Christianity in New Zealand
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Christianity in New Zealand dates to the arrival of
History
The first Christian
New Zealand's religious history after the arrival of Europeans saw substantial
The first book published in the
In 1823, Rev Henry Williams became the leader of the CMS mission in New Zealand. He settled at Paihia, across the bay from Kororāreka (nowadays Russell); then described as "the hell-hole of the South Pacific" because of the abuse of alcohol and prostitution that was the consequence of the sealing ships and whaling ships that visited Kororāreka.[13] Williams concentrated on the salvation of souls.[14] The first baptism occurred in 1825, although it was another 5 years before the second baptism.[15] Schools were established, which addressed religious instruction, reading and writing and practical skills. Williams also stopped the CMS trading muskets for food.[16] Māori eventually came to see that the ban on muskets was the only way to bring an end to the tribal wars.[17]
Williams organised the CMS missionaries into a systematic study of the
Henry Williams played an important role in the translation of the
In 1845, 64,000 Māori were attending church services, over half of the estimated population of 110,000.[29] By then, there was probably a higher proportion of Māori attending Church in New Zealand than British people in the United Kingdom.[30] The New Zealand Anglican Church, te Hāhi Mihinare (the missionary church), was, and is, the largest Māori denomination. Māori made Christianity their own and spread it throughout the country often before European missionaries arrived.[30][31]
The Sisters of Mercy arrived in Auckland in 1850 and were the first order of religious sisters to come to New Zealand and began to work in health care and education.[37] At the direction of
In 1892 the New Zealand Church Missionary Society (NZCMS) formed in a Nelson church hall and the first New Zealand missionaries were sent overseas soon after.[40]
Although there was some hostility between Catholic and Protestants in the 19th and early 20th centuries, this declined towards the end of the 20th century.[41]
Demographics
The proportion of New Zealanders who identify as Christian is declining—accounting for around 38% of responses to the 2018 census, whereas in the 1991 census it stood at around three-quarters.[42] Christian groups are experiencing mixed trends. Anglicanism and Presbyterianism are both losing adherents at a rapid rate, while smaller Protestant groups and non-denominational churches are growing.[43]
"Anglican" is the largest single Christian religious affiliation in New Zealand, according to the
Denominational affiliation[1][45][42] | 2018 | 2013 | 2006 | 2001 | Trend (%) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | 2001–13 | |
Total Christian | 1,793,970 | 38.17 | 1,858,977 | 47.65 | 2,027,418 | 54.16 | 2,043,843 | 58.92 | -11.27 |
Christian (Not Further Defined) | 310,143 | 6.6 | 216,177 | 5.54 | 186,234 | 4.97 | 192,165 | 5.54 | |
Protestant (& Protestant affiliations) | 846,000 | 17.43 | 1,093,065 | 28.01 | 1,286,196 | 34.35 | 1,324,353 | 38.17 | |
Anglican | 314,913 | 6.70 | 459,771 | 11.79 | 554,925 | 14.82 | 584,793 | 16.86 | |
Reformed
|
244,701 | 5.20 | 330,516 | 8.47 | 400,839 | 10.71 | 431,139 | 12.43 | |
Methodist | 72,183 | 1.5 | 102,879 | 2.64 | 121,806 | 3.25 | 120,546 | 3.48 | |
Born Again and Fundamentalist
|
65,283 | 1.38 | 15,381 | 0.39 | 13,836 | 0.37 | 11,016 | 0.32 | |
Pentecostal | 53,874 | 0.67 | 74,256 | 1.90 | 79,155 | 2.11 | 67,182 | 1.94 | |
Adventist | 18,510 | 0.39 | 17,085 | 0.44 | 16,191 | 0.43 | 14,868 | 0.43 | |
Baptist | 38,043 | 0.8 | 54,345 | 1.39 | 56,913 | 1.52 | 51,423 | 1.48 | |
Brethren | 14,160 | 0.30 | 18,624 | 0.48 | 19,617 | 0.52 | 20,397 | 0.59 | |
Protestant (not further defined) & non denominational | 9561 | 0.20 | 4,998 | 0.13 | 3,954 | 0.11 | 2,787 | 0.08 | |
Salvation Army | 7929 | 0.16 | 9,162 | 0.23 | 11,493 | 0.31 | 12,618 | 0.36 | |
Asian Christian | 5101 | 0.2 | 132 | <0.01 | 195 | 0.01 | 195 | 0.01 | |
Uniting/Union Church and Ecumenical | 3693 | 0.07 | 999 | 0.03 | 1,419 | 0.04 | 1,389 | 0.04 | |
Lutheran | 3585 | 0.07 | 3,903 | 0.10 | 4,476 | 0.12 | 4,314 | 0.12 | |
Church of Christ and Associated Churches of Christ | 3258 | 0.06 | 2,145 | 0.05 | 2,991 | 0.08 | 3,270 | 0.09 | |
Catholic (& Catholic affiliations) | 473,145 | 10.02 | 492,105 | 12.61 | 508,437 | 13.58 | 485,637 | 14.00 | |
Orthodox (& Orthodox affiliations) | 15,450 | 0.29 | 13,806 | 0.35 | 13,194 | 0.35 | 9,576 | 0.28 | |
Other Christian affiliations | 82,978 | 1.83 | 63,504 | 1.53 | 66,861 | 1.79 | 62,886 | 1.81 | |
Latter–day Saints | 54,123 | 1.15 | 40,728 | 1.04 | 43,539 | 1.16 | 39,915 | 1.15 | |
Jehovah's Witnesses | 20,061 | 0.42 | 17,931 | 0.46 | 17,910 | 0.48 | 17,829 | 0.51 | |
Other Christian | - | - | 3,714 | 0.10 | 3,798 | 0.10 | 3,558 | 0.10 | |
Total Māori Christian | 56,157 | 1.19 | 52,947 | 1.36 | 65,550 | 1.75 | 63,597 | 1.83 | -0.47 |
Rātana | 43,821 | 0.93 | 40,353 | 1.03 | 50,565 | 1.35 | 48,975 | 1.41 | |
Ringatū | 12,336 | 0.26 | 13,272 | 0.34 | 16,419 | 0.44 | 15,291 | 0.44 | |
Māori Christian (not further defined) | 222 | 0.01 | 219 | 0.01 | 237 | 0.01 | |||
Other Māori Christian | 333 | 0.01 | 360 | 0.01 | 426 | 0.01 | |||
Total population | 4,699,755 | 4,242,048 | 4,027,947 | 3,737,277 |
(Note: All figures are for the census usually resident population.
Percentages are based on number of responses rather than total population. These are nominal.
The 2011 census was cancelled due to the 2011 Christchurch earthquake
In all censuses, up to four responses were collected.)
Geographic distribution
The number of Christians in New Zealand varies slightly across different parts of the country – as of the 2006 census,[
Denominations and organisations
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2017) |
Presbyterianism, associated mostly with New Zealanders of Scottish descent, is strong in the lower South Island – the city of Dunedin was founded as a Presbyterian settlement, and many of the early settlers in the region were Scottish Presbyterians.[citation needed] Elsewhere, however, Presbyterians are usually outnumbered by both Anglicans and Catholics, making Presbyterianism the most geographically concentrated of the three main denominations. The territorial authorities with the highest proportion of Presbyterians are Gore (where they are 30.9% of the total population), Clutha (30.7%), and Southland (29.8%). The territorial authorities with the lowest proportion of Presbyterians are Far North (4.4%), Kaipara (6.2%), and Wellington (6.7%).[needs update?]
Pentecostalism and non denominational churches are amongst one of the highest denominations according to the 2018 census. Examples of these churches are Life Church in Auckland, Curate Church in Mount Maunganui, Arise in Wellington and Harmony Church in Christchurch.
Christian organisations in New Zealand are heavily involved in community activities including education; health services; chaplaincy to prisons, rest homes and hospitals; social justice and human rights advocacy.[47] Approximately 11% of New Zealand students attend Catholic schools;[48] the Anglican Church administers a number of schools;[49] and schools administered by members of the New Zealand Association for Christian Schools educated 13,000 students in 2009.[50]
Culture and the arts
Architecture
The
Festivals
The Christian festivals of
Music
Christian and
Media
New Zealand has many media organisations and personalities.
2021 COVID-19 Church Responses
In November 2021, the New Zealand government announced that New Zealand will head into a traffic light system.[59] This meant that New Zealand churches had to choose between having a smaller congregation of both unvaccinated and vaccinated members attend or the alternative of an unlimited amount of attendees that provided a vaccination pass.[60] Many churches like Auckland's Life Church, Wellington's Arise Church and Christchurch's Harmony Church[61] opted to take their ministry online over the Christmas period.[62]
Politics
Christianity has never had official status as a national religion in New Zealand, and a poll in 2007 found 58% of people were opposed to official status being granted.[63] Despite this, each sitting day of the New Zealand Parliament opens with a Christian prayer.[64][65] In contrast to England, where the Anglican Church is the officially established church, in New Zealand the Anglican Church has no special status, although it often officiates at civic events such as Anzac Day.
Most New Zealanders consider politicians' religious beliefs to be a private matter.
Christian political parties have never gained significant support and have often been characterised by controversy. Many of these are now defunct, such as the
The two main political parties, Labour and National, are not affiliated with any religion, although religious groups have at times played a significant role (e.g. the Rātana movement and Labour[79]). Politicians are often involved in public dialogue with religious groups.[80][81]
Controversy
In 1967,
According to a 2019 survey, nearly four in ten New Zealanders lacked trust in Evangelical churches.[83]
See also
Notes and references
Notes
- independent Catholic Churchesthat split later.
References
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- ^ Stenhouse, John. "Religion and society – Māori and religion". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
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- ^ OCLC 655641724.
- ^ "Wesleyan mission established". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 21 December 2016. Archived from the original on 21 August 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
- ^ NZETC: Maori Wars of the Nineteenth Century, 1816
- ^ Brownson, Ron (23 December 2010). "Outpost". Staff and friends of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
- ^ Rogers, Lawrence M., (1973) Te Wiremu: A Biography of Henry Williams, Pegasus Press, p. 35, f/n 7 & 39
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- ^ "Henry Williams". The Anglican Church in Aotearoa. Archived from the original (RTF) on 14 October 2008.
- ^ "The Church Missionary Gleaner, April 1874". The New Zealand Mission. Adam Matthew Digital. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
- ^ Rogers, Lawrence M. (1973). Te Wiremu: A Biography of Henry Williams. Pegasus Press. p. 57.
- ^ Mitcalfe, Barry (1963). "Angry peacemaker: Henry Williams – A missionary's courage wins Maori converts". Nine New Zealanders. Whitcombe and Tombs. p. 34.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Caroline (2011) Letter of Henry Williams, 9 February 1824
- ^ Fitzgerald, Caroline (2004) Journal of Henry Williams, 12 July 1826
- ^ Gillies 1995, p. 48
- ^ Rogers 1973, p. 25, f/n, p. 70
- ISBN 978-0143204084. pp 20-110
- ISBN 978-0143204084. pp 20-116
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- ^ Carleton, Hugh (1874). "Vol. II". The Life of Henry Williams: "Early Recollections" written by Henry Williams. Early New Zealand Books (ENZB), University of Auckland Library. pp. 11–15.
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{{cite web}}
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Further reading
- Ahdar, Rex (2003). God and Government: The New Zealand Experience. Dunedin: University of Otago Press.
- Davidson, Allan K. (2004). Christianity in Aotearoa : a history of church and society in New Zealand (3rd ed.). Wellington: Education For Ministry. ISBN 0-476-00229-X.
- Davidson, Allan K.; Lineham, Peter J. (1989). Transplanted Christianity: Documents Illustrating Aspects of New Zealand Church History (2nd ed.). Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.
- Harper, Tobia, "'Amen, Amen!'" New Zealand Journal of History (2008) 42#2 pp 133–153. Studies the impact of Christianity on New Zealand society in the 1920s
- Hoverd, William James (2008). "No Longer a Christian Country? – Religious Demographic Change in New Zealand 1966–2006" (PDF). New Zealand Sociology. 23 (1). Royal Society of New Zealand. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2009.