Christianity in Kuwait

Christianity in Kuwait is a minority religion.

Christianity in Kuwait (2020)[1]

  Catholicism (80%)
  Orthodox (18%)
  Protestantism (2.5%)
  Independent Christian (1.5%)
  Other Christian (0.6%)

In 2020, there were an estimated 289 Christian Kuwaitis residing in Kuwait,[2] along with an estimated 837,585 non-citizen Christians.[3] In total, they make up 17.93% of the population.

A 2015 study estimates some 350 Christians in Kuwait who are ex-Muslim.[4]

Kuwaiti Christians

Kuwait is the only GCC country besides Bahrain to have a local Christian population who hold citizenship.[5][6]

Christian Kuwaitis can be divided into two groups. The first group includes the earliest, who were Iraqi Christian (Assyrian/Chaldean) and Turkish Christian (Antiochian Greek) immigrants and their local-born descendants.[7] They have assimilated into Kuwaiti society, like their Muslim counterparts, and tend to speak Arabic with a Kuwaiti dialect; their food and culture are also predominantly Kuwaiti. The make up less than a quarter of Kuwait's Christian population. The rest (roughly three-quarters) of Christian Kuwaitis make up the second group. They are more recent arrivals in the 1950s and 1960s, mostly Kuwaitis of Palestinian ancestry who were forced out of Palestine after 1948.[7] There are also smaller numbers who originally hail from Syria and Lebanon.[7] This second group is not as assimilated as the first group, as their food, culture, and Arabic dialect still retain a Levant feel. However, they are just as patriotic as the former group, and tend to be proud of their adopted homeland, with many serving in the army, police, civil, and foreign service. Most of Kuwait's citizen Christians belong to 12 large families, with the Shammas (from Turkey) and the Shuhaibar (from Palestine) families being some of the more prominent ones.[7]

Although there is a small community of Christian citizens, a law passed in 1981 prevents the naturalization of non-Muslims; however, male citizens who were Christians before 1980 (and male children born to families of such citizens since that date), can transmit their citizenship to their children.[8]

Traditionally, Eastern Orthodox Christians in Kuwait belong to the jurisdiction of Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. Eastern Orthodox parish in Kuwait was reorganized in 1969 by late metropolitan Constantine Papastephanou of Baghdad and Kuwait (1969-2014), who visited Kuwait on many occasions.[9] His successor is Metropolitan Ghattas Hazim of Baghdad and Kuwait (since 2014). His official seat remains in Baghdad, but administrative headquarters of the Archdiocese are located in Kuwait. Today, Eastern Orthodox parishes in Kuwait are administered by priests Ephrem Toumi and Filimon Saifi.[10]

Notable people

Expatriate Christians

Holy Family Cathedral, Kuwait City.

The denominations of both citizen and foreign Christians in Kuwait include, but are not limited to, the following:

Churches

Our Lady of Arabia Parish, Ahmadi

In 2012 the country had 7 official churches and 18 non-official churches, with Kuwait's largest cathedral being situated in the eastern part of Kuwait city.[12]

See also

References

  1. World Religion Database at the ARDA website, retrieved 2023-08-08
  2. "Nationality By Religion and Nationality". Government of Kuwait (in Arabic).
  3. "PACI Statistics". Kuwait Public Authority for Civil Information. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  4. Johnstone, Patrick; Miller, Duane (2015). "Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census". Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion. 11: 16. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  5. "Kuwaiti Christians safe here in Kuwait ... Amen". Arab Times - Kuwait News. 26 December 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  6. "An inside look at the native Christian community of Kuwait". 25 December 2017.
  7. "'Christians Enjoy Religious Freedom'". arabtimesonline.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  8. US State Dept 2022 report
  9. Memory Eternal: Metropolitan Constantine (Papastephanou)
  10. "Official Page of the Eastern Orthodox Archdiocese of Baghdad, Kuwait and Dependencies". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  11. "Dn. Prince Varghese Madathileth ordained as Priest of the Malankara Mar Thoma syrian Church of Malabar". www.indiansinkuwait.com. 5 September 2010.
  12. "جدل حول فتوى «الأوقاف» بإجازة بناء كنائس جديدة" [Controversy over the fatwa of the “Endowments” authorizing the construction of new churches]. www.alanba.com.kw (in Arabic). 28 July 2012.

Sources

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