Protestantism in Saudi Arabia is one of the directions of Christianity in the country. According to the Pew Research Center In 2010, 100,000 Protestants lived in Saudi Arabia, which made up 0.4% of the country's population [1] [2] .
The vast majority of Saudi Arabian Protestants are foreigners living in the country. (Officially, a Saudi citizen is required to practice Islam). By ethnicity, more than half of Saudi Protestants are Filipinos . A significant part of Americans , British and Koreans are protestants (more than 10 thousand believers each community). Protestants are a small part of the Indonesians , Chinese , Tamils and Egyptians . Protestants are also among the Arabs , primarily the Arabs of Lebanon, Sudan, Palestine and Syria. Recently, the number of Protestants among immigrants from India, Ethiopia and Eritrea has been growing.
It is assumed that in Saudi Arabia there are also communities of Protestant crypto-Christians who hide their faith. Some Saudi Protestants are the so-called "isolated radio believers" who maintain their faith only through radio broadcasts [3] .
Content
Historical Review
According to legend, Bartholomew , one of the 12 apostles of Christ, was the first Christian preacher in Saudi Arabia. Over the next centuries, Christian churches of various traditions appeared on the peninsula. Christianity was completely destroyed in Arabia in the 7th century , during the creation of the Arab Caliphate [4] .
The first missionary efforts of the Protestants in Saudi Arabia are associated with the name of Samuel Zwemer (1867-1952), an American Reformed missionary, nicknamed the "Apostle of Muslims" [5] . In 1890, introducing the American Arab Mission he had created, Zwemer arrived in Bahrain . Over the next 15 years, Zwemer traveled the Arabian Peninsula and tried to spread Christianity.
At the beginning of the 20th century, two Protestant churches appeared in Dahran ; one of them was associated with the “ Christian brothers ”, the other with the Church of Christ . The ministry of these communities was limited to foreigners living in the city [6] .
According to the World Christian Encyclopedia, in 1970, 2 thousand Anglicans and 18 thousand other Protestants lived in Saudi Arabia [3] . With the growing number of foreign workers in the country, clandestine independent communities of evangelical Christians began to emerge. By dogma and practice, most of them are close to Pentecostals .
Current status
The Government of Saudi Arabia prohibits open public practice of any non-Muslim religion, including Protestantism. Mosques are the only religious centers in the country, and the construction of churches is not allowed. Officially, the government recognizes the right of non-Muslims to private religious worship in private homes. However, the distinction between public and private worship is not clearly defined. This lack of clarity, as well as cases of arbitrary enforcement by the authorities, compels most Protestants to hold religious meetings secretly, avoiding detection by the authorities.
Due to the underground position of the Protestants, there is almost no reliable data on their ministry in the country. Nevertheless, the publication Operation Peace contains information on one Anglican and 128 Protestant communities in the country in 2000 [7] .
It is estimated that up to 100 thousand residents of Saudi Arabia are Protestants (2010) [1] . Of these, 88.6 thousand people belong to various evangelical churches [8] . The largest confessional group is represented by Pentecostals and non-Pentecostals (83 thousand [9] ), primarily those from the Philippines , India , South Korea , Ethiopia and Eritrea . The number of Anglicans is estimated at 2 thousand people [7] , most of them are British . Among Koreans and Americans, there are Presbyterians .
The preaching of any religion other than Islam is prohibited; the conversion of a Muslim to Christianity is punishable up to the death penalty. However, Protestants disseminate their teachings from abroad through satellite television , Christian radio, and the Internet ministry. There are also separate Protestant programs for people from Saudi Arabia in London and Paris .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Global Christianity . The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life (December 19, 2011). Date of treatment May 13, 2013. Archived May 22, 2013.
- ↑ Christian Population as Percentages of Total Population by Country . Pew Research Center (January 2011). Date of treatment March 15, 2014. Archived January 7, 2012.
- ↑ 1 2 David B. Barrett, George Thomas Kurian, Todd M. Johnson. Saudi Arabia // World Christian Encyclopedia: A Comparative Survey of Churches and Religions in The Modern World / David B. Barrett (Editor), George T. Kurian (Editor), Todd M. Johnson (Editor). - New York : Oxford University Press , 2001. - T. 1. - 876 p. - ISBN 0-19-510318-1 .
- ↑ Melton JG Saudi Arabia // Religions of the World, Second Edition A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices / J. Gordon Melton and Martin Baumann. - 2nd. - Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO , 2010 .-- P. 2545-2549. - 3200 p. - ISBN 978-1-59884-203-6 .
- ↑ Alan Neely. Zwemer, samuel Marinus // Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions / Gerald H. Anderson. - Grand Rapids / Cambridge: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999 .-- P. 763. - 845 p. - ISBN 0802846807 .
- ↑ Melton JG Saudi Arabia // Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices / J. Gordon Melton , Martin Baumann. - Oxford, England: ABC-CLIO , 2002 .-- P. 1138-1141. - 1510 p. - ISBN 1-57607-223-1 .
- ↑ 1 2 Patrick Johnstone, Jason Mandryk. Saudi Arabia // Operation World 2001 . - London: Paternoster Publishing, 2001 .-- 798 p. - (Operation World Series). - ISBN 1-8507-8357-8 .
- ↑ Kingdom of Saudi Arabia . Operation World. Date of treatment July 2, 2015.
- ↑ Saudi Arabia // New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, The / Stanley M. Burgess, Eduard M. Van Der Maas. - Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan ; Exp Rev edition, 2002 .-- S. 222. - 1328 p. - ISBN 0310224810 .
See also
- Christianity in Saudi Arabia
- Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia (Roman Catholic Church)
- Religion in Saudi Arabia