state of India. According to the 2011 Census, Christians make up about 2.77% of the population (about 1,160,000 people). Kurukh, Sora, Kharia and Panos are notable ethnic groups with a significant Christian population.
Denominations
Church of God (Anderson), Council of Baptist Churches in Northern India, Evangelical Missionary Society in Mayurbhanj and Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church are among the Protestant denominations of Odisha. Christ Church the full Gospel Church, Gospel Outreach Ministries, India Evangelistic Association, Orissa Baptist Evangelistic Crusade and The Pentecostal Mission are among the non-Catholic denominations of Odisha as well. The Church of North India is present in Odisha as well with the dioceses of Cuttack, Phulbani, and Sambalpur. The diocese of Chota Nagpur also serves a small part of Odisha. and Christian Revival Church is also serving.
Bible translations into Odia
The first version in the Odia language of India was translated by William Carey in 1808 and was distributed among pilgrims at Puri to introduce them to Christianity. Then came the standard version by Amos Sutton in the 1840s.
Roman Catholic Church
The archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar is Archbishop John Barwa. Its suffragan dioceses are:
- Balasore
- Berhampur
- Rourkela
- Sambalpur
- Rayagada
Statistics
| Year | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 2001[8] |
897,861
|
2.44
|
| 2011[1] |
1,161,708
|
2.77
|
2011 census
| Religion | Persons | % persons | Males | % males | Females | % females |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hindus | 39,300,341 | 93.62 | 19,877,014 | 93.70 | 19,423,327 | 93.55 |
| Christians | 1,161,708 | 2.76 | 570,979 | 2.69 | 590,729 | 2.84 |
| Muslims | 911,670 | 2.17 | 465,992 | 2.19 | 445,678 | 2.14 |
| Sikhs | 21,991 | 0.05 | 11,561 | 0.05 | 10,430 | 0.05 |
| Buddhists | 13,852 | 0.03 | 7,216 | 0.03 | 6,636 | 0.03 |
| Jains | 9,420 | 0.02 | 4,885 | 0.02 | 4,535 | 0.02 |
| Others | 478,317 | 1.13 | 235,607 | 1.11 | 242,710 | 1.16 |
| Religion not stated | 76,919 | 0.18 | 38,882 | 0.18 | 38,037 | 0.18 |
| Totals | 41,974,218 | 21,212,136 | 20,762,082 |
Demographics
The Christians are mostly from the adivasi or tribal communities of the state with 8,16,981 Christians among STs and the major tribes are as below with number of Christians and percentage of Christians in each tribe.
| Tribe | Christians | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Munda | 1,74,119 | 31.1% |
| Khond | 1,59,783 | 9.8% |
| Oraon | 1,49,866 | 41.8% |
| Soura | 1,36,369 | 25.5% |
| Kharia | 87,069 | 39.1% |
| Sabar | 37,933 | 7.3% |
| Kisan | 25,675 | 7.7% |
Places with the largest proportions
The figures indicate % of Christians within the districts:
- Gajapati
- Serango– 84%
- Adava– 75%
- R.Udayagiri– 50%
- Kandhamal
- Brahmanigaon– 72%
- Daringbadi– 64%
- Kotagarh– 58%
- Sundargarh
- Raiboga– 62%
- Rayagada
- Puttasing– 80%
- Chandrapur– 51%