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Christianity in Pakistan

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Pakistani Christians
Interior of Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Karachi
Total population
3.3 million
1.37% of the Pakistani Population[1]
Regions with significant populations
Especially in Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory
Languages

Christianity is the third largest religion in Pakistan and the second largest Abrahamic religion (after Islam) there,[2][3] making up about 1.37% of the population according to the 2023 Census.[4][2] Of these, approximately half are Catholic and half Protestant (primarily Anglican and Presbyterian). A small number of Eastern Orthodox Christians, and Oriental Orthodox Christians also live in Pakistan.[5][6][7][8]

Around 75 percent of Pakistan's Christians are rural Punjabi Christians, while some speak Sindhi and Gujarati, with the remainder being the upper and middle class Goan Christians and Anglo-Indians.[9][10]

Punjabi Christians

[edit]

As Punjabi Christians are mainly Dalit Christians—descendants of lower-caste Hindus who converted during the colonial era in India. Their dire socio-economic conditions facilitate religious discrimination; for example, it is estimated that Christians fill about 80% of the manual sewer cleaning jobs in the whole of Pakistan.[11][12][13] Blasphemy allegations have led to several cases of mob violence against Christian households and churches.[14]

History

[edit]
St Patrick's Cathedral Karachi
Part of a series on
Christianity
in Pakistan
Background
People
Churches

Thomas the Apostle is credited with the arrival of Christianity to the Indian subcontinent, establishing the community of Saint Thomas Christians on the Malabar Coast; Saint Thomas Christian crosses (Mar Thoma Sleeva) have been found all over the Indian subcontinent, including one near the city of Taxila in what is now Pakistan.[15]

In 1745, the Bettiah Christians, the northern Indian subcontinent's oldest surviving Christian community, was established by the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin under the patronage of King Dhurup Singh; the Hindustan Prefecture was raised in 1769 at Patna and later shifted to Agra, which was elevated to the status of a Vicariate in 1820.[16] The Capuchins, through their Agra Diocese and Allahabad Diocese, expanded their ministry and established in the 1800s Catholic churches in colonial India's northern provinces including Rajasthan, UP, CP, Bihar and Punjab, the latter of which now includes Pakistan.[16]

In 1877, on Saint Thomas' Day at Westminster Abbey, London, Rev. Thomas Valpy French was appointed the first Anglican Bishop of Lahore, a large diocese of the Church of India, Burma and Ceylon, which included all of the Punjab, then under British rule in colonial India, and remained so until 1887; during this period he also opened the Divinity College, Lahore in 1870.[17][18][19] Rev. Thomas Patrick Hughes served as a Church Missionary Society missionary at Peshawar (1864–84), and became an oriental scholar, and compiled a 'Dictionary of Islam' (1885).[20]

The Christians of colonial India were active in the Indian National Congress and wider Indian independence movement, being collectively represented in the All India Conference of Indian Christians, which advocated for swaraj and opposed the partition of India.[21][22][23] The meeting of the All India Conference of Indian Christians in Lahore in December 1922, which had a large attendance of Punjabis, resolved that the clergymen of the Church in India should be drawn from the ranks of Indians, rather than foreigners.[24] The AICIC also stated that Indian Christians would not tolerate any discrimination based on race or skin colour.[24] Following the death of K. T. Paul of Salem, the principal of Forman Christian College in Lahore S. K. Datta became the president of the All India Conference of Indian Christians, representing the Indian Christian community at the Second Round Table Conference, where he agreed with Mahatma Gandhi's views on minorities and Depressed Classes.[25] On 30 October 1945, the All India Conference of Indian Christians formed a joint committee with the Catholic Union of India that passed a resolution in which, "in the future constitution of India, the profession, practice and propagation of religion should be guaranteed and that a change of religion should not involve any civil or political disability."[21] This joint committee enabled the Christians in colonial India to stand united, and in front of the British Parliamentary Delegation "the committee members unanimously supported the move for independence and expressed complete confidence in the future of the community in India."[21] The office for this joint committee was opened in Delhi, in which the Vice-Chancellor of Andhra University M. Rahnasamy served as president and B.L. Rallia Ram of Lahore served as General Secretary.[21] Six members of the joint committee were elected to the Minorities Committee of the Constituent Assembly.[21] In its meeting on 16 April 1947 and 17 April 1947, the joint committee of the All India Conference of Indian Christians and Catholic Union of India prepared a 13-point memorandum that was sent to the Constituent Assembly of India, which asked for religious freedom for both organisations and individuals.[21]

When Pakistan was created on 14 August 1947, the organization and activities of the Christian community changed drastically; the Catholic Union of India granted independence to its branches in Sind and Baluchistan in its Second Annual General Meeting in Bangalore in October 1947.[26] Some Christians in Punjab and Sindh had been quite active after 1945 in their support for Muhammad Ali Jinnah's Muslim League. Even before the final phase of the movement, leading Indian Christians like Pothan Joseph had rendered valuable services as journalists and propagandists of the Muslim League.[citation needed] Jinnah had repeatedly promised all citizens of Pakistan complete equality of citizenship, but this promise was not kept by his successors. Pakistan became an Islamic Republic in 1956, making Islam the source of legislation and cornerstone of the national identity, while guaranteeing freedom of religion and equal citizenship to all citizens. In the mass population exchanges that occurred between Pakistan and India upon independence due to conflict between Muslims and followers of Indian religions, most Hindus and nearly all Sikhs fled the country. Pakistani Punjab is now over 2% Christian, with very few Hindus and Sikhs left. Christians have made some contributions to the Pakistani national life. Pakistan's first non-Muslim Chief Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court was Justice A. R. Cornelius. Pakistani Christians also distinguished themselves as great fighter pilots in the Pakistan Air Force. Notable amongst them are Cecil Chaudhry, Peter O'Reilly and Mervyn L Middlecoat. Christians have also contributed as educationists, doctors, lawyers and businessmen. One of Pakistan's cricketers, Yousuf Youhana, was born Christian, but later converted to Islam, taking the Islamic name Mohammad Yousuf. In Britain, the bishop emeritus of Rochester Michael Nazir-Ali is a Pakistani Christian.

In 2016, it was reported that Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) had banned all of the Christian television stations. PEMRA doesn't allow landing rights for religious content, allowing airing of Christian messages only on Easter and Christmas.[27]

Since 1996, the small community of Eastern Orthodox Christians in Pakistan was placed under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the newly formed Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia that was set up by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.[28] In 2008, the Diocese was divided, and Pakistan came under the jurisdiction of newly formed Eastern Orthodox Metropolitanate of Singapore and South Asia.[29]

Deterioration of relations

[edit]
Holy Trinity Church Murree
Sacred Heart Cathedral, Lahore

According to journalist Pamela Constable, in the 1980s and 1990s tensions between Christians and Muslims in Pakistan began to "fester". Constable credits the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the rise of military dictator General Mohammed Zia ul-Haq, and the influence of stricter religious teachings coming from the Gulf states as catalysts for the change. After the 9/11 attacks on the US, things grew worse with "many Pakistani Muslims" seeing the American response to the attacks "as a foreign plot to defame their faith."[30][31]

Pakistan's Christian community developed a "growing sense of concern", particularly over the strict blasphemy laws – which restricts any insults against Muhammad and makes the crime punishable by death. In the 1990s, some Christians were arrested on charges of blasphemy, and for protesting that appeared to insult Islam. John Joseph, a bishop in Faisalabad, committed suicide to protest the execution of a Christian man on blasphemy charges.[32][33]

In 2009, a series of attacks killed eight Christians in Gojra,[34] four women, three men and a child.[35] In 2013, a suicide bombing at a church in Peshawar left more than 100 people dead, and a series of attacks at churches in Lahore in 2015 left 14 dead.[36] On 27 March 2016, over seventy people were killed when a suicide bomber targeting Christians celebrating Easter (though the majority of victims were Muslim in this instance) attacked a playground in Lahore.[37]

On 16 August 2023, rumours began to spread in the Punjabi city of Jaranwala, Faisalabad, that a Christian had desecrated pages of the Quran. The resulting riot led to the destruction of 26 churches in the Christian quarter of the city, and thousands of Christians fled, with some spending the next few nights in open fields, afraid of returning to their homes.[38] Local Christians complained of inaction by security forces in Jaranwala, but eventually reinforcements were called in[38] and around 100 Muslims were arrested for participating in the violence.[39] No Christians were killed in the riots, as most managed to flee due to warnings from Muslim neighbours. On the Sunday after the riots, Mass was celebrated in the street outside the burned-out St. Paul's Catholic Church.[40] The Pakistani Catholic Bishops' Conference denounced the act and asked that the Government bring the culprits to justice, regretting that "the Christian community has been terrorized and frightened by a small group of miscreants to make them believe that Christians are in fact second-class citizens of Pakistan and will remain so".[41] Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need helped address the emergency needs of those whose livelihoods was destroyed, providing a support package for 464 families, including replacement rickshaws and motorcycles for drivers who had lost their vehicles.[42]

Demographics

[edit]
Christian population in Pakistan
YearPop.±% p.a.
1981 1,310,426—    
1990 1,769,582+3.39%
1998 2,092,902+2.12%
2017 2,637,587+1.22%
20233,300,788+3.81%
Source: [43][44][2][1]

Christianity in Pakistan is growing fast, going from 1.27% in 2017 to 1.37% in 2023, making it one of the religions in Pakistan growing faster than Islam, alongside Hinduism.[4] Today, most Pakistani Christians live in Northern Punjab.

Apart from Catholics, Christians of other denominations re-organized themselves, in India, into the Churches of North and South India respectively, and as the Church of Pakistan in 1970. Politically, groups like the Pakistan Christian Congress have arisen. The New Apostolic Church also has followers in Pakistan.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) reports over 4,000 members in 13 congregations throughout Pakistan. LDS members are most prevalent in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.[45]

According to the Pakistan's National Council for Justice and Peace (NCJP) report 2001 the average literacy rate among Christians is 34 percent compared to the national average of 46.56 percent.[46]

Persecution

[edit]
Church in Islamabad
Outside of the Sialkot Cathedral
Easter Celebrations at Cathedral Church of the Resurrection, Lahore
Main article: Persecution of Christians in Pakistan
See also: Blasphemy law in Pakistan, Forced conversion of minority girls in Pakistan, and Religious discrimination in Pakistan

After the partition of India and the formation of Pakistan in 1947, many Sikhs were forced to migrate to an independent India.[47] Many Christians worked under Sikh landlords and when they departed the western parts of the Punjab region, the Government of Pakistan appropriated Sikh property to Muslims arriving from East Punjab.[47] This caused over 300,000 Christians in Pakistan to become homeless.[47] Because of previous history of British Christians brutally colonizing, disrespecting, and destroying South Asian culture and nations, Christians faced judgement living in Pakistan, with local Muslims even stating that they had to live a life of servitude and perform sanitation work.[48][47] Some Christians were therefore murdered for refusing to pick up garbage.[47] In 1951, seventy-two Muslims were charged with the murder of eleven Christians after communal riots over agricultural land erupted.[47]

Many churches built during the colonial Indian period, prior to the partition, remain locked, with the Pakistani government refusing to hand them over to the Christian community.[49] Others have been victims of church arsons or demolitions.[49] In 1971, East Pakistan became independent as Bangladesh, and the majority of Pakistan's Hindus, who lived in Bangladesh, were severed from Pakistan. Pakistan became a culturally monolithic, increasingly Islamic state, with smaller religious minorities than ever.

With the governments of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Zia ul-Haq, more stringently Islamic laws transformed Pakistan. Conversion to other faiths than Islam is not prohibited by law. Extremely controversial were the blasphemy laws, which made it treacherous for non-Muslims to express themselves without being accused of being un-Islamic. Zia also introduced the Sharia as a basis for lawmaking, reinforced by Nawaz Sharif in 1991. Coerced conversions to Islam from Christianity are a major source of concern for Pakistani Christians, and the minority faces threats, harassment and intimidation tactics from extremists.[50] The Christian community in Pakistan encounters significant challenges, discrimination, and persecution solely based on their religious identity. The law enforcement and justice system, as well as the presence of "blasphemy" laws and bonded labor, are often exploited to target, trap, and imprison religious minorities, with a particular focus on Christians.[51][52]

[edit]
The Taxila Cross, discovered in 1935 at Sirkap near Taxila, is said to be one of the Saint Thomas Christian crosses (Mar Thoma Sleeva) that corresponds in shape to the one in Mylapore; it has been placed at Lahore Cathedral.[15]
St Andrew Church Stained glass, Lahore
Sacred Heart Cathedral, Lahore

Missionaries accompanied colonizing forces from Portugal, France, and Great Britain. Jesuit missionaries sent from their Portuguese-held Goa built a Catholic church in Lahore, the first in Punjab, around 1597, two years after being granted permission by emperor Akbar, who had called them to his court in Fatehpur Sikri for religious discussions. This church was later demolished, perhaps during Aurangzeb times. Later on, Christianity was mainly brought by the British rulers of India in the later 18th and 19th century. This is evidenced in cities established by the British, such as the port city of Karachi, where the majestic St. Patrick's Cathedral, one of Pakistan's largest church, stands, and the churches in the city of Rawalpindi, where the British established a major military cantonment.

Holy Trinity Cathedral, Karachi

The Europeans won[how?] small numbers of converts to Anglicanism, Methodism, the Lutheran Church and Catholicism from the native populations. Islam was very strong in the provinces of Punjab, Balochistan and the North West Frontier Province, but small native communities of converts to Christianity were formed. The largest numbers came from resident officers of the British Army and the government. European and wealthy native Christians established colleges, churches, hospitals and schools in cities like Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar. There is a large Catholic Goan community in Karachi that was established when Karachi's infrastructure was developed by the British before World War II, and the Irish (who were subjects of the British Empire and formed a large part of the British Army) were an important factor in the establishment of then the Catholic community of northwestern colonial India (now Pakistan).

Night view of St Mary's Cathedral & Bishop's House Multan

Notable Pakistani Christians

[edit]

Christians in Pakistani military services

[edit]

The Christians in Pakistan have long been active in various fields of public service. Many Christians have served in the Pakistan Armed Forces, civilian services and other organizations. Some have received high civilian and military awards.

Pakistan Air Force

[edit]

Pakistan Army

[edit]

Pakistan Navy

[edit]

Religious ministers

[edit]

Civil services and police

[edit]

Education

[edit]

Politicians

[edit]

Human rights defenders

[edit]

Entertainment

[edit]


Sports

[edit]
  • Jack Britto, Olympic field hockey player.
  • Ian Fyfe, cricketer, coach and a sports journalist from Karachi.[66]
  • Jacob Harris, first class cricketer and sports coach from Karachi.
  • Shazia Hidayat, track and field athlete. She was the only female athlete on the Pakistan team competing at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
  • John Permal, sprinter, once known as fastest man in Pakistan
  • Sidra Sadaf, woman cyclist who won a silver medal at the 11th South Asian Games in Dhaka, Bangladesh in January 2010.
  • Yousaf Youhana, first class test cricketer who used to openly use the sign of the cross before starting his innings. He was one of the most successful batsmen of the Pakistan cricket team. He later converted to Islam, changing his name to Mohammad Yousuf.

Writers

[edit]
  • Cyril Almeida, journalist and an assistant editor for the daily newspaper Dawn.[67]
  • Kanwal Feroze, scholar, poet, writer and journalist.
  • Nabeel Qureshi, former Ahmadi who converted to Christianity, wrote three books. Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity, Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward and No God BUT One: Allah or Jesus.
  • Late Begum Bilquis Sheikh was an aristocratic Pakistani lady who converted from Islam to Christianity and wrote her famous memoirs about this.

Other

[edit]

Candidates to sainthood

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See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "2023 Census Table 9: Religious, Sex, Rural, and Urban Populations" (PDF).
  2. ^ a b c Riazul Haq and Shahbaz Rana (27 May 2018). "Headcount finalised sans third-party audit". Retrieved 23 January 2021.
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  6. ^ "The Constitution of Pakistan, Notes for Part III, Chapter 3". Pakistani.org. Archived from the original on 2009-11-10. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
  7. ^ Ghani, Faras (14 Dec 2015). "Islamabad's Christian slums face demolition". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  8. ^ Telushkin, Shira (31 March 2018). "The Americanization of an Ancient Faith". The Atlantic. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  9. ^ Jacobsen, Douglas (21 March 2011). The World's Christians: Who they are, Where they are, and How they got there. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 112–. ISBN 978-1-4443-9729-1.
  10. ^ Coren, Michael (21 October 2014). Hatred. McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 978-0-7710-2385-9. At [Pakistan's] inception in 1947, Pakistani Christians could be divided in three categories. a) Punjabi rural working-class Anglicans, (b) Catholic urban middle-class Goans in Karachi, and c) White Anglo-Indians who lived in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Quetta and this included both Irish Catholic and English Protestants.
  11. ^ ur-Rehman, Zia; Abi-Habib, Maria (4 May 2020). "Sewer Cleaners Wanted in Pakistan: Only Christians Need Apply". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
    In Pakistan, manual sewer cleaners are known as "sweepers".
  12. ^ Phan, Peter C. (2011). Christianities in Asia. John Wiley & Sons. p. 25. ISBN 978-1-4443-9260-9. For example, 90 to 95% of Pakistani Christians are Punjabi of the chura (dalit) group converted from Hinduism rather than from Islam or local religious systems.
  13. ^ Sara, Singha; Ariel, Glucklich (23 April 2015). "Dalit Christians and Caste Consciousness in Pakistan". Retrieved 22 September 2020. This study explores caste discrimination in Pakistan against untouchable (Dalit) converts to Christianity. During the nineteenth century in India, many Dalits converted to Christianity to escape caste persecution. In the 1870s in Punjab, a mass movement to Protestant Christianity flourished among the Dalit Chuhra caste. The Chuhras were the largest menial caste in Punjab and engaged in degrading occupations including sweeping and sanitation work. By the 1930s, almost the entire Chuhra caste converted to Protestant Christianity. In 1947, during the partition of India, the majority of Chuhra converts in Punjab became part of the Protestant community in Pakistan. After Partition, many uneducated Chuhras were confined to menial jobs in the sanitation industry. Today, the stigma of Dalit ancestry is a distinct feature of social discrimination against Chuhra Christians in Pakistan.
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  25. ^ Black, Brian; Hyman, Gavin; Smith, Graham M. (2014). Confronting Secularism in Europe and India: Legitimacy and Disenchantment in Contemporary Times. A&C Black. pp. 88–91. ISBN 978-1-78093-607-9.
  26. ^ "Partition Affects Catholic Union Of India". Bangalore: Indian Daily Mail. 21 November 1947. A resolution that, in view of the partition of India into two separate Dominions and the result of the Catholic Associations of Sind and Baluchistan--the only associations, in Pakistan affiliated to the Catholic Union--to sever its connection with the Union, the jurisdiction and activities of the Union be confined to the Dominion of India and necessary amendments be made in the Constitution was passed at the Second Annual General Meeting of the Catholic Union of India held at St. Joseph's College Hall, Civil Area, last week. Mr Ruthnasamy, President of the Union was in the chair.
  27. ^ Anugrah Kumar (November 2016). "Pakistan Bans All 11 Christian TV Stations, Arrests Cable Operators in Crackdown". The Christian Post.
  28. ^ Official page of the Eastern Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia
  29. ^ Eastern Orthodox Metropolitanate of Singapore and South Asia
  30. ^ Taylor, Adam (2016-03-28). "An Easter Sunday suicide bombing shows plight of Pakistan's Christians". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  31. ^ Constable, Pamela (2015-03-20). "The dam of self-restraint bursts for Pakistan's Christians". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  32. ^ "Blasphemy Law in Pakistan".
  33. ^ Jones, Owen Bennett (2003). Pakistan: Eye of the Storm. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. p. 19. ISBN 0-300-10147-3.
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  36. ^ "Two blasts at Lahore churches claim 15 lives". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 2016-03-28.
  37. ^ Hussain, Annie Gowen, Shaiq; Cunningham, Erin (2016-03-28). "Death toll in Pakistan bombing climbs past 70". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-03-28.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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  39. ^ "Pakistan: More than 100 arrested after churches burned". BBC News. 2023-08-17. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  40. ^ ACN (2023-08-23). "Pakistan. Parishioners gather for Mass outside their torched church". ACN International. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  41. ^ ACN (2023-08-23). "Pakistan. Parishioners gather for Mass outside their torched church". ACN International. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
  42. ^ ACN (2023-09-26). "Pakistan: ACN to provide emergency relief for victims of Jaranwala riots". ACN International. Retrieved 2023-10-25.
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  64. ^ InpaperMagazine, From (October 16, 2011). "Educationist: With a heart of gold". DAWN.COM.
  65. ^ Bakhsh, Madeeha. "Burgeoning songster Nirmal Roy hits a home run with her exquisite Coke Studio debut". www.christiansinpakistan.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-26. Retrieved 2018-03-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  66. ^ Syed Osman Naeem - Development Technology Professionals. ":: The Old Patricians". theoldpatricians.org. Archived from the original on 2014-11-29.
  67. ^ D. P. Satish (11 October 2016). "Grounded Pakistani Journalist Cyril Almeida Has Goan Roots". News18. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  68. ^ "SHELL PAKISTAN LIMITED-Year Ended 30-06-2006". Paktribune.
  69. ^ Dharkan Fall 2006 Archived 2010-04-14 at the Wayback Machine
  70. ^ "Erica Robin crowned Miss Universe Pakistan 2023". Dunya News. September 15, 2023.
  71. ^ "In a first, Karachi's Erica Robin crowned Miss Universe Pakistan 2023". www.geo.tv.
  72. ^ "Akash Bashir, Who Died Protecting Catholic Worshippers in Pakistan, Named a Servant of God". NCR. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 2022-06-01.

Works cited

[edit]
  • Gabriel, Theodore (2021). Christian Citizens in an Islamic State: The Pakistan Experience. Taylor & Francis.

Further reading

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