Christian emigration
Encyclopedia
Christian emigration is the migration of Christian
people from countries that have a high percentage and majority of non-Christians. Areas that have been particularly affected by Christian emigration include the Middle East
, the Indian subcontinent
and the Far East
. Today, the majority of Middle Eastern people in the United States are Christian.
has experienced a large migration of Lebanese Christians. These Lebanese Christians have migrated to North
and South America
, Europe
and Australia
before, during and since the 1975-1992 Lebanese Civil War
. Higher Muslim birthrates, the arrival of Palestinian refugees, and the expansion of the original Lebanese mutasarrifa to include areas populated largely by Muslim have contributed to reducing the Christian proportion of the Lebanese population. Lebanese Christians still remain culturally and politically prominent, forming something under 40% of the population. Since the end of the Lebanese Civil War, Muslim emigrants have outnumbered Christians, but the latter remain somewhat overrepresented compared to their proportion of the population http://www.cnewa.org/bulletin-bodypg.aspx?BulletinID=682.
In the Palestinian Territories
, there has been considerable Arab
emigration and Christians are disproportionately involved. Of the total Palestinian Christian population of Israel
and the Palestinian territories, it is estimated that 35% has emigrated since 1967 http://www.cnewa.org/generalpg-ver1.aspx?pageID=138.
However, recent years have also seen an influx of Christian immigrants to Israel from Ethiopia
and Eastern Europe
, with 290,000 or up to 41% of immigrants arriving from the former Soviet Union being non-Jewish (ibid). These non-Jewish immigrants have been found to have falsified their documents to indicate that they are Jewish in order to leave their countries of origin and their religious activities as Christians has largely been clandestine. Recently, Israel passed a law requiring all citizens to declare a loyalty oath to the state as the home of Jews.
Migrant workers from Christians countries such as the Philippines immigrated to Israel during the last decade and replaced the Palestinian workers. The Israeli government regularly has open debates on what to do with these workers and their children, as they present a demographic threat to the state. Deportation orders are thus common for these workers.
Since the United States
-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the resulting breakdown of law and order in that country, many Syriac speaking Assyrians
and other Christians have fled the country, taking refuge in Syria
, Jordan
and further afield. Despite Assyrians making up only 3% of Iraq's population, on October 2005, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
reported of the 700,000 Iraqis who took refuge in Syria between October 2003 and March 2005, 36% were "Iraqi Christians."
, especially in response to the increased violence towards Christians after the start of the 2001 War on Terrorism
. Christians are also emigrating from India too especially from the states of Goa and the converts to Christianity who have left, due to the persecution and discrimination many of them have faced in Jobs, Social life, and family at the hands of the Hindu Majority. Many have realized, that India is a Hindu majority land and will continue to be so, thus giving the logical conclusion to preserve their own faith and grow it in other nations.
and former communist states in Europe
. Many Chinese Christians
have left China
because of anti-Christian sentiment and discrimination in their homeland partly due to the communist rule, but also to popular resentment towards Chinese Christians for political or cultural reasons.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
people from countries that have a high percentage and majority of non-Christians. Areas that have been particularly affected by Christian emigration include the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
and the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
. Today, the majority of Middle Eastern people in the United States are Christian.
Christian emigration from the Middle East
Many Christians have emigrated from the Middle East, a phenomenon that has been attributed to various causes included economic factors, political and military conflict, and feelings of insecurity or isolation among minority Christian populations. The higher rate of emigration among Christians, compared to other religious groups, has also been attributed to their having stronger support networks available abroad, in the form of existing emigrant communities. LebanonLebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
has experienced a large migration of Lebanese Christians. These Lebanese Christians have migrated to North
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
before, during and since the 1975-1992 Lebanese Civil War
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
. Higher Muslim birthrates, the arrival of Palestinian refugees, and the expansion of the original Lebanese mutasarrifa to include areas populated largely by Muslim have contributed to reducing the Christian proportion of the Lebanese population. Lebanese Christians still remain culturally and politically prominent, forming something under 40% of the population. Since the end of the Lebanese Civil War, Muslim emigrants have outnumbered Christians, but the latter remain somewhat overrepresented compared to their proportion of the population http://www.cnewa.org/bulletin-bodypg.aspx?BulletinID=682.
In the Palestinian Territories
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories comprise the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence in 1988, the region is today recognized by three-quarters of the world's countries as the State of Palestine or simply Palestine, although this status is not recognized by the...
, there has been considerable Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
emigration and Christians are disproportionately involved. Of the total Palestinian Christian population of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the Palestinian territories, it is estimated that 35% has emigrated since 1967 http://www.cnewa.org/generalpg-ver1.aspx?pageID=138.
However, recent years have also seen an influx of Christian immigrants to Israel from Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, with 290,000 or up to 41% of immigrants arriving from the former Soviet Union being non-Jewish (ibid). These non-Jewish immigrants have been found to have falsified their documents to indicate that they are Jewish in order to leave their countries of origin and their religious activities as Christians has largely been clandestine. Recently, Israel passed a law requiring all citizens to declare a loyalty oath to the state as the home of Jews.
Migrant workers from Christians countries such as the Philippines immigrated to Israel during the last decade and replaced the Palestinian workers. The Israeli government regularly has open debates on what to do with these workers and their children, as they present a demographic threat to the state. Deportation orders are thus common for these workers.
Since the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the resulting breakdown of law and order in that country, many Syriac speaking Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
and other Christians have fled the country, taking refuge in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
and further afield. Despite Assyrians making up only 3% of Iraq's population, on October 2005, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...
reported of the 700,000 Iraqis who took refuge in Syria between October 2003 and March 2005, 36% were "Iraqi Christians."
Christian emigration from the Indian subcontinent
Christians have also fled PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, especially in response to the increased violence towards Christians after the start of the 2001 War on Terrorism
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
. Christians are also emigrating from India too especially from the states of Goa and the converts to Christianity who have left, due to the persecution and discrimination many of them have faced in Jobs, Social life, and family at the hands of the Hindu Majority. Many have realized, that India is a Hindu majority land and will continue to be so, thus giving the logical conclusion to preserve their own faith and grow it in other nations.
Christian emigration from communist states
Repression of religious practice and persecution of those involved in religious organisations were among the contributory factors in emigration from the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and former communist states in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Many Chinese Christians
Christianity in China
Christianity in China is a growing minority religion that comprises Protestants , Catholics , and a small number of Orthodox Christians. Although its lineage in China is not as ancient as the institutional religions of Taoism and Mahayana Buddhism, and the social system and ideology of...
have left China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
because of anti-Christian sentiment and discrimination in their homeland partly due to the communist rule, but also to popular resentment towards Chinese Christians for political or cultural reasons.
See also
- After Saturday Comes SundayAfter Saturday Comes SundayAfter Saturday Comes Sunday is an Arabic phrase. Writers like Israel Amrani and Nissan Ratzlav-Katz attribute it to fundamentalist Muslims and interpret it to mean that after they finish dealing with the Jews , they will next deal with the Christians .Paul Charles Merkley writes:Leaders of...
- ChristianityChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
- Persecution of ChristiansPersecution of ChristiansPersecution of Christians as a consequence of professing their faith can be traced both historically and in the current era. Early Christians were persecuted for their faith, at the hands of both Jews from whose religion Christianity arose, and the Roman Empire which controlled much of the land...
- Christianophobia
- Palestinian ChristiansPalestinian ChristiansPalestinian Christians are Arabic-speaking Christians descended from the people of the geographical area of Palestine. Within Palestine, there are churches and believers from many Christian denominations, including Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholic , Protestant, and others...