Christianity in Kuwait

Kuwait's native Christian population is diverse. There are between 259 and 400 Christian Kuwaiti citizens.[1][2][4] In 2014, there were 259 Christian Kuwaitis residing in Kuwait.[4] Latest estimates in December 2019 put the community at 290 with the slight increase most likely a result of a return of a few Kuwaiti Christian emigrants.[5]

Christian Kuwaitis can be divided into two groups. The first group includes the earliest, who were Iraqi Christian (Assyrian/Chaldean) and Turkish Christian (Antiochian Greek) immigrants and their local-born descendants.[2] They have assimilated into Kuwaiti society, like their Muslim counterparts, and tend to speak Arabic with a Kuwaiti dialect; their food and culture are also predominantly Kuwaiti. The make up less than a quarter of Kuwait's Christian population. The rest (roughly three-quarters) of Christian Kuwaitis make up the second group. They are more recent arrivals in the 1950s and 1960s, mostly Kuwaitis of Palestinian ancestry who were forced out of Palestine after 1948.[2] There are also smaller numbers who originally hail from Syria and Lebanon.[2] This second group is not as assimilated as the first group, as their food, culture, and Arabic dialect still retain a Levant feel. However, they are just as patriotic as the former group, and tend to be proud of their adopted homeland, with many serving in the army, police, civil, and foreign service. Most of Kuwait's citizen Christians belong to 12 large families, with the Shammas (from Turkey) and the Shuhaibar (from Palestine) families being some of the more prominent ones.[2]

Although there is a small community of Christian citizens, a law passed in 1981 prevents the naturalization of non-Muslims.[1] However, male citizens who were Christians before 1980 (and male children born to families of such citizens since that date), can transmit their citizenship to their children; however, they cannot transmit their citizenship to their spouses.[1]

Kuwait is the only GCC country besides Bahrain to have a local Christian population who hold citizenship.[6]

Traditionally, Eastern Orthodox Christians in Kuwait belong to the jurisdiction of Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. Eastern Orthodox parish in Kuwait was reorganized in 1969 by late metropolitan Constantine Papastephanou of Baghdad and Kuwait (1969-2014), who visited Kuwait on many occasions.[7] His successor is Metropolitan Ghattas Hazim of Baghdad and Kuwait (since 2014). His official seat remains in Baghdad, but administrative headquarters of the Archdiocese are located in Kuwait. Today, Eastern Orthodox parishes in Kuwait are administered by priests Ephrem Toumi and Filimon Saifi.[8]

Holy Family Cathedral, Kuwait City.

The denominations of both citizen and foreign Christians in Kuwait include, but are not limited to, the following:

• 140,000 Catholics in Kuwait. There is a cathedral in Kuwait City, which belongs to the Vicariate Apostolic of Kuwait. The Catholic Vicariate is largely made up of Asians from the Malay-speaking countries (Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia), the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, and Arab Christians from Lebanon (Maronite and Melkite rites), Egypt (Coptic rite), Jordan, Palestine and Syria (Syriac and Melkite rites). Maronite Christians, mostly from Lebanon, also worship at the Catholic cathedral in Kuwait City. A small group of Catholics are from Europe and the Americas.
• 200,000 Orthodox Christians, at least. The Greek Orthodox Church has about 3,500 members, while the Armenian Orthodox Church has about 4,000 members. The Coptic Orthodox Church has about 60,000 members. Totals for both the Greek Catholic (Eastern Rite) Church membership and Indian Orthodox Church membership more than 60,000.The Ethiopian and Russian Orthodox Churches, has a membership of 70,000. The Marthoma Syrian Church has a membership of about 40,000. The Syrian Orthodox Church has a membership of about 20,000.
• The Anglican Church has about 115 members. The National Evangelical Church of Kuwait has about 15,000 members. There are also a number other Protestant denominations in the country . These denominations include the India Pentecostal Church of God,Assemblies of God in India, Church of God (Full Gospel) in India,The Pentecostal Mission, Seventh-day Adventist Church.
• Other religious groups include The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which has a ward (congregation) of approximately 300 that meets in a villa in Salmiyah.

In 2012 the country had 7 official churches and 18 non-official churches, with Kuwait's largest cathedral being situated in the eastern part of Kuwait city.[10] While the constitution allows for religious freedom, national news flares up with rejection to the building of new churches every time it is discussed.[11]

In 2012 legislation was introduced in Kuwait’s parliament that would mandate the removal of Christian churches from the country and impose strict Shariah laws. The legislation was proposed shortly after Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al ash-Sheikh. Kuwaiti officials later clarified the legislation would not remove the churches already existing, but prohibit further construction of Christian churches and non-Muslim places of worship in the country.[12] Article 2 of the Constitution of Kuwait states Islam is the state religion and that Sharia (Islamic Law) shall be a main source of legislation, and as a consequence proselytization of Muslims by non-Muslims is illegal.[13]

• Roman Catholicism in Kuwait
• Christianity in the Middle East
• Christianity in Eastern Arabia
• Arab Christians

• Official Website of the Eastern Orthodox Archdiocese of Baghdad, Kuwait and Dependencies