Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Christianity has been present in Bengal since the 16th century. The
Portuguese established a settlement in Bandel, Hooghly district in
the 16th century, and Bandel Church, perhaps the first church in West Bengal, was built in 1599.[3] Burnt down
during the sacking of Hooghly in 1632, the church was rebuilt in 1660. The followers of Christianity mainly
settled in Barddhmann, Bankura, Kolkata and Hooghly district of West Bengal.
William Carey, who founded the Baptist Missionary Society, went to India in 1793 and worked as a missionary
in the Danish colony of Serampore, because of opposition from the British East India Company. He translated
the Bible into Bengali (completed 1809) and Sanskrit (completed 1818). His first Bengali convert was Krishna
Pal, who renounced his caste after conversion. In 1818, the first theological college in Bengal, Serampore
College, was founded.
Denominations
St. Paul's Cathedral, Kolkata is the seat of the Anglican Diocese of Calcutta (1813) of the Church of North
India. The Roman Catholic ecclesiastical province which has its seat in the Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary
is the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Calcutta (1834).
Notable Institutions
Schools
Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy (Armenian
Apostolic Church and Orthodox)
Assembly of God Church School (Pentecostal and Protestant)
Don Bosco High & Technical School, Liluah (Jesuit and
Catholic)
Don Bosco School, Park Circus (Jesuit and Catholic)
Don Bosco School, Bandel (Jesuit and Catholic)
La Martiniere Calcutta (Church of North India and Protestant)
Loreto Schools, Kolkata (Catholic) La Martinire Calcutta, one of India's
Scottish Church Collegiate School (Church of North India and most prestigious schools, is run by the
Protestant) Protestant Church of North India
St. James' School (Church of North India and Protestant)
St. John's Diocesan Girls' Higher Secondary School (Church of
North India and Protestant)
St. Lawrence High School, Kolkata (Jesuit and Catholic)
St Thomas School, Kolkata (Church of North India and
Protestant)
St. Xavier's Collegiate School (Jesuit and Catholic)
The Frank Anthony Public School, Kolkata (Non-denominational
and Protestant)
Population
Population by district
Trends
Trends in Christian population of West
Bengal[6]
1951 0.70%
1961 0.59%
1971 0.57%
1981 0.59%
1991 0.56%
2001 0.64%
2011 0.72%
References
1. Population by religious community: West Bengal (http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW
19C-01%20MDDS.XLS). 2011 Census of India.
2. Indian Christians Treat Their Women Better, Sex Ratio Highest (http://www.medindia.net/news/indiaspec
ial/Indian-Christians-Treat-Their-Women-Better-Sex-Ratio-Highest-31076-1.htm)
3. Roma Bradnock, Footprint India (https://books.google.com/books?id=nWKaR6LbEGcC&pg=PA584),
Footprint Travel Guides, 2004, ISBN 1-904777-00-7, p. 584.
4. World Christian Encyclopedia , Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 368-371
5. Population by religious community: West Bengal (http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW
19C-01%20MDDS.XLS). 2011 Census of India.
6. B.P. Syam Roy (28 September 2015). "Bengals topsy-turvy population growth" (http://www.thestatesma
n.com/news/opinion/bengal-s-topsy-turvy-population-growth/93152.html). The Statesman.