EduardoVasey1 at 16:15, 21 March 2026

2026-03-21T16:15:58Z

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{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}{{Use Indian English|date=August 2018}}

The majority religion in [[Nagaland]] state of India is [[Christianity]]. Along with [[Meghalaya]] and [[Mizoram]], Nagaland is one of the three Christian-majority states in the country. According to the 2011 census, the state's population was 1,978,502, out of which 87.93% are Christians.
{{bar box
|title=Religion in Nagaland (2011)<ref name="religion2"/>
|titlebar=#Fcd116
|left1=Religion
|right1=Percent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Christians]]|dodgerblue|87.9}}
{{bar percent|[[Hindus]]|darkorange|8.7}}
{{bar percent|[[Muslims]]|green|2.5}}
{{bar percent|[[Buddhism|Buddhists]]|gold|0.3}}
{{bar percent|Others*|grey|0.6}}
|caption=Distribution of religions *Includes [[Jainism|Jains]], [[Sikh]]s, [[Animist]]s.
}}

== History ==

Christianity was introduced in the erstwhile [[Naga Hills]] to expand colonialism as well driven by missionary fervour which failed to garner numbers in the [[Brahmaputra Valley]]. Prior to Christianity, the various Naga religions had dynamic and autonomous fluid beliefs. The Nagas gradually substituted older religious structures and beliefs with Christianity.<ref name=":0" /> As the new religion started making inroads in the Naga Hills, British administrators-turned-anthropologists started criticising the missionaries for destroying distinctive Indigenous cultures. In the early 20th century, the former began to place restrictions on missionaries activities by framing rules, imposing penalties, and increasing house tax on missionaries and new converts.<ref name=":1" />

=== British colonial era ===
[[File:Christian Mission Stations of the Indian Empire (cropped to Bengal region).jpg|thumb|[[Christian mission|Christian Mission Stations]] of the [[British Raj|Indian Empire]], 1893.]]
[[File:Brit IndianEmpireReligions3.jpg|thumb|[[Census in British India|1901 Census]] map showing [[Religion in India|prevailing religion]] of [[British India]] — [[Garo Hills|Garo]], [[Khasi Hills|Khasi]], [[Naga Hills|Naga]] and [[Lushai hills]] as Animists region in the Northeast.|left]]
The earliest Christian missionaries in the erstwhile [[Naga Hills]] (part of [[colonial Assam]] province) belonged to the [[American Baptist Mission]]. They received active support of British colonial officers. In the 1830s, Francis Jenkins, then [[Commissioner of Assam]], first invited missionaries to colonial Assam. In the 1870s, other colonial military officers such as John Butler and James Johnstone also extended the invitation to missionaries for the Naga Hills. The primary purpose of these military invitations, with assurance of state security, was to '[[Pacification (military action)|pacify]]' these Indigenous communities and subjugate them to colonial rule.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Thejalhoukho |date=2024-05-17 |title=Contested customs in the Naga hills: Baptist reformers, colonial ethnography and the construction of a modern Naga identity |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14631369.2024.2355643 |journal=Asian Ethnicity |volume=26 |language=en |pages=27–44 |doi=10.1080/14631369.2024.2355643 |issn=1463-1369|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

While the [[American Baptist Mission|American Baptist Foreign Mission Society]] were one of the first Christian missionaries to enter the northeast frontier of [[Colonial India]], their initial projects were frustrating. Starting the proselytising mission from [[Colonial Assam|Assam]], the society's annual report in 1858 noted their 'great failure' to convert a sizeable population to Christianity after almost 23 years. Without explaining the reasons for the poor missionary performance, the report urged to 'cast their gaze elsewhere.'<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Eaton |first=Richard M. |date=1984 |title=Conversion to Christianity among the Nagas, 1876-1971 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/001946468402100101 |journal=The Indian Economic & Social History Review |language=en |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=1–44 |doi=10.1177/001946468402100101 |issn=0019-4646|url-access=subscription }}</ref> On the other hand, British efforts to subjugate the Nagas faced persistent and stiff resistance. Amongst these were the [[Battle of Kikrüma]], [[Battle of Khonoma]], and other skirmishes which resulted in death of several British officers.
[[File:Edwin W. Clark1.jpg|thumb|Edwin W. Clark and Mary Clark]]
In 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 [[Edwin W. Clark|E. W. Clark]], Evangelist Godhula and the then-animist [[Ao Naga]]s. Kosasanger Council of Molungkimong Village (Dekahaimong) dispatched 60 warriors to escort Dr. E. W. Clark. 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.

Clark took residence in the Naga Hills in March 1876. In the following years, the American Baptist missionaries began their work with among other tribes with the help of the colonial state.{{Sfn |Thomas |2016 |p= 21}} In 1880 Rev. Charles Daniel King started a mission field in Kohima after the British defeated the [[Angami Naga]] rebellions and established their headquarters in [[Kohima]].{{Sfn |Thomas |2016 |p= 22}} Similarly, after the British occupied [[Wokha]] in 1878, and placed a sub-divisional officer and military force there, missionary activities began in the [[Lotha Naga]] areas. In 1885, with the support of Clark and deputy commissioner of the [[Naga Hills District, British India|Naga Hills]], Rev. William Ellsworth Witter started the mission station in Wokha. {{Sfn |Thomas |2016 |p= 23}}

=== Postcolonial era ===
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.<ref name=AA>Allan Anderson, ed., "Asian and Pentecostal: The Charismatic Face of Christianity in Asia", p237-238.</ref> It had its origin in Gariphema Village of Kohima District where, in 1962, an event known as "The Great Awakening" started.{{citation needed|date=September 2014}}

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.<ref name=AA /> The result was that Nagaland became an overwhelmingly Christian state, known as "the only predominantly [[Baptist]] state in the [[world]]."<ref>Olson, C. Gordon. ''What in the World Is God Doing''. Global Gospel Publishers: Cedar Knolls, NJ. 2003.</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.gc.cuny.edu/Faculty/GC-Faculty-Activities/ARIS--American-Religious-Identification-Survey/Key-findings American Religious Identification Survey] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414233611/http://www.gc.cuny.edu/Faculty/GC-Faculty-Activities/ARIS--American-Religious-Identification-Survey/Key-findings |date=14 April 2012 }} www.gc.cuny.edu.</ref><ref>[http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/state/28_2000.asp Mississippi Denominational Groups, 2000] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111229052106/http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/state/28_2000.asp |date=29 December 2011 }} Thearda.com. Retrieved 2010-07-30.</ref> [[Catholics]], [[Christian revival|Revivalists]], and [[Pentecostalism|Pentecostals]] are the other [[Christian denomination]] numbers. Catholics are found in significant numbers in parts of [[Wokha district|Wokha District]] and [[Kohima district|Kohima District]] as well as in the urban areas of Kohima, Chümoukedima and Dimapur.

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.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sakha |first=Thüpukhoto |date=17 November 2015 |title=History from Naga Nationalism from the religious perspective |url=https://easternmirrornagaland.com/history-of-naga-nationalism-from-the-religious-perspective/ |access-date=20 September 2024 |website=Eastern Mirror}}</ref> Religious relationships with India have also a specific discipline in the [[Part XXI of the Constitution of India|Article 371(A) of the Indian 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".<ref>{{cite web |date=September 11, 2019 |title=How do Naga peace and Article 371A belong together? |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/blogs/the-needles-eye/how-do-naga-peace-and-article-371a-belong-together/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029115458/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/blogs/the-needles-eye/how-do-naga-peace-and-article-371a-belong-together/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 October 2019 |website=Economic Times}}</ref>

==Statistics==
{{Historical populations
|title = Historical Christian Population in Nagaland
|type =
|footnote = * Pre-independence figure only for erstwhile Naga Hills district areas. Tuensang region incorporated into Nagaland in 1957 for which data unavailable. # Estimated
|align = right
|width =
|state =
|shading =
|pop_name =
|percentages =
|source = [[Census of India]] – data extracted by Centre for Policy Studies, India<ref name="cpsindia.org" />
|1901 | 601
|1911 | 3,308
|1921 | 8,734
|1931 | 22,908
|1941# | 34,000 
|1951 | 98,068
|1961 | 195,588
|1971 | 344,798
|1981 | 621,590
|1991 | 1,057,940
|2001<ref name="religion1">{{cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_data_finder/C_Series/Population_by_religious_communities.htm|title=Total population by religious communities|publisher=Censusindia.gov.in|access-date=20 November 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080119031333/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_data_finder/C_Series/Population_by_religious_communities.htm|archive-date=19 January 2008|df=dmy-all}}</ref> | 1,790,349
|2011<ref name="religion2">{{cite web|publisher=Census Department, Government of India|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/c-01.html|title=Indian Census 2011|access-date=25 August 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913045700/http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01.html|archive-date=13 September 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> | 1,739,651
}}

The 2011 census recorded the state's [[Christians|Christian]] [[population]] at 1,739,651, making it, with [[Meghalaya]], [[Arunachal Pradesh]], and [[Mizoram]] as the four Christian-majority states in [[India]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wijunamai |first=Roderick |date=9 October 2020 |title=The early story of Christianity in Northeast India |url=https://www.himalmag.com/comment/the-early-story-of-christianity-in-northeast-india-2020 |journal=Himal Southasian}}</ref> 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]].

{{Pie chart
|value1=96.6
|label1=[[Scheduled Tribes]]
|value2=3.4
|label2=Non-ST population
|caption=Adherents of Christianity by social groups<ref name="TribalREL"/>}}
The state comprises 96.6% of Scheduled Tribes population, who are the adherent of Christianity.<ref name="TribalREL"/>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Christianity among Scheduled Tribes<ref name="TribalREL">{{cite web|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/11901/download/15014/ST-13-00-014-DDW-2011.XLS |title=ST-14: Scheduled tribe population by religious community (State/UT level), Nagaland - 2011 |website=censusindia.gov.in}}</ref>
! Scheduled Tribes !! Adherents of Christianity !! Percentage of Tribes practices Christianity !! Percentage of Christian among Tribal Christians
|-
| [[Garo people|Garo]]|| 1,834 || 78.18 || 0.11
|-
| [[Kachari people|Kachari]]|| 3,938 || 30.21 || 0.23
|-
| [[Kuki people|Kuki]]|| 18,514 || 98.65 || 1.1
|-
| [[Mikir]]|| 132 || 60.55 || 0.01
|-
| [[Naga people|Naga]] — || 1,647,480 || 98.79 || 98.04
|- style="font-style:italic;"
| — [[Angami Naga|Angami]]|| 139,781 || 98.62 || 8.32
|- style="font-style:italic;"
| — [[Ao Naga|Ao]]|| 224,525 || 99.07 || 13.36
|- style="font-style:italic;"
| — [[Chakhesang Naga|Chakhesang]]|| 153,740 || 99.27 || 9.15
|- style="font-style:italic;"
| — [[Chang Naga|Chang]]|| 63,603 || 99.03 || 3.78
|- style="font-style:italic;"
| — [[Chirr Naga|Chirr]]|| 138 || 100 || 0.01
|- style="font-style:italic;"
| — [[Khiamniungan people|Khiemnungan]]|| 61,246 || 99.35 || 3.64
|- style="font-style:italic;"
| — [[Konyak Naga|Konyak]]|| 232,619 || 97.92 || 13.84
|- style="font-style:italic;"
| — [[Lotha Naga|Lotha]]|| 171,771 || 99.23 || 10.22
|- style="font-style:italic;"
| — Makware || 9 || 90 || 0
|- style="font-style:italic;"
| — [[Phom Naga|Phom]]|| 52,255 || 99.19 || 3.11
|- style="font-style:italic;"
| — [[Rengma Naga|Rengma]]|| 62,285 || 98.94 || 3.71
|- style="font-style:italic;"
| — [[Sangtam Naga|Sangtam]]|| 74,439 || 99.26 || 4.43
|- style="font-style:italic;"
| — [[Sema Naga|Sema]]|| 234,762 || 99.34 || 13.97
|- style="font-style:italic;"
| — [[Tikhir Naga|Tikhir]]|| 7,468 || 99.08 || 0.44
|- style="font-style:italic;"
| — [[Yimchunger Naga|Yimchaungre]]|| 66,514 || 99.32 || 3.96
|- style="font-style:italic;"
| — [[Zeliangrong|Zeliang]]|| 71,305 || 95.23 || 4.24
|- style="font-style:italic;"
| — [[Pochury Naga|Pochury]]|| 21,704 || 98.89 || 1.29
|- style="font-style:italic;"
| — Viswerna || 3,536 || 96.51 || 0.21
|- style="font-style:italic;"
| — Any other Naga || 5,780 || 98.92 || 0.34
|-
| Generic Tribes etc. || 8,526 || 95.85 || 0.51
|-
! All Schedule Tribes || 1,680,424 || 98.21 || 100
|}

===Trends===
{{multiple image
| align = center
| total_width =640
| direction = horizontal
| image1 = Growth of Religions in Nagaland (1901–2011).svg
| caption1 = Decadal growth of religious groups.
| image2 = Religious Composition of Nagaland (1901–2011).svg
| caption2 = Decadal changes in the religious composition.
| header = Religious trends of Nagaland}}

'''Percentage of Christians in Nagaland by decades'''<ref name="cpsindia.org">http://www.cpsindia.org {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518174007/http://www.cpsindia.org/ |date=18 May 2021 }} › BlogsPDF
Web results
The Christianisation of the Northeast – Centre for Policy Studies</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Percent
! Increase
|-
| 1901
| 0.59%
|'''-'''
|-
| 1911
| 2.22%
| +1.63%
|-
| 1921
| 5.5%
| +3.28%
|-
| 1931
| 12.81%
| +7.31%
|-
| 1941
| 0%
| style="color: red" | -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%
| style="color: red" | -2.04%
|}

== See also ==
* [[Religion in Nagaland]]
* [[Nagaland Baptist Church Council]]
* [[Christianity in India]]
* [[List of Christian denominations in North East India]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Cite book |title=Evangelising the Nation: Religion and the formation of Naga political identity |first=John |last=Thomas |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |isbn=978-1138639928}}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
* {{Wikiquote inline}}

{{Christianity in India by region}}
{{Churches in India}}
{{Nagaland}}

[[Category:Christianity in Nagaland| ]]

Christianity in Nagaland - Revision history

EduardoVasey1 at 16:15, 21 March 2026