Why Kerala’s Syro-Malabar Church leaders are worried
The numbers of church faithful are declining due to overseas migration and many families opting not to have children
With the population of its faithful shrinking, the 2,000-year-old Syro-Malabar Church, headquartered in Kochi, is keen to see a reverse migration of members from foreign lands. The oldest Catholic church of Kerala has woken up to how its numbers are falling as many Catholic families prefer not to have children or are migrating overseas.
According to church statistics, around 600,000 faithfuls have migrated overseas over the past two decades, settling in the Gulf or Europe. Also, in the past one decade, over 100,000 families have settled in Australia, Canada and the US.
A survey by the church in 2018 found that most of the migrating professionals, such as nurses and techies, under 40 years of age do not return to their homeland. “The church is worried about this trend in Kerala, which has high literacy, high rate of unemployment and low wages for professionals,” says Charlie Paul, a youth leader associated with the Syro-Malabar Church. The worry apparently is on two accounts. “The numbers of our faithful have been falling over the past two decades due to migration. Also, those who migrated do not continue to be in contact with our church in foreign lands and move away from our faith. If the trend continues, our church will meet a dead-end without new members. It’s an alarming situation,” says Paul.
The Syro-Malabar Church has tried ways to address the crisis, such as encouraging couples with cash incentives to have more than two children. Of late, Syro-Malabar Church leaders are preparing leaflets about job opportunities available for the youth in Kerala and also running centres to discourage migration among professionals.
According to the 2011 Census, the Syro-Malabar Church had some 4.5 million faithfuls in Kerala. Christians overall account for 18 per cent of the state’s 33 million population. According to V.C Sebastian, a Syro-Malabar church leader, “Most of our members who migrated to foreign destinations married people from other religions and moved away from the church.”
While the church wants its youth to procreate in their homeland, there are few takers. As Binoy Jacob, who is based in Thrissur, a Catholic stronghold, asks: “When we have a decent life and prospects for next generation abroad, why should we remain in our homeland to keep up the numbers for the church to flourish?”
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