Capital |
: Jakarta |
Population |
: 267 million |
Catholics |
: 8 million (3.01 %) |
Jurisdictions |
: 10 Archdioceses, 27 Dioceses, One Military Ordinariate |
Parishes |
: 1320 |
Major Religions |
: Islam 87.2%, Christianity 9.9%, Hinduism 1.7%, Buddhism 0.7%, others 0.2% |
Christianity in Indonesia started with arrival of Portuguese in the 16th century, who captured Malacca in 1511 to help move missioners to the region. The most notable among them was St. Francis Xavier, who worked in Ambon, Ternate and Morotai Island between 1546 and 1547.
After the Portuguese were expelled from Ternate in 1574, many Catholics in the northern Moluccas were killed. The Dutch East India Company conquered Ambon in 1605 and Catholics were forced to embrace Protestantism.
In 1808, the Dutch authorities allowed European Catholics the freedom of worship, which was later extended to local Catholics. In 1835, the Dutch brought the Church under its direct rule, paying salaries to priests and controlling the appointments. Priests' opposition to this policy resulted in expulsion of all Catholic priests.
Catholic mission resumed only in 19th century with the arrival of the Jesuits, particularly in the island of Flores. They enjoyed freedom to work here because of an 1859 treaty with Portugal. The first ethnic Javanese priest was ordained only in the 20th century in 1926.
Currently, Catholicism and Protestantism are two among the six official religions in the country along with Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.
Catholics are found all over the archipelago, but mainly concentrated in Flores, Timor, Central Java, Papua, and among the Chinese groups.
According to the 2018 census, the country has a total population of 267 million people, some 10 percent of the Christians with Protestant faith constitute 7 percent. The 8 million Catholics form 3.01 percent of the population.
Indonesia has 10 Archdioceses, 27 Dioceses and one Military Ordinariate.