| Religion | Percent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christians | 87.9% | |||
| Hindus | 8.7% | |||
| Muslims | 2.5% | |||
| Buddhists | 0.3% | |||
| Others* | 0.6% | |||
| Distribution of religions | ||||
| Culture of the Nagas |
|---|
 |
The majority religion inNagaland state of India isChristianity. According to the 2011 census, the state's population was 1,978,502, out of which 87.93% are Christians. Along withMeghalaya andMizoram, Nagaland is one of the three Christian-majority states in the country.
Prior to Christianity, the various Naga religions had dynamic and fluid beliefs. This is critical to understand the reasons for people's conversion to Christianity. In addition, the new religion did not merely substitute older religious structures and beliefs.[2] Christianity was introduced in the erstwhileNaga Hills to expand colonialism as well driven by missionary fervour which failed to garner numbers in theBrahmaputra Valley. 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.[3]
The earliest Christian missionaries in the erstwhileNaga Hills (part ofcolonial Assam province) belonged to theAmerican Baptist Mission. They received active support of British colonial officers. In the 1830s, Francis Jenkins, thenCommissioner 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 'pacify' these Indigenous communities and subjugate them to colonial rule.[3]
While theAmerican Baptist Foreign Mission Society were one of the first Christian missionaries to enter the northeast frontier ofColonial India, their initial projects were frustrating. Starting the proselytising mission fromAssam, 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.'[2] On the other hand, British efforts to subjugate the Nagas faced persistent and stiff resistance. Amongst these were theBattle of Kikrüma,Battle of Khonoma, and other skirmishes which resulted in death of several British officers.
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 MissionaryE. W. Clark, Evangelist Godhula and the then-animistAo Nagas. 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 calledChungli 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.[4] In 1880 Rev. Charles Daniel King started a mission field in Kohima after the British defeated theAngami Naga rebellions and established their headquarters inKohima.[5] Similarly, after the British occupiedWokha in 1878, and placed a sub-divisional officer and military force there, missionary activities began in theLotha Naga areas. In 1885, with the support of Clark and deputy commissioner of theNaga Hills, Rev. William Ellsworth Witter started the mission station in Wokha.[6]
Nagaland was one of several regions ofNortheast India that experienced Christian revival movements in the 1950s and 1960s. The "NagalandChristian Revival Church", formed in 1962, grew out of the initial phase of this movement.[7] It had its origin in Gariphema Village of Kohima District where, in 1962, an event known as "The Great Awakening" started.[citation needed]
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.[7] The result was that Nagaland became an overwhelmingly Christian state, known as "the only predominantlyBaptist state in theworld."[8] 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) thanMississippi in the southernUnited States, where 55% of the population is Baptist.[9][10]Catholics,Revivalists, andPentecostals are the otherChristian denomination numbers. Catholics are found in significant numbers in parts ofWokha District andKohima District as well as in the urban areas of Kohima, Chümoukedima and Dimapur.
TheNaga 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.[11] Religious relationships with India have also a specific discipline in theArticle 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".[12]
An ancient indigenous religion known as theHeraka is followed by a few people (4,168) belonging to theZeliangrong tribe living in Nagaland.Rani Gaidinliu was an Indianfreedom fighter who struggled for the revival of Heraka, the traditionalanimist religion of the Naga people.
The 2011 census recorded the state'sChristianpopulation at 1,745,181, making it, withMeghalaya,Arunachal Pradesh, andMizoram as the four Christian-majority states inIndia.[13] The state has a very highchurch attendance rate in both urban and rural areas. The majority of churches are found inKohima,Chümoukedima,Dimapur andMokokchung.
| Year | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 2001[14] | 1,790,349 | 89.96 |
| 2011[1] | 1,739,651 | 87.93 |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 601 | — |
| 1911 | 3,308 | +450.4% |
| 1921 | 8,734 | +164.0% |
| 1931 | 22,908 | +162.3% |
| 1941 | 9 | −100.0% |
| 1951 | 98,068 | +1089544.4% |
| 1961 | 195,588 | +99.4% |
| 1971 | 344,798 | +76.3% |
| 1981 | 621,590 | +80.3% |
| 1991 | 1,057,940 | +70.2% |
| 2001 | 1,790,349 | +69.2% |
| 2011 | 1,739,651 | −2.8% |
| Source:census of India | ||
Hinduism and Islam practiced by the non-Naga community are minority religions in the state, at 7.7% and 1.8% of the population respectively.[verification needed]
Percentage of Christians in Nagaland by decades[15]
| Year | Percent | Increase |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 0.59% | - |
| 1911 | 2.22% | +1.63% |
| 1921 | 5.5% | +3.28% |
| 1931 | 12.81% | +7.31% |
| 1941 | 0% | -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% | -2.04% |
Percentage of Christians in the Scheduled Tribes[16]
| Tribe | Christians | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Konyak | 2,32,619 | 97.92% |
| Sümi | 2,34,762 | 99.34% |
| Ao | 2,24,525 | 99.07% |
| Lotha | 1,71,771 | 99.23% |
| Chakhesang | 1,53,740 | 99.27% |
| Angami | 1,39,781 | 98.62% |
| Sangtam | 74,439 | 99.26% |
| Zeliang | 71,305 | 95.23% |
| Yimkhiung | 66,514 | 99.32% |
| Chang | 63,603 | 99.03% |
| Rengma | 62,285 | 98.94% |
| Khiamniungan | 61,246 | 99.35% |
| Phom | 52,255 | 99.19% |
| Pochury | 21,704 | 98.89% |
| Kuki | 18,514 | 98.65% |
| Tikhir | 7,468 | 99.08% |
| Kachari | 3,938 | 30.21% |
| Viswerna | 3,536 | 96.51% |
Quotations related toChristianity in Nagaland at Wikiquote