Bengali Christians

Bengali Christians

Total population
550,000 (Bangladesh)[1]
515,000 (West Bengal)[2]
Languages
Bengali
Religion
Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Bengali Muslims, Bengali Hindus, Bengali Buddhists

Bengali Christians are adherents of Christianity among the Bengali people. They speak the Bengali language and are native to Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. The majority of Bengali Christians are Roman Catholics.

Christianity took root in Bengal after the arrival of Portuguese voyagers in the 16th-century. It witnessed further conversions among the Bengali elite during the 19th century Bengali renaissance.

Bengali Christians have made significant contributions to Bengali culture, commerce and society. The region is home to venerable Christian missionary institutions, including the Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Teresa.

Archdiocese of Calcutta
Archdiocese of Dhaka

History

Christianity was established in Bengal by the Portuguese in the 16th-century. The Portuguese settlement in Chittagong hosted the first Vicar Apostolic in Bengal.[3] Jesuit missionaries also established churches in Bandel and Dhaka. In 1682, there were 14,120 Roman Catholics in Bengal.[4] William Carey translated the Bible into Bengali in 1809. Many upper-class Bengalis in the British Indian capital Calcutta converted to Christianity during the Indian Renaissance.

The Missionaries of Charity was founded by the Ottoman-born nun Mother Teresa in Calcutta in 1950. It played a major role in supporting and sheltering refugees during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.

Denominations

The Roman Catholic Church in West Bengal is based in the Archdiocese of Calcutta. The Catholic Church in Bangladesh is based in the Archdiocese of Dhaka, with dioceses in Chittagong, Dinajpur, Khulna, Mymensingh, Sylhet and Rajshahi.[5]

St. Paul's Cathedral, Kolkata is the seat of the Anglican Diocese of Calcutta (1813) of the Church of North India (CNI).

Other denominations include:[6]

Demographics

Bengali Christians are considered a model minority in South Asia and usually enjoy a high literacy rate, low male-female sex ratio and a better socio-economic status.[7] Christian missionaries operate many schools, hospitals and shelters for the poor. They receive support from the Indian and Bangladeshi governments.

Kolkata, Dhaka. and Chittagong have significant Christian populations.

Culture

Lusophone heritage

Many Catholic Bengali Christians have Portuguese surnames. In a tradition similar to Bengali Muslims (who have Arabic and Persian names), Bengali Christians adopted Portuguese surnames due the early influence of Portuguese missionaries in spreading Christianity.

Common Catholic Bengali Christian surnames include Gomes, Rozario, D'Costa, Gonsalvez, Cruze, Daes, D’Silva and D’Souza among others.[8]

Christmas is known as “Borodin” (Great Day) and is a public holiday in both Bangladesh and Indian West Bengal.

Notable Bengali Christians

The Arts

Industry

Scholars

Public service

See also

References

  1. ↑ uchesi, Brigitte (1999), "Bangladesh", in Fahlbusch, Erwin, Encyclopedia of Christianity 1, Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, pp. 182–183, ISBN 0802824137
  2. ↑ http://ncm.nic.in/minority_population.pdf
  3. ↑ http://www.ctgdiocese.com/chronicle-snippets/
  4. ↑ Luchesi, Brigitte (1999), "Bangladesh", in Fahlbusch, Erwin, Encyclopedia of Christianity 1, Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, pp. 182–183, ISBN 0802824137
  5. ↑ World Christian Encyclopedia , Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 368-371
  6. ↑ World Christian Encyclopedia , Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 368-371
  7. ↑ http://www.medindia.net/news/indiaspecial/Indian-Christians-Treat-Their-Women-Better-Sex-Ratio-Highest-31076-1.htm
  8. ↑ http://www.dhakatribune.com/feature/2014/jan/25/voc%25C3%25AA-fala-bangla
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