Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

is the second largest religion in Punjab Province of Pakistan comprising 2.3% of its population. Most Christians (81%) of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

live in Punjab province. There are 2,068,233 Christians in Punjab province as of 2017, up from 1,699,843 in 1998. The churches in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

include Cathedral Church of Resurrection,

Sacred Heart Cathedral, Lahore Sacred Heart Cathedral ( ur, ) is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore, located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Built at the behest of bishop Godefroid Pelckmans (Bishop of Lahore, 1893-1904) with Belgian aid and materials, the c ...

St. Andrew's Church, Lahore St. Andrew's Church in Lahore, Pakistan, was built by the British Empire, British in 1872, for the Christian employees of the Railways, in the Neo-Gothic style of architecture that was prevalent at the time. The present Vicar Revd. Dr. Irshad John ...

, St. Anthony's Church, Lahore and St. Joseph’s Church, Lahore. Lahore and Faisalabad have more Christian population than any other city in Punjab. Most Punjabi Christians are converts from the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Churas and

Mazhabi Sikh Mazhabi Sikh (also known as Mazbhabi, Mazbhi, Majhabhi or Majabhi) is a community from Northern India, especially Punjab region, who follow Sikhism. The word ''Mazhabi'' is derived from the Arabic term ''mazhab'' (Mazhab means religion or sect ...

caste to

during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

in colonial India.

History

The Christians of colonial India were active in the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

and wider

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

, being collectively represented in the

All India Conference of Indian Christians The All India Conference of Indian Christians (AICIC) is an ecumenical organisation founded in 1914 to represent the interests of Christians in India. It was founded to advocate for the moral, economic, and intellectual development of the Indian Ch ...

, which advocated for swaraj and opposed the partition of India. The meeting of the All India Conference of Indian Christians in

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. The AICIC also stated that Indian Christians would not tolerate any discrimination based on race or skin colour. S. K. Datta of

, who served as the principal of

Forman Christian College Forman Christian College is an private liberal arts university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was founded in 1864 and is administered by the Presbyterian Church. The university follows an American-style curriculum. Founded in 1864 by America ...

, 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 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

's views on minorities and Depressed Classes. 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." 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." The office for this joint committee was opened in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

, in which the Vice-Chancellor of

Andhra University Andhra University ( IAST: ''Āndhra Vișvakalāpariṣhat'') is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Maharaja of Jeypore was one of the biggest d ...

M. Rahnasamy served as President and B.L. Rallia Ram of Lahore served as General Secretary. Six members of the joint committee were elected to the Minorities Committee of the Constituent Assembly. Following the partition of colonial India, 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, which was presided by Ruthnasamy. Punjab is considered a province with

persecution of Christians The persecution of Christians can be historically traced from the first century of the Christian era to the present day. Christian missionaries and converts to Christianity have both been targeted for persecution, sometimes to the point of ...

. Asia Bibi has been convicted of blasphemy, with the government of Punjab being in favour of her execution.

Notable People

Sunita Marshall Sunita Marshall ( ur, ) is a Pakistani fashion model and television actress. She is best known for her roles in ARY Digital political drama series '' Mera Saaein'' and Geo Entertainment drama series Khuda Aur Muhabbat 3. As a model Marshall has e ...

, actress * Sidra Sadaf, cyclist *Captain

Cecil Chaudhry Group Captain Cecil Chaudhry (Urdu:سیسل چودھری) (27 August 1941 – 13 April 2012) was a Pakistani academic, human rights activist, and a veteran fighter pilot. As a flight lieutenant, he fought in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 ...

, academic, activist, and fighter pilot for the

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

Nazir Latif Air Commodore Nazir Latif SJ and Bar (10 July 1927 – 30 June 2011) was an officer in the Pakistan Air Force and a former director-general of the Operations and Plans at the Air Headquarters, Islamabad. Latif was one of the distinguished Ch ...

, former Air Commodore of Pakistan Air Force * Shahbaz Bhatti, former member of

Pakistan National Assembly The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower legislative house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which also comprises the Senate of Pakistan (upp ...

, and Pakistan Peoples Party *Bishop

Anthony Theodore Lobo Anthony Theodore Felix Lobo (4 July 1937 – 18 February 2013) was a Pakistani Roman Catholic bishop. On 8 June 1982 he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Karachi by Pope John Paul II. On 28 May 1993 he became Bishop of Islamabad–Rawalpindi. ...

, former minister of the Pakistan Roman Catholic Church *Bishop

Lawrence Saldanha Lawrence John Saldanha (born 12 June 1936) is an Indian-born retired Pakistani archbishop. Born in Mangalore, India, he received his religious training at the Christ the King seminary in Karachi and was ordained a priest in Lahore, Pakistan ...

, Archbishop *Major General Julian Peter, former Major-General of Pakistan Army *Reverend

Samuel Azariah Samuel ''Sammy'' Robert Azariah (born Gujarat, 31 August 1949) is a Protestant Pakistani bishop in the Church of Pakistan, a united Protestant denomination that holds membership in the Anglican Communion, World Methodist Council and World Communi ...

, bishop of the Church of Pakistan * Nirmal Roy, singer * Shazia Hidayat, athlete *

Bohemia (rapper) Roger David ( Punjabi: راجر ڈیوڈ), better known by his stage name Bohemia is a Pakistani-American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Personal life Bohemia was born in Karachi, Sindh and received his education in Peshawa ...

, Pakistani-American rapper born Roger David

Christian denominations in the province

Anglican Catholic Church The Anglican Catholic Church (ACC), also known as the Anglican Catholic Church (Original Province), is a body of Christians in the continuing Anglican movement, which is separate from the Anglican Communion led by the Archbishop of Canterbur ...

* Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Pakistan *

Church of Pakistan The Church of Pakistan is a united Protestant Church in Pakistan, which is part of the Anglican Communion and a member of the World Communion of Reformed ChurchesDatabase (9 February 2006)"Sialkot Diocese of the Church of Pakistan" Reformed Onl ...

* Presbyterian Church of Pakistan * United Presbyterian Church of Pakistan * New Apostolic Church in Pakistan *

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

References

{{Christianity-stub

History

Notable People

Christian denominations in the province

See also

References