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.
History
Bible translations into Odia The first version in the Odia language of IndiaSubhakanta Behera Construction of an identity discourse: Oriya literature and the ... 2002 - this work misspells Carey from Odia script back into English as "William Kerry" 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.Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions - Page 652 Gerald H. Anderson - 1999 The first Odia conversion was recorded in 1828. Sutton devoted himself to grammatical work on the Odia language and Bible translation. In 1841 he began training the first three Odia evangelists at Cuttack. By 1846 there were eight students"
Demographics According to the 2011 Census of India, Odisha had 1,161,708 Christians, constituting 2.77% of the state's population. Odisha had the eighth-largest Christian population among India's states and union territories, accounting for approximately 4.18% of India's total Christian population of 27,819,588. Of Odisha's Christian population, 83.93% lived in rural areas and 16.07% lived in urban areas. The Christian population had a sex ratio of 1,035 females per 1,000 males, compared with 978 females per 1,000 males for Odisha's total population. + Christian population by district in Odisha, 2011 District Population Christian population Christians (% of district population) Share of Odisha's Christian population Bargarh 1,481,255 11,744 0.79% 1.01% Jharsuguda 579,505 10,462 1.81% 0.90% Sambalpur 1,041,099 50,637 4.86% 4.36% Debagarh 312,520 14,518 4.65% 1.25% Sundargarh 2,093,437 385,011 18.39% 33.14% Kendujhar 1,801,733 9,141 0.51% 0.79% Mayurbhanj 2,519,738 15,008 0.60% 1.29% Baleshwar 2,320,529 6,434 0.28% 0.55% Bhadrak 1,506,337 745 0.05% 0.06% Kendrapara 1,440,361 1,423 0.10% 0.12% Jagatsinghapur 1,136,971 1,604 0.14% 0.14% Cuttack 2,624,470 11,985 0.46% 1.03% Jajapur 1,827,192 1,623 0.09% 0.14% Dhenkanal 1,192,811 727 0.06% 0.06% Angul 1,273,821 3,383 0.27% 0.29% Nayagarh 962,789 383 0.04% 0.03% Khordha 2,251,673 12,527 0.56% 1.08% Puri 1,698,730 4,239 0.25% 0.36% Ganjam 3,529,031 23,975 0.68% 2.06% Gajapati 577,817 219,482 37.98% 18.89% Kandhamal 733,110 148,895 20.31% 12.82% Boudh 441,162 522 0.12% 0.04% Subarnapur 610,183 2,374 0.39% 0.20% Balangir 1,648,997 16,271 0.99% 1.40% Nuapada 610,382 1,778 0.29% 0.15% Kalahandi 1,576,869 11,160 0.71% 0.96% Rayagada 967,911 84,916 8.77% 7.31% Koraput 1,379,647 68,550 4.97% 5.90% Malkangiri 613,192 10,039 1.64% 0.86% Nabarangpur 1,220,946 32,152 2.63% 2.77% Odisha 41,974,218 1,161,708 2.77% 100.00%
The Christians are mostly from the adivasi or tribal communities of the state with Christians among STs. 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 percentage of Christians within the districts:Census India 2011
Gajapati Serango– 84% Adava– 75% R.Udayagiri– 50% Damadua- 70% Aligonda- 90%
Kandhamal Brahmanigaon– 72% Daringbadi– 64% Kotagarh– 58%
Sundargarh Raiboga– 62%
Rayagada Puttasing– 80% Chandrapur– 51%
Denominations Church of God (Anderson), Evangelical Missionary Society in Mayurbhanj and Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church are among the Protestant denominations of Odisha.World Christian Encyclopedia, Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 369 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.World Christian Encyclopedia, Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 369-370
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.
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
See also Christianity in India Christian Revival Church
References