Christianity in Kuwait

{{Pie chart |thumb = right |caption = Christianity in Kuwait (2020)<ref>[https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=125c World Religion Database at the ARDA website, retrieved 2023-08-08]</ref> |label3 = Protestantism |value3 = 2.5 |color3 = DarkOrchid |label1 = Catholicism |value1 = 80 |color1 = DodgerBlue |label5 = Other Christian |value5 = 0.6 |color5 = Skyblue |label4 = Independent Christian |value4 = 1.5 |color4 = Green |label2 = Orthodox |value2 = 18 |color2 = DarkOrange }}

{{Christianity by country}} Christianity is the second-largest religion in Kuwait.

In 2020, there were an estimated 289 Christian Kuwaitis residing in Kuwait,<ref name=reli>{{cite web|url=http://stat.paci.gov.kw/arabicreports/#DataTabPlace:ColumnChartEduAge|title=Nationality By Religion and Nationality|work=Government of Kuwait|language=ar|access-date=29 June 2015|archive-date=14 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814154256/http://stat.paci.gov.kw/arabicreports/#DataTabPlace:ColumnChartEduAge|url-status=dead}}</ref> along with an estimated 837,585 non-citizen Christians.<ref name=PACI>{{cite web|title=PACI Statistics|url=http://stat.paci.gov.kw/englishreports/#DataTabPlace:ColumnChartEduAge|website=Kuwait Public Authority for Civil Information|access-date=1 February 2019|archive-date=13 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313222900/http://stat.paci.gov.kw/englishreports/#DataTabPlace:ColumnChartEduAge|url-status=dead}}</ref> In total, they make up 17.93% of the population.

A 2015 study estimates some 350 Christians in Kuwait who are former Muslims.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Johnstone|first1=Patrick|last2=Miller|first2=Duane|title=Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census|journal=Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion|date=2015|volume=11|page=16|url=https://www.academia.edu/16338087|access-date=28 October 2015}}</ref>

==Kuwaiti Christians==

Kuwait and Bahrain are the only Gulf Cooperation Council countries to have a local Christian population who hold citizenship.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/kuwaiti-christians-safe-here-in-kuwait-amen/|title=Kuwaiti Christians safe here in Kuwait ... Amen|date=2019-12-26|website=Arab Times - Kuwait News|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/features/2016/12/27/An-inside-look-at-a-Gulf-Christian-community.html# | title=An inside look at the native Christian community of Kuwait | date=25 December 2017 }}</ref>

Christian Kuwaitis can be divided into two groups. The first group includes the earliest, who were Iraqi Christian (Assyrian and Arab/Antiochian Greek) immigrants and their local-born descendants.<ref name=num>{{cite web|url=http://www.arabtimesonline.com/RSS/tabid/69/smid/414/ArticleID/147658/Default.aspx |title='Christians Enjoy Religious Freedom' |work=arabtimesonline.com |year=2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402125518/http://www.arabtimesonline.com/RSS/tabid/69/smid/414/ArticleID/147658/Default.aspx |archive-date=2 April 2015 }}</ref> 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. They 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 fled the British Mandatory Palestine due to the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and decided to settle in Kuwait.<ref name=num/> There are also smaller numbers who originally hail from Syria and Lebanon.<ref name=num/> 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 Christian citizens belong to 12 large families, with the Shammas (from Turkey) and the Shuhaibars (from Palestine) being some of the more prominent ones.<ref name=num/>

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.<ref>[https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/kuwait/ US State Dept 2022 report]</ref>

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.<ref>[http://www.antiochian.org/memory-eternal-metropolitan-constantine-papastephanou Memory Eternal: Metropolitan Constantine (Papastephanou)]</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gulforthodoxchurch.org/E/GOC_E.htm |title=Official Page of the Eastern Orthodox Archdiocese of Baghdad, Kuwait and Dependencies |access-date=22 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304200312/http://www.gulforthodoxchurch.org/E/GOC_E.htm |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Notable people === * Amanuel Benjamin Ghareeb (born 1950), an important Kuwaiti pastor and representative of the Evangelical Church of Kuwait.<ref name=num/> He is the first Gulf Arab to become head of a Protestant church.

==Expatriate Christians== {{Unreferenced section|date=September 2023}} [[File:Holy Family Cathedral (Kuwait).jpg|300px|thumb|Holy Family Cathedral, Kuwait City.]] The denominations of both citizen and foreign Christians in Kuwait include, but are not limited to, the following:

* 140,000 Catholics in Kuwait. There is a cathedral in Kuwait City, which belongs to the Vicariate Apostolic of Kuwait. The Catholic Vicariate is largely made up of Asians from the Malay-speaking countries (Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia), the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, and Arab Christians from Lebanon (Maronite and Melkite rites), Egypt (Coptic rite), Jordan, Palestine and Syria (Syriac and Melkite rites). Maronite Christians, mostly from Lebanon, also worship at the Catholic cathedral in Kuwait City. A small group of Catholics are from Europe and the Americas, as well as Greek Catholics. * 200,000 Orthodox Christians, at least. The Greek Orthodox Church has about 3,500 members, while the Armenian Orthodox Church has about 4,000 members. The Coptic Orthodox Church has about 60,000 members. Totals for both the Greek Catholic (Eastern Rite) Church membership and Indian Orthodox Church membership are more than 60,000. The Ethiopian and Russian Orthodox Churches have a membership of 70,000. The Mar Thoma Syrian Church has a membership of about 40,000. The Syrian Orthodox Church has a membership of about 20,000. So, Chalcedonian Orthodox (AKA Eastern Orthodox) are members of the Greek and Russian Churches, while the rest are non-Chalcedonian Christians. * The Anglican Church has about 115 members. The National Evangelical Church of Kuwait has about 15,000 members. There are also a number of other Protestant denominations in the country. These denominations include the India Pentecostal Church of God, Assemblies of God in India, The Church of Pentecost, Church of God (Full Gospel) in India, The Pentecostal Mission, Seventh-day Adventist Church. * Other religious groups include the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which has a ward (congregation) of approximately 300 that meets in a villa in Salmiyah.

==Churches== thumb|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.alanba.com.kw/ar/kuwait-news/312907/28-07-2012 |title=جدل حول فتوى "الأوقاف" بإجازة بناء كنائس جديدة |language=ar |trans-title=Controversy over the fatwa of the “Endowments” authorizing the construction of new churches |date=28 July 2012 |website=www.alanba.com.kw}}</ref>

== See also == {{Portal|Christianity|Kuwait}} * Catholic Church in Kuwait * Christianity in the Middle East * Christianity in Eastern Arabia * Arab Christians

==References== {{Reflist}}

== Sources == *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110205104646/http://www.catholic-church.org/kuwait/christians_in_kuwait.htm Catholic Church website] *[http://www.win1040.com/countries/kuwait.htm]{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303205523/http://www.win1040.com/countries/kuwait.htm |date=3 March 2016 }} *[http://www.iocq8.org/ St Georgios Indian Orthodox Church] *[https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71425.htm]

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304200312/http://www.gulforthodoxchurch.org/E/GOC_E.htm Official Website of the Eastern Orthodox Archdiocese of Baghdad, Kuwait and Dependencies]

Category:Christianity in Kuwait