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The French Internet site "Aide à l'Eglise en détresse" (Aid to the Church in Need) puts the figure of Christians in Bhutan at 12,255, with 1,000 Roman Catholics, making it a total of 0.9% of the population. The population also consists of 84% Buddhists, 11.4% Hindus, 3.4% Animists and 0.3% uncategorized.
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Origins
In 1627 two Pourtugese Jesuits, Fr. Estêvão Cacella and Fr. João Cabral, traveling from Kochi and attempting to make a new route to the Jesuit mission in Shigatse, Tibet, visited Bhutan. While in Bhutan, Father Cacella and Father Cabral met Ngawang Namgyal, the founder and religious leader of the Bhutanese state, and spent months in his court. The "Zhabdrung strongly encouraged the Jesuits to stay and even allowed them to use a room in Cheri [Monastery] as a chapel, granted them land in Paro to build a church and sent some of his own attendants to join the congregation. With no success in conversion and despite much discouragement from the Zhabdrung against their departure, the Jesuits eventually left for Tibet." At the end of a stay of nearly eight months in the country, Father Cacella wrote a long letter from Cheri Monastery, to his superior in Cochin in the Malabar Coast; it was a report, The Relacao, relating the progress of their travels. Their visit is also corroborated in contemporaneous Bhutanese sources, including the biography of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal.
The 2008 Constitution
Article 7 of the 2008 constitution guarantees religious freedom, but also forbids conversion 'by means of coercion or inducement'. According to Open Doors, this hinders the ability of Christians to proselytize.
Christian communities
There is a relatively large Christian population in Southern Bhutan.
Roman Catholics
Territorially, Roman Catholics in Bhutan belong to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Darjeeling.
Protestants
The majority of the country's Christians are Pentecostals. The Church of God in Christ, which claims to be the denomination supplying most gospel tracts in Bhutan, has a Pentecostal character and has about two congregations in Bhutan. The Indian New Life League is another Protestant denomination and has one congregation in Bhutan. The Diocese of Eastern Himalaya is a diocese of the Church of North India, with its seat at Darjeeling. There are other Protestant groups, like El-Shaddai, and there are also Christians who are not members of the denominational churches, who simply gather as Christians in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are called "brethren" and number about 400 in Bhutan.
Vajrayana Buddhism as state religion
Vajrayana Buddhism is the State religion of Bhutan. Bhutan is the last remaining country in which Buddhism in its tantric, vajrayana form, also called lamaism, is the state religion.
According to Article 3 of the 2008 Constitution, "Buddhism is the spiritual heritage of Bhutan, which promotes the principles and values of peace, non-violence, compassion and tolerance". "The Druk Gyalpo [or King] is the protector of all religions in Bhutan". Article 3 stipulates that "It shall be the responsibility of religious institutions and personalities to promote the spiritual heritage of the country while also ensuring that religion remains separate from politics in Bhutan. Religious institutions and personalities shall remain above politics."
Because the constitution itself states that the spiritual heritage of Bhutan is Buddhism and it also says "It shall be the responsibility of religious institutions and personalities to promote the spiritual heritage", implies that it is the responsibility of other religions to promote Buddhism, which in effect imposes politically via the constitution, Buddhism as the national religion.
Before 2008
After 2008
According to the "Open Doors" ONG, "Persecution in Buddhist Bhutan mainly comes from the family, the community, and the monks who yield a strong influence in the society. Cases of atrocities (i.e. beatings) have been decreasing in number; this may continue as a result of major changes in the country, including the implementation of a new constitution guaranteeing greater religious liberty."
Proselytizing
According to the U. S. State Department's 2007 Report on International Religious Freedom no forced religious conversion has been known.
Christian media
The Bhutanese Christians Services Centre is an NGO informing on persecution of Christians in Bhutan. The Gospel for Asia radio broadcasts in five languages reaching Bhutan.