ICC Note:

Christianity in Nepal has been growing rapidly since the country declared itself to be a secular nation in 2007. According to Christian leaders in Nepal, the official number of Christians counted by the government is not representative of the actual size of the community. In fact, the leaders claim their community is much bigger than the government has represented. According to Christians, this is just another way they face discrimination in Nepal. Unfortunately, this growth has not come without opposition. Christians in Nepal face social discrimination and sporadic outright persecution. Earlier this week, eight Christians were acquitted on charges of attempting to covert others, something that Nepal’s constitution prohibits. 

12/09/2016 Nepal (My Republica) – The Christian population has increased rapidly after Nepal was declared secular state in 2007. The National Population and Housing Census conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics had recorded the Christian population at just 375,699 in 2011.

But the number has jumped to about three million in the past five years, according to one leader of the Christian community.

While no Christians were recorded in the government census of 1951, their population was counted at 458 in the 1961 census. Likewise, the 2001 census recorded the number of Christians at 102,000. This number tripled in the next census a decade later.

Leaders of the Christian community said despite the rapid increase in their numbers, they were not properly recorded in the national census. “The government census of the Christian population does not reflect our actual numbers. It is an attempt to suppress us,” said CB Gahatraj, chairman of the Federation of National Christians Nepal (FNCN).

FNCN claims the number of churches in the country to be at around 10,000, out of which about 2,000 are in the three districts of Kathmandu Valley.

Sociologist Krishna Bhattachan, a retired Tribhuvan University professor, said weekly gatherings of Christian communities have played a big role in the expansion of the religion in Nepal.

“Such gatherings once a week provide emotional and psychological support, making them feel they belong to a group, which is one of the social needs of human beings,” he said, adding, “And compared to other religions, Christians are more involved in social work, such as opening schools and hospitals. This has also attracted locals towards this religion.”

Short and practical rituals, according to Bhattachan, have lured more people to Christianity. “Majority of the poor people cannot afford the expensive rituals of Hindus. Hence, they choose to convert for economic reasons as well.”

Bhattachan also claimed that the Hindu population had been over-represented and other religions under-represented in the country’s census in order to maintain Nepal as a Hindu kingdom.

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