Christianity made its first appearance in Bali in the 1500s.
1520 Portuguese explorers slowly began introducing Roman Catholicism to the Balinese people. Later, in 1546, the now-sainted missionary Francis Xavier landed in Bali to proselytize his religious beliefs. Historical records tell of Xavier’s initial meeting with King Dalem Batur Enggong, a major ruler of Bali at that time.
During his period on the Island of Bali, Xavier erected a simple church in the Village of Kintamani.
By the 1570s, Spanish explorers landed in Bali, strengthening the influence of Catholicism.
In 1601, Dutch colonialists brought Protestantism to Bali.
In 1620, Dutch missionaries, such as Conrad Gysbertus and Willem van der Tuuk, helped spread the Protestantism. In 1644, the first Protestant Church was erected in Batavia (modern-day Jakarta), paving the way for the growth of Protestantism in Bali.
In 1650, a treaty negotiated between the Dutch and the King of Buleleng facilitated the spread of Christianity in Bali.
During the period 1942-1945, when Japan controlled war-time Bali. Tokyo immediately restricted Christian missionary activities. Because of these restrictions, Hinduism and Islam in Bali were able to strengthen their influence during the Japanese occupation.
The Indonesian Independence Period (1945-1965) again allowed the fostering and expansion of Christianity in Bali. The Protestant Christian Church in Bali (GKPB) was officially established in Bali in 1931. Christianity grew rapidly on the Island, especially in Buleleng and Badung.
Christian villages were established in the Jenbrana villages of Blimbingsari (1840) and Palasari Village (1870), at Tegal Mengkeb Village in Sawan-Buleleng (1900), and, later, Kekeran Village in Tabanan.
Early migration to remote villages in Bali’s hinterlands was more of a matter of compulsion in that Christian converts’ religious views were juxtaposed uncomfortably next to Bali-Hindu views on religious rights of passage and the caste system.
2020 data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) put the number of Christians in Bali at around 10% of the total population, with 7% being Protestant Christians and 3% Catholics. The rest of the Island’s population are Hindu (87%), Islam (3.5%), and Buddhism (0.5%).
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