To Index| Group | Where | Number of Adherents |
% of total pop. |
Number of congreg./ churches/ units |
Number of countries |
Year | Source | Quote/ Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catholic | Tonga | 16,000 | - | - | - | 1996 | 1997 Britannica Book of the Year. Pg. 781-783. | Table: "Religion ": Divided by nations, with 2 columns: "Religious affiliation " & "1996 pop. " [of that religion]. Based on best avail. figures, whether census data, membership figures or estimates by analysts, as % of est. 1996 midyear pop. |
| Christianity | Tonga | - | 66.00% | - | - | 1833 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 37. | "By 1833, then, roughly two-thirds of Tonga was Christian and united, and the effort seems to have been minimal, at least on the part of Taufa'ahau. " |
| Christianity | Tonga | 107,335 | 100.00% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | Total population: 107,335. Christian (Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000 adherents) |
| Christianity | Tonga | - | 93.00% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* web site: "Ethnologue Database " (viewed circa Dec. 1998) | "Religion: Christian 84% [apparently meaning Protestant and Catholic], Mormon 9% [a subset of Christianity], Baha'i 3% " |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Tonga | 18,484 | - | - | - | 1980 | Stark, Rodney. "The Rise of a New World Faith " in Latter-day Saint Social Life: Social Research on the LDS Church and its Members, edited by James T. Duke. Religious Studies Center, BYU: Provo, UT (1998), pg. 17. | "Table: 1.3: Two Years of Mormon Growth, 1978-80 "; Two columns: "Percentage rate of membership growth 1978-80 " and "Number of members in 1980 "; Growth 1978-80: 21% |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Tonga | 7,563 | 8.00% | - | - | 1986 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 156. | "Religions: Methodist about 75%, including Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, Free Church of Tonga, Church of Tonga; Roman Catholic about 15%; Latter-day Saints about 8%... Population: 94,535 (1986). " |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1989 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 167-168. | "Listed here are the main churches & [phone] numbers for confirming the times & locations of services... Anglican Church... Baha'I Faith... Catholic Church... Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... Church of Tonga... Feohi'anga Tokaikola... Free Wesleyan Church... Free Church of Tonga... Seventh-Day Adventist... Tonga Gospel Fellowship... United Pentecostal Church... Worldwide Church of God. " |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1989 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 167. | "As well as the main Christian churches, the Mormons have cultivated quite a following. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has an imposing temple at Liahona, outside Nuku'alofa, as well as many smaller churches scattered around Tongatapu. " |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1989 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 72. | "Here [Nukunuku] one can find the churches of other faiths also, including the Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, fast becoming the most ubiquitous religion in Tonga if not the largest numerically. " |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1989 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 80. | "The Mormons have the fastest-growing religion in Tonga (in percentage terms), although the chances of their Mormonising the entire kingdom by the end of the century, as some missionaries used to claim, seem increasingly remote. " |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Tonga | - | 32.00% | - | - | 1995 | "Tonga: A Heritage of Faith " in Ensign (Aug. 1995), pg. 33. | "Representing nearly a third of the entire population of the Kingdom of Tonga... " |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Tonga | 40,000 | 38.00% | 138 units |
- | 1995 | Deseret News 1997-98 Church Almanac. Deseret News: Salt Lake City, UT (1996), pg. 188-408. | "Year-end 1995: Est. population [of country]; Members, [number shown in '# of adherents' column to left] " |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Tonga | 13,225 | 13.63% | - | - | 1996 | *LINK* "Tonga's Census of Church Members Released " (March 12, 1998 - PACNEWS); posted on Tonga history newsgroup web page: "Re: % of Christians in Tongan population " (viewed 22 May 1999). | "Of a total population of approximately 97,000... according to the kingdom's latest census of churchgoers.... Tongan government statistics department. The Roman Catholic Church ranked second in Tongan church members with 15,309, followed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with 13,225. " |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Tonga | - | 40.00% | - | - | 1997 | Deseret News 1999-2000 Church Almanac. Deseret News: Salt Lake City, UT (1998), pg. 122. | "The Kingdom of Tonga has the greatest proportion of members of any country in the world with about 40% of the population LDS. " |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Tonga | 43,000 | 40.00% | 144 units |
- | 1997 | Deseret News 1999-2000 Church Almanac. Deseret News: Salt Lake City, UT (1998), pg. 267-410. | Information from a variety of sources. Figures for year-end 1997. |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Tonga | - | 33.00% | - | - | 1998 | "Church Members Honor Tonga's King " in Ensign (Oct. 1998), pg. 77. | "Since missionaries first started preaching the gospel in Tonga in 1891, more than a third of the nation's 106,000 residents have joined the Church. " |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Tonga | - | 9.00% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* web site: "Ethnologue Database " (viewed circa Dec. 1998) | "Religion: Christian 84%, Mormon 9%, Baha'i 3% " |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints | Tonga | - | 30.00% | - | - | 1999 | *LINK* Khan, Lubna (AP). "Tongans work to maintain identity " in Deseret News, 9 Oct. 1999 (v. online 9 Oct. 1999). | "...in Tonga 30 percent of the population is Mormon, according to the Office of Polynesian Affairs. " |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - temples | Tonga | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1989 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 167. | "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has an imposing temple at Liahona, outside Nuku'alofa, as well as many smaller churches scattered around Tongatapu. " |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - temples | Tonga | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1996 | Deseret News 1997-98 Church Almanac. Deseret News: Salt Lake City, UT (1996), pg. 435-436. | Table: "Temples of the Church "; Nuku'alofa, Tonga |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - temples | Tonga | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1998 | *LINK* web site: "LDSWorld "; web page: "Gems Temple Status Page " (viewed 17 July 1999); compiled by Dave Kenison. Updated regularly. | Original sources: Deseret News Church Almanac, & announcements thru Church News & other media.; Table: "LOCATIONS & DEDICATIONS OF TEMPLES " (incl. dedication dates) |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - temples | Tonga | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1999 | *LINK* web site: "Kim Siever's Temple Site "; web page: "Australia & Oceania " (viewed 18 April 1999). | Table with columns: Name [of temple], Year: Operating temples: "Hamilton New Zealand 1958; Apia Western Samoa 1983; Nuku'alofa Tonga 1983; Papeete Tahiti 1983; Sydney Australia 1984 " |
| Church of Tonga | Tonga | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1927 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 46. | "Watkin's death in early 1925 more or less ended the matter. [Queen] Salote had won only a partial victory. 4000 Tongans still held out against the idea of reconciliation [between Free Wesleyan Church and the foreign-based Wesleyan Church, later to be known as the Free Church of Tonga]. Within two years they too had split, to create yet another Methodist congregation, the Church of Tonga. The three groups have remained apart ever since. " |
| Church of Tonga | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1986 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 156. | "Religions: Methodist about 75%, including Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, Free Church of Tonga, Church of Tonga; Roman Catholic about 15%; Latter-day Saints about 8%... Population: 94,535 (1986). " |
| Church of Tonga | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1989 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 167-168. | "Listed here are the main churches & [phone] numbers for confirming the times & locations of services... Anglican Church... Baha'I Faith... Catholic Church... Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... Church of Tonga... Feohi'anga Tokaikola... Free Wesleyan Church... Free Church of Tonga... Seventh-Day Adventist... Tonga Gospel Fellowship... United Pentecostal Church... Worldwide Church of God. " |
| Church of Tonga | Tonga | - | 10.00% | - | - | 1989 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 66. | "...three streets east of the Basilica... is the Church of Tonga, erected in 1929 fo rthe third of Tonga's Methodist faiths, which now accounts for about 10 per cent of the population. " |
| Constitutional Free Church of Tonga | Tonga | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1986 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 46. | "Within two years they [i.e., the remaining Wesleyan Church] too had split, to create yet another Methodist congregation, the Church of Tonga. The three groups have remained apart ever since. They became four in 1986, with the founding of the Constitutional Free Church of Tonga. " [Apparently the "Constitutional Free Church of Tonga " is a distinct name of the "Free Church of Tonga, " which is what the dissenting Wesleyan Church became known as.] |
| Feohi'anga Tokaikola | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1989 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 167-168. | "Listed here are the main churches & [phone] numbers for confirming the times & locations of services... Anglican Church... Baha'I Faith... Catholic Church... Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... Church of Tonga... Feohi'anga Tokaikola... Free Wesleyan Church... Free Church of Tonga... Seventh-Day Adventist... Tonga Gospel Fellowship... United Pentecostal Church... Worldwide Church of God. " |
| Free Church of Tonga | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1986 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 156. | "Religions: Methodist about 75%, including Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, Free Church of Tonga, Church of Tonga; Roman Catholic about 15%; Latter-day Saints about 8%... Population: 94,535 (1986). " |
| Free Church of Tonga | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1989 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 167-168. | "Listed here are the main churches & [phone] numbers for confirming the times & locations of services... Anglican Church... Baha'I Faith... Catholic Church... Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... Church of Tonga... Feohi'anga Tokaikola... Free Wesleyan Church... Free Church of Tonga... Seventh-Day Adventist... Tonga Gospel Fellowship... United Pentecostal Church... Worldwide Church of God. " |
| Free Church of Tonga | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1989 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 64. | "Sunday morning... of course, also the best time to observe members of the congregation entering the amzing looking church across the road. This is another centenary church, not of the Free Wesleyans this time but of the Free Church of Tonga, the body who had refused to join the Free Wesleyans when the group split from the Australian conference, although that has not always been its name. Many members of the Free Church of Tonga held out against the later determined efforts of Queen Salote to reunite Tonga's Methodists... Though far smaller in number than the Free Wesleyans, members of this church were able to... biult a remarkable house of worship in a style that might be described as Polynesian-Gothic. " |
| Free Wesleyan Church | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1925 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 46. | "Neither [Queen] Salote's good intentions nor her husband's advice, however, enabled them to overcome the most significant challenge to her reign. This was the attempt to reunite Tonga's Methodists, separated by the rivalries of 1885 into two churches, the parent (but smaller) Wesleyan Church and the Tonga-based Free Wesleyan Church. " |
| Free Wesleyan Church | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1989 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 167-168. | "Listed here are the main churches & [phone] numbers for confirming the times & locations of services... Anglican Church... Baha'I Faith... Catholic Church... Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... Church of Tonga... Feohi'anga Tokaikola... Free Wesleyan Church... Free Church of Tonga... Seventh-Day Adventist... Tonga Gospel Fellowship... United Pentecostal Church... Worldwide Church of God. " |
| Free Wesleyan Church | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1989 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 42. | "In February 1887 the remaining Wesleyans in Tonga -- now numbering a mere 90 -- were removed to Fiji. The Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, as the secessionist body bacame known, remains the largest denomination in Tonga today... " |
| Free Wesleyan Church | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1989 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 63. | "...down Vaha'akolo Road... until you reach Wellington Road and marvel at the sheer size of one of 0.the gr.eates.t0 wo.r0ks of the many faithful in Tonga. This is the Free Wesleyan Centenary Church, sometimes referred to as the main church (at least by its members), sometimes as the king's church and certainly one of the largest buildings in the country. Unfortunately, it is also one of the ugliest, a charmless concrete construction which tries to make up in immensity what it lacks in aesthetic appeal... the church seats 2000, though it is only likely to contain that many on very special occasions... " |
| Free Wesleyan Church | Tonga | 40,000 | 41.00% | - | - | 1996 | *LINK* "Tonga's Census of Church Members Released " (March 12, 1998 - PACNEWS); posted on Tonga history newsgroup web page: "Re: % of Christians in Tongan population " (viewed 22 May 1999). | "Of a total population of approximately 97,000, just over 41%, or some 40,000 of Tonga's people, are members of the Free Wesleyan Church, according to the kingdom's latest census of churchgoers. This is a slight drop -- 1.7% -- from a 1986 count, according to the Tongan government statistics department. " |
| Free Wesleyan Church | Tonga | 44,000 | - | - | - | 1996 | 1997 Britannica Book of the Year. Pg. 781-783. | Table; [Listed in table as "Free Wesleyan "] |
| Free Wesleyan Church | Tonga | 30,000 | 27.95% | - | - | 1997 | *LINK* CIA World Factbook web site (viewed Aug. 1998) | Total population: 107,335. Christian (Free Wesleyan Church claims over 30,000 adherents) |
| Free Wesleyan Church | Tonga | 45,000 | 45.00% | - | - | 1998 | Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 3 - Asia & Oceania. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 772-773. | "The current population of Tonga is approximately 100,000... "; Pg. 773: "Christianity is the dominant religion in the Kingdom of Tonga. The largest denomination on the islands is that of the Free Wesleyan Church, which claims to have almost half of the Tongans as members. " |
| Islam | Tonga | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1989 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 167. | "Listed here are the main churches and their telephone numbers... There is also a small congregation of the followers of Islam. " |
| Islam | Tonga | 80 | - | - | - | 1996 | RISEAP. Muslim Almanac - Asia Pacific. | Table: Muslim Population in Asia Pacific Region (1996) |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Tonga | 41 | 0.05% | 1 unit |
- | 1983 | Botting, Heather & Gary Botting. The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. Toronto: University of Toronto Press (1984), pg. 53-59. | Table: "1983 Service Year Report of JWs Worldwide "; Adherent count here is from "1983 Peak Publishers " column |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Tonga | 89 | 0.09% | 3 units |
- | 1997 | *LINK* official organization web site | Adherent/member count is for "1997 Peak Witnesses "; Memorial attendance (annual sacrament meeting) for same year: 313. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Tonga | 108 | 0.11% | 3 units |
- | 1998 | *LINK* Jehovah's Witnesses official web site; section: "Statistics "; web page: "Worldwide Report " (viewed 16 April 1999). | Table: "1998 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide "; This adherent/member count is for "1998 Peak Witnesses " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses - Memorial attendance | Tonga | 164 | - | 1 unit |
- | 1983 | Botting, Heather & Gary Botting. The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. Toronto: University of Toronto Press (1984), pg. 53-59. | Table: "1983 Service Year Report of JWs Worldwide "; Data from columns: "No. of congs. " and "Memorial attendance " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses - Memorial attendance | Tonga | 313 | 0.32% | 3 units |
- | 1997 | *LINK* official organization web site | From 1997 Statistics "Memorial attendance " column. Count of all who attend this once-a-year meeting, whether or not a "publisher " in full standing. Most would be considered adherents. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses - Memorial attendance | Tonga | 320 | 0.33% | - | - | 1998 | *LINK* Jehovah's Witnesses official web site; section: "Statistics "; web page: "Worldwide Report " (viewed 16 April 1999). | Table: "1998 Report of Jehovah's Witnesses Worldwide "; "Memorial attendance " column indicates attendance at yearly communion meeting. |
| London Missionary Society | Tonga | 10 | - | - | - | 1797 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 33-34. | "Since Tonga was to become a virtually Methodist kingdom in the 19th century, it would be convenient if the Methodists had been the pioneers of Christianity. But they were not: that distinction belongs to ten members of the London Missionary Society, deposited on Tongatapu in 1797, a response to the enthusiasm for the South Seas generated by the publication of Cook's journals in England... " |
| London Missionary Society | Tonga | 5 | - | - | - | 1799 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 34. | "...ten members of the London Missionary Society, deposited on Tongatapu in 1797... Within a very short time two [missionaries] had deserted... In May 1979 three of them were clubbed to death... remaining five... By the time they escaped... the following year not one convert had been made. " |
| London Missionary Society | Tonga | 0 | - | - | - | 1800 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 34. | "...ten members of the London Missionary Society, deposited on Tongatapu in 1797... Their timing could hardly have been worse. Confusing the message with the medium, the Tongans showed far more interest in the artisan-missionaries' iron tools and trade skills than in their gospel... Within a very short time two [missionaries] had deserted. But their worst misfortune was the condition of Tongan society. This was a time of violent struggles, to which the missionaries unwittingly fell victims. In May 1979 three of them were clubbed to death, less for their beliefs than the fact that they had taken up residence with one of the warring chiefs. The remaining five had their house burnt and their property stolen. By the time they escaped on a Sydney-bound ship the following year not one convert had been made. " |
| Methodist | Tonga | 1 | - | - | - | 1822 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 34. | "...Wesleyan [i.e. Methodist] minister Walter Lawry who, bringing a gift of cattle, turned up at the royal seat of Mu'a in 1822. A little more than one year later, much harassed, he departed, hoping to return. He never did. " |
| Methodist | Tonga | 7 | - | - | - | 1822 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 34. | "In January 1829 seven young Tongans, taking the baptismal names Noah, Moses, Elisha, Barnabas, Joseph etc, made history by becoming the first Tongan Methodists. " |
| Methodist | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1850 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 33-34. | "Since Tonga was to become a virtually Methodist kingdom in the 19th century, it would be convenient if the Methodists had been the pioneers of Christianity. But they were not: that distinction belongs to ten members of the London Missionary Society... " |
| Methodist | Tonga | 70,901 | 75.00% | - | - | 1986 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 156. | "Religions: Methodist about 75%, including Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, Free Church of Tonga, Church of Tonga; Roman Catholic about 15%; Latter-day Saints about 8%... Population: 94,535 (1986). " |
| Nonreligious | Tonga | 61 | 0.06% | - | - | 1996 | *LINK* "Tonga's Census of Church Members Released " (March 12, 1998 - PACNEWS); posted on Tonga history newsgroup web page: "Re: % of Christians in Tongan population " (viewed 22 May 1999). | "Of a total population of approximately 97,000... according to the kingdom's latest census of churchgoers.... Tongan government statistics department... The census report shows that 61 Tongans declared no religion. " |
| other | Tonga | 41,000 | - | - | - | 1996 | 1997 Britannica Book of the Year. Pg. 781-783. | Table; "other " = NOT Free Wesleyan or Roman Catholic |
| Protestant | Tonga | - | 73.00% | - | - | 1992 | Goring, Rosemary (ed). Larousse Dictionary of Beliefs & Religions (Larousse: 1994) pg. 581-584. | Table: "Population Distribution of Major Beliefs "; "Figures have been compiled from the most accurate recent available information and are in most cases correct to the nearest 1% "; Protestant "includes all non-Roman Catholic denominations " |
| Seventh-day Adventist | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1989 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 167-168. | "Listed here are the main churches & [phone] numbers for confirming the times & locations of services... Anglican Church... Baha'I Faith... Catholic Church... Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... Church of Tonga... Feohi'anga Tokaikola... Free Wesleyan Church... Free Church of Tonga... Seventh-Day Adventist... Tonga Gospel Fellowship... United Pentecostal Church... Worldwide Church of God. " |
| Tonga Gospel Fellowship | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1989 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 167-168. | "Listed here are the main churches & [phone] numbers for confirming the times & locations of services... Anglican Church... Baha'I Faith... Catholic Church... Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... Church of Tonga... Feohi'anga Tokaikola... Free Wesleyan Church... Free Church of Tonga... Seventh-Day Adventist... Tonga Gospel Fellowship... United Pentecostal Church... Worldwide Church of God. " |
| United Pentecostal Church International | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1989 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 167-168. | "Listed here are the main churches & [phone] numbers for confirming the times & locations of services... Anglican Church... Baha'I Faith... Catholic Church... Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... Church of Tonga... Feohi'anga Tokaikola... Free Wesleyan Church... Free Church of Tonga... Seventh-Day Adventist... Tonga Gospel Fellowship... United Pentecostal Church... Worldwide Church of God. " |
| unknown | Tonga | 10 | 0.01% | - | - | 1996 | *LINK* "Tonga's Census of Church Members Released " (March 12, 1998 - PACNEWS); posted on Tonga history newsgroup web page: "Re: % of Christians in Tongan population " (viewed 22 May 1999). | "Of a total population of approximately 97,000... according to the kingdom's latest census of churchgoers.... Tongan government statistics department... Only ten persons refused to give an answer when questioned, Radio Tonga reports. " |
| Wesleyan Church | Tonga | 90 | - | - | - | 1887 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 42. | "In February 1887 the remaining Wesleyans [i.e. European-based Methodists] in Tonga -- now numbering a mere 90 -- were removed to Fiji. The Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga, as the secessionist body bacame known, remains the largest denomination in Tonga today... " |
| Wesleyan Church | Tonga | 4,000 | - | - | - | 1925 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 46. | "A completely successful healing of the breach [between the foreign-based Wesleyan Church and the Tonga-based Free Wesleyan Church] required the goodwill and cooperation of the President of the Free Church, the long-serving and now aged Rev. Jabez B. Watkin... Watkin's death in early 1925 more or less ended the matter. [Queen] Salote had won only a partial victory. 4000 Tongans still held out against the idea of reconciliation. " |
| Wesleyan Church | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1925 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 46. | "Neither [Queen] Salote's good intentions nor her husband's advice, however, enabled them to overcome the most significant challenge to her reign. This was the attempt to reunite Tonga's Methodists, separated by the rivalries of 1885 into two churches, the parent (but smaller) Wesleyan Church and the Tonga-based Free Wesleyan Church. " |
| Worldwide Church of God | Tonga | - | - | - | - | 1989 | Douglas, Norman & Ngaire Douglas. Tonga: A Guide. Newstead, Brisbane, Australia: Albion Press (1989), pg. 167-168. | "Listed here are the main churches & [phone] numbers for confirming the times & locations of services... Anglican Church... Baha'I Faith... Catholic Church... Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints... Church of Tonga... Feohi'anga Tokaikola... Free Wesleyan Church... Free Church of Tonga... Seventh-Day Adventist... Tonga Gospel Fellowship... United Pentecostal Church... Worldwide Church of God. " |
| Unitarian/Unitarian Universalist | Transylvania | 80,000 | - | - | - | 1998 | Chryssides, George D. The Elements of Unitarianism. Shaftesbury, Dorset, United Kingdom: Element Books Limited (1998), pg. 107. | "Transylvania boasts the largest community of Unitarians for whom English is not their first language, totalling around 80,000. " |
| Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Church of North and South America | Trinidad | - | - | 1 unit |
- | 1991 | Melton, J. Gordon (ed.). The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books (1991), pg. 140. Section: Non-Chalcedonian Orthodoxy. | "Ethiopian Orthodox Coptic Church of North and South America... In the few years of its existence it has established churches in Trinidad, Mexico, and Pennsylvania... Membership: Not reported. It is estimated that several hundred members can be found in the 3 parishes in New York and Pennsylvania. " |
| Hinduism | Trinidad | - | 25.00% | - | - | 1986 | Halverson, Dean C. (ed.) The Compact Guide to World Religions; Colorado Springs, Colorado: International Students Inc. (1996). [Publisher is an Evangelical missionary organization.] [Orig. source: Johnstone, Patrick. "Operation World " (1986)] Pg. 87. | "Hindus also comprise a significant portion of the population in seven other countries: Bangladesh (11%), Bhutan (25%), Fiji (41%), Mauritius (50%), Nepal (89%), Sri Lanka (15%), Surinam (27%), and Trinidad (25%). " |
| Jehovah's Witnesses | Trinidad | 3,627 | 0.33% | 44 units |
- | 1983 | Botting, Heather & Gary Botting. The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. Toronto: University of Toronto Press (1984), pg. 53-59. | Table: "1983 Service Year Report of JWs Worldwide "; Adherent count here is from "1983 Peak Publishers " column |
| Jehovah's Witnesses - Memorial attendance | Trinidad | 9,750 | - | 44 units |
- | 1983 | Botting, Heather & Gary Botting. The Orwellian World of Jehovah's Witnesses. Toronto: University of Toronto Press (1984), pg. 53-59. | Table: "1983 Service Year Report of JWs Worldwide "; Data from columns: "No. of congs. " and "Memorial attendance " |
| Orthodox Catholic Church in America (Verra) | Trinidad | - | - | 2 units |
- | 1988 | Melton, J. Gordon (ed.). The Encyclopedia of American Religions: Vol. 1. Tarrytown, NY: Triumph Books (1991), pg. 128. | "Membership: In 1988 the church reported two parishes and five priests in the United States. There were also two parishes in Trinidad. " |
| Shango | Trinidad | - | - | - | - | 1993 | Brandon, George. Santeria from Africa to the New World: Dead Sell Memories. Bloomington and Indiana: Indiana University Press (1993), pg. 2. | "...Yoruba-based religious forms that exist in the Caribbean, in Central & South America... Santeria is the Cuban variant of this tradition. Shango in Trinidad and on Grenada, Xango and Candomble in Brazil, and Kele on St. Lucia are other examples... " |
| Anglican | Trinidad and Tobago | 120,000 | - | - | - | 1979 | *LINK* Nance Profiles web site (orig. source: OPERATION WORLD 1979); (viewed Aug. 1998; now restricted.) | Largest groups: Anglicans 120,000 adherents, Methodists 50,000, Nazarenes 8,000, Open Standard Churches 3,000, Pentecostal Assemblies 30,000. |
| Anglican | Trinidad and Tobago | 161,955 | 15.00% | - | - | 1980 | *LINK* Library of Congress Country Studies | British influence noticeably present, with 15% of pop. claiming membership in the Anglican Church. Other religious affiliations included the Baptist, Methodist, and Pentecostal churches and also non-Christian sects, such as Rada and Shango. |
| Anglican | Trinidad and Tobago | 138,000 | - | - | - | 1996 | 1997 Britannica Book of the Year. Pg. 781-783. | Table: "Religion ": Divided by nations, with 2 columns: "Religious affiliation " & "1996 pop. " [of that religion]. Based on best avail. figures, whether census data, membership figures or estimates by analysts, as % of est. 1996 midyear pop. |
Trinidad and Tobago, continued 