Christianity in Singapore

Christians in Singapore constitute 18.9% of the country's resident population, as of the most recent census conducted in 2020. Christianity is the second largest religion in the country, after Buddhism and before Islam. In 2020, about 37.1% of the country's Christians identified as Catholic with 62.9% labeled as 'Other Christians', most of them Protestants, in addition to some Orthodox and other minority Christian denominations. Christianity was first introduced to Singapore by Anglicans, who were among the first British settlers to arrive shortly after the founding of a British colony by Stamford Raffles. The proportion of Christians among the Singaporean population has increased in the last few decades; 9.9% in 1980, 12.7% in 1990, 14.6% in 2000 and 18.9% in 2020. Christianity has flourished in present-day Singapore, and a growing number of Singaporeans are converting to the faith. While not exhaustive, Christian converts tend to be individuals that are well-educated, of a higher socioeconomic status, and uses English as a first language. The majority of Christian churches are under the umbrella of the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS). Most belong to Protestant traditions which consist of an array of denominations. Another major umbrella group is the Alliance of Pentecostal & Charismatic Churches Singapore (APCCS), a network of local churches, Christian organisations and pastors from largely independent charismatic churches and the Assemblies of God denomination. Local Protestant denominations consist of: Anglicans, Methodists, Pentecostals, Baptists, Reformed (mostly Presbyterians and Dutch Reformed), Lutherans, and Evangelical Free Church. There are also nondenominational churches from the Churches of Christ, Plymouth Brethren, and Charismatic Christian traditions. Anglicanism is represented in Singapore by the Diocese of Singapore, which has 26 parishes in Singapore, and is a part of the Church of the Province of South East Asia.