Part I: The Religious Landscape

Brief Historical Overview

While Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam spread throughout the Malay Archipelago, they did not reach as far as the eastern half of the island of New Guinea. European explorers brought Christianity in the 1870s.

With different Christian missionaries preaching to communities untouched by their faith, PNG’s four main regions — Southern, Momase, New Guinea Islands and the Highlands —assumed broadly the denominational imprint of the first missionaries to reach them. Catholics established themselves in Rabaul, Yule Island in the Central Province, and Aitape in the East Sepik. Lutherans started communities around Lae, Morobe, and expanded into the mainland. Methodists and Anglicans went to the Southern region and the New Guinea Islands. 

From 1884, colonial powers divided the country into German New Guinea in the north and the British territory of Papua in the south. Starting in the region that is today the capital, Port Moresby, missionaries spread to the outer islands and coastal communities.

After World War I, the League of Nations combined the two territories under an Australian mandate. From 1918 onward, Europeans and Americans expanded mission activities to the PNG interior. American Seventh Day Adventists started in the port city of Lae, extending through Morobe Province. European and American Catholic missionaries, under the banner of the Society of the Divine Word, extended their work into Madang, Chimbu and the Western Highlands Provinces in the early 1930s. 

During World War II, Japan occupied large parts of PNG. As Australian and U.S. forces gradually retook control from 1942 until 1945, schools, churches, roads, and parts of towns and cities were destroyed. After the war, British and American missionaries rebuilt and constructed new schools and health facilities. These church schools, mostly Catholic, educated the generation of PNG’s founding fathers, including those who wrote the country’s Constitution ahead of independence in 1975. (John Momis, widely considered the father of the Papua New Guinea Constitution, was a priest.)

Religious Demographics and Religious Minorities

Religious affiliation is one of multiple identities that an individual Papua New Guinean will have. Other identities derive from familial structures, place of origin, histories of migration and mobility, and schooling. 

Today, most Papua New Guineans identify as Christian. The most recent 2011 national census records 96 percent of the country’s 7.2 million people as Christian, less than 2 percent non-Christian, with 3 percent saying they had no religion. Post-independence censuses in PNG have recorded a small number of Muslim migrants and converts.
 
In terms of denominations, the latest census shows that largest share of the population identifies as Roman Catholic (26%), followed by Evangelical Lutheran (18.4%), Seventh Day Adventist (12.9%), Pentecostals (10.4%), United Church (10.3%), Evangelical Alliance (5.9%), Anglican (3.2%), Baptist (2.8%), Salvation Army (0.4%), and Kwato Church (0.2%).

While not formally recorded, many people still follow traditional beliefs, including animism and ancestor worship, alongside Christianity. Christian churches often tried to contextualize the evangelization of their faiths in the cultural and social dimensions of the local people: In many cases, traditional rituals and practices were adapted by missionaries and inserted into their church worships.

The Constitutional Status of Religion

Papua New Guineans have a constitutional protection for religious freedom. Like many constitutions written after the 1945 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1975 PNG Constitution has an explicit bill of rights, including references to freedom of conscience, thought and religion. The Constitution’s preamble pledges to pass on to the future generations the “Christian principles that are ours now,” while Section 45 says “everyone has the right to practice, manifest and propagate their religion and beliefs.”

Prime Minister James Marape — a Sabbath-observing member of the Seventh Day Adventist church who makes his religion a central part of his political identity — has emphasized the importance of PNG’s Christian identity. At the 2021 National Day of Prayer and Repentance, Marape said, “Without God in our Constitution, our diverse country will find it harder to be united.”

In 2021, the PNG National Executive Council approved a proposal to change the Constitution and formally declare PNG a Christian country, without allegiance to any one denomination. However, a legal move to advance the amendment through parliament never took place.

The U.S. State Department, in its 2022 report on international religious freedom, observed that political opponents, civil society groups and some religious groups objected to the proposed amendment, as Papua New Guineans did not have an “exclusive ethnic or religious affiliation and that the amendment could spark conflict among the largest faith groups.” Momentum behind the proposed constitutional amendment has since dissipated.

Christianity’s Role Goes Far Beyond the Church Doors

Since the 1870s, missionary religious organizations have set up schools and health centers and built other infrastructure, including roads and bridges. They also founded local religious orders still active today. In many PNG communities, missionaries were Indigenous people’s first outside contact with Europeans, even before they encountered colonial era governments. These relationships between communities and churches endure and are often stronger than those provided by the absent and unreliable PNG state and its under-resourced agencies. Religious groups are supported by the government through the provision of tax exemptions and must register to gain this status. This nonprofit status is the foundation upon which churches run more than 60 percent of the key public services in the health and education sectors.

Since 1951, the PNG branch of the Missionary Air Fellowship has been a vital link, especially for isolated Highlands communities unserved by roads. Its fleet of 10 planes made more than 10,000 flights in 2022, carrying passengers, medicine, education supplies and construction materials.

Religion and Public Life

Religion is infused in the rhetoric of PNG politics. Members of Parliament (MPs) swear allegiance to the Constitution using a copy of the King James Bible. All parliamentary sessions begin with a prayer, as do many government meetings and community events.
Candidates present themselves as God-fearing people to appeal to an electorate for whom Christianity is an important part of their identity. At election time, having strong community, tribal and religious links is important for getting votes.

Across the country, pastors and church leaders are important political influencers. They have the power to signal to their congregations which candidate will support the vital community services the religious organization provides in that area.

Once elected, a strong relationship between religious leaders and MPs is a way for religious organizations to access government funding. In PNG, large constituency development funds controlled by sitting MPs are a key conduit for the distribution of the resources of the state. Religious organizations handle many essential services in remote parts of the country where most people live. Tapping into this flow of funds via their local MP is important for salaries, operations and local infrastructure development for church clinics and schools.

In the field of higher education, religious organizations run two of the most prestigious universities: Pacific Adventist University and the Catholic Divine Word University. Some of the country’s most prominent medical specialists are missionary doctors. Religious organizations also provide community leadership in response to natural disasters.

Church-based organizations and leading religious figures have a prominent role in government policy development and implementation. The ecumenical PNG Council of Churches sees itself as an intermediary between its members and the government on a wide range of policy issues, from deep-sea mining to the COVID pandemic. 

The integration of religious organizations with the state happens at many levels in the bureaucracy, and the government sees the churches as a major partner in the provision of development and services. In 2024, a prominent foreign-born Catholic priest, Fr. Jan Czuba, was appointed as secretary for the Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology. The Department of Justice and Attorney General and the Seventh Day Adventist church have a memorandum of understanding that gives the religious organization responsibility for juvenile justice services. Overseeing the activities of churches and all religious practices is the responsibility of the Department of Community Development, Sports and Religion.

Religious-run media is also an important provider of public information. Church-run radio and TV programs not only broadcast religious programming but communicate public service announcements on topics such as preventing HIV/AIDS, resolving fights and moderating sorcery accusation-related violence (SARV).

The churches use social media to communicate with the faithful and wider communities. Unlike any other institution, churches in PNG have deep networks and they use these to support peace by being intermediaries in times of conflict.

Transnational and Diasporic Religious Factors

PNG allows foreign missionary groups to proselytize and engage in other missionary activities. Religious workers can travel to PNG by applying for a three-year special exemption visa with a sponsorship letter from a religious group in the country, gaining an approved work permit from the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, and paying a modest fee.

The PNG government recognizes the contribution that foreign missionaries make to the provision of basic services, especially education and health care in rural areas. The relaxing of immigration laws to make it easier for Christian missionaries to serve in PNG is recognition of the role of churches in PNG society.

Interreligious Affairs

After the proposal to change the Constitution to make PNG a Christian country, religious organizations committed to interfaith dialogue. A monthly interfaith dialogue evolved after World Religion Day in January 2021 with the support of the PNG Council of Churches (PNGCC).

In public statements, the PNGCC has spoken of the importance of working together with all religious organizations in the country. The Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands has an Ecumenism and Inter-Faith Dialogue Commission guided by Papal pronouncements. This body regularly issues statements about the common ground between Christian faiths, condemns religiously motivated violence and supports regular contact with non-Christian religions. It is also a regular participant in the PNG Interfaith Forum.

Part II: Religion and Conflict

Sorcery Accusation-Related Violence

Meanwhile, the country’s high levels of illiteracy, low levels of education and strong religious beliefs make it fertile ground for the growing problem of SARV. This involves perpetrators accusing an individual of practicing sorcery, or being possessed by a “malevolent entity,” and using violence against the accused to eliminate the perceived threat. Studies have found SARV incidents occurring across PNG, with rates highest in the Highlands provinces.

Sorcery accusations are becoming a common way to create a scapegoat for some real or perceived misfortune — or to manipulate community sentiment against an individual. Unfortunately, it is too common for the community’s reaction to accusations of sorcery to be violence, with the torture and inhuman treatment seen as the way to excise the evil spirits from the accused. The religious rhetoric of some PNG Christian leaders — which reinforces a belief that evil spirits cause sin — comes together with traditional beliefs that sorcerers are the embodiment of evil spirits on earth. Recent research by the PNG National Research Institute, Divine Word University and Australian National University on SARV in PNG showed that religious leaders encouraged 32 percent of cases of SARV. 

Some government officials and police see SARV as a spiritual matter and the responsibility of churches to resolve rather than a law enforcement issue. Authorities blame SARV on the misinterpretation of the Bible and inflammatory teachings.

However, religious figures say they do not instigate SARV and often become involved to resolve a conflict after accusations have been made. While the religious figures may come in with the intention of resolving the conflict, it has been observed that sometimes the reverse occurs, and a religious figure’s involvement can encourage more violence.

There are also some Christian groups called “prayer warriors,” who instigate violence because they claim to have divine powers to cast out sorcery spirits from the accused or those suspected of practicing sorcery. Stigmatization by these “prayer warriors” can impact those accused for the rest of their lives, placing them at risk of future discrimination, harm and violent acts.

Religious Leaders’ Role as Peacebuilders

It is also the case that religious figures in PNG are more likely to play the role of peacebuilders by intervening and resolving many local conflicts. Priests and pastors can often be more respected by communities than the police and village court officials. 

Priests and pastors are often seen as honest, trustworthy and dependable by community members. In some communities, Christian leaders can have equal status and power to traditional chiefs. In addition to spreading the gospel, missionaries see themselves as having an active role as peace mediators, as well as advocators for change and good order in their communities — especially when government services are not present. 

Some church groups have even helped local communities develop community by-laws and community rules to prevent common conflicts. For example, the Catholic Church in Mingende in the Chimbu Province helped a community to develop community by-laws to prevent conflicts related to SARV.

Some churches are actively contributing to addressing the challenges presented by SARV. They support the call for religious organizations to become more active in countering SARV by advocating for the protection of life and vulnerable groups. PNG churches are a “sleeping giant” and have the unrealized potential to be agents for positive change against SARV. The churches have urged the government to provide better leadership and to help people educate children to support the prevention of SARV.

The PNG Council of Churches has a five-year national action plan to address SARV that proposes three strategic areas: coordination, participation and partnership. They provide safe houses, trauma counselling and health centers to help victims of SARV where government services are not available.

The church plays an active role in climate change, which USIP research has identified as a potential accelerant of conflict in the country. The Catholic Church is playing a key role in helping people displaced by climate change. People from the Carteret Islands that are vulnerable to sea-level rise have moved onto Church land in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. 

Religion in PNG’s Foreign Affairs

PNG is one of only five countries to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, opening an embassy there in September 2023. With only a few Israeli-owned businesses and some involvement in the mining industry, the two countries have minor economic and cultural ties. Prime Minister Marape cited the country’s “shared heritage” as the reason for opening its embassy in Jerusalem. The decision shows the growing influence of evangelical Christian groups as a domestic political lobby, as the embassy move had low international political cost and minor budgetary implications — Israel is paying rent for the embassy — but a high return in terms of political support at the next election.

This primer was drafted by Papua New Guinea National Research Institute research officer William Kipongi and international development consultant Jim Della-Giacoma.