Christianity in Sri Lanka
6th century, known as the Anuradhapura cross plays a significant role in Christians in Sri Lanka. | |
Christians by region (1980–2000) | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,552,161 (2012) | |
| Founder | |
| Thomas the Apostle | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Province | |
| Western | 752,993 |
| North Western | 300,367 |
| Northern | 204,005 |
| Central | 90,519 |
| Eastern | 80,801 |
| Religions | |
| Languages | |
| Christianity by country |
|---|
| Christianity portal |
Christianity is a minority religion in Sri Lanka. It was introduced to the island in first century. Traditionally, after Thomas the Apostle's visit in Kerala in AD 52, Christianity is said to have been introduced to Sri Lanka because of its close geographical and commercial ties.
Records suggest that St. Thomas Christians and East Syriac Christians lived in Sri Lanka, and the Anuradhapura cross is one of the archaeological finds that suggest Christianity in Sri Lanka before the arrival of the Portuguese.
Nestorian Christianity is said to have thrived in Sri Lanka with the patronage of King Dhatusena during the 5th century. There are mentions of involvement of Persian Christians with the Sri Lankan royal family during the Sigiriya Period. Over seventy-five ships carrying Murundi soldiers from Mangalore are said to have arrived in the Sri Lankan town of Chilaw most of whom were Christians. King Dhatusena's daughter was married to his nephew Migara who is also said to have been a Nestorian Christian, and a commander of the Sinhalese army. Maga Brahmana, a Christian priest of Persian origin is said to have provided advice to King Dathusena on establishing his palace on the Sigiriya Rock. According to Leonard Pinto, this is not widely accepted as it is contrary to recorded Mahāvaṃsa textual sources on royal family from this period.
In 1557, King Dharmapala converted to Christianity, and king's conversion did not make any significant impact in Christianity. The Anuradhapura Cross discovered in 1912 is also considered to be an indication of a strong Nestorian Christian presence in Sri Lanka between the 3rd and 10th century in the then capital of Anuradhapura of Sri Lanka. There were also conversions by the Dutch in the 17th century.
The Christian population of Sri Lanka includes members of Burghers, Sinhalese and Tamil ethnic groups.
| Year | Population | % |
|---|---|---|
| 1881 census | 268,000 | |
| 1891 census | 302,100 | |
| 1901 census | 349,200 | |
| 1911 census | 409,200 | |
| 1921 census | 443,400 | |
| 1931 census | 518,100 | |
| 1946 estimation | 603,200 | |
| 1953 census | 724,400 | |
| 1963 census | 884,900 | |
| 1971 census | 1,004,300 | |
| 1981 census | 1,130,600 | |
| 2001 census | 1,185,900 | |
| 2012 census | 1,509,600 |
Christianity represented 10% of the population of Sri Lanka in 1891. In the following decades, the population growth of Christians was lower than the national average. As a result, the percentage of Christians in the population declined, reaching a low of 7% in 2001.
In 2012, Christianity grew again as a percentage of the population, reaching 7.44%. The growth was greatest among non-Catholic Christians.