 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
 Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 4 – 5 million Lebanese citizens (2022 estimate)[1]
1.5[2][3] – 2 million in Lebanon | |
| Religions | |
| Maronite Church Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch Melkite Greek Catholic Church Armenian Apostolic Church (See Religion in Lebanon) |
| Christianity by country |
|---|
 |
 Christianity portal |
Christianity in Lebanon has a long and continuous history. Biblical scriptures show that Peter and Paul evangelized the Phoenicians, leading to the dawn of the ancient Patriarchate of Antioch. As such, Christianity in Lebanon is as old as Christian faith itself. Christianity spread slowly in Lebanon due to pagans who resisted conversion, but it ultimately spread throughout the country. Even after centuries of living under Muslim Empires, Christianity remains the dominant faith of the Mount Lebanon region and has substantial communities elsewhere.
The Maronite Catholics and the Druze founded modern Lebanon in the nineteenth century, through a governing and social system known as the "Maronite-Druze dualism" in the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate.[4] Lebanon has the highest proportion of Christians of any Middle Eastern country, estimated to be between 37% and 43%; Egypt and Syria are next, at roughly 10%. Lebanese Christians constitute the majority of the Lebanese diaspora worldwide.
According to a 2015 study, an estimated 2,500 Lebanese Christians have Arab Muslim ancestry, whereas the majority of Lebanese Christians are direct descendants of the original early Christians.[5]
- ^ US State Dept 2022 report
- ^ الدوائر الانتخابية: بالارقام والنسب عدد الناخبين واسماء المرشحين للانتخابات النيابية اللبنانية 2018. Ministry of Information
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
fileswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Deeb, Marius (2013). Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah: The Unholy Alliance and Its War on Lebanon. Hoover Press. ISBN 9780817916664.
the Maronites and the Druze, who founded Lebanon in the early eighteenth century.
- ^ Johnstone, Patrick; Miller, Duane Alexander (2015). "Believers in Christ from a Muslim Background: A Global Census". Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion. 11: 16. Retrieved 20 October 2015.