When we’re talking about the most Catholic countries in the world, Timor-Leste will always be one of them. The country is more than 90% Catholic, with the percentage varies from 95% to 98% according to various sources.
Most people would think that this is the result of more than 400 years of the Portuguese rule on the eastern part of Timor island.
But when the Portuguese left in 1975, Timor-Leste was only around 20% Catholic and that number jumped to around 90% after the Indonesian occupation ended in 1999. So, what happened?
A Common Misconception
It is often assumed that the fact that more than 90% of East Timorese identify as Catholic today is the direct result of over 400 years of Portuguese colonial rule.
While Portugal did introduce Catholicism to East Timor and established a lasting religious presence, this explanation alone does not account for the dramatic rise in Catholic adherence in the late twentieth century.
When the Portuguese withdrew from the territory in 1975, only about 20% of the population was Catholic. The transformation of East Timor into one of the most Catholic societies in the world happened rapidly afterward, under very different political circumstances.
Religious Life at the End of Portuguese Rule
During the Portuguese colonial period, Catholicism coexisted with strong indigenous belief systems. Portuguese administration was limited, especially outside urban areas, and missionary activity reached only parts of the population.
Many East Timorese communities continued practicing ancestral religions, sometimes blending them with Catholic rituals.
As a result, Catholicism remained a minority religion by the time Portugal abruptly decolonized following the Carnation Revolution in 1974. The church had influence, but it had not reshaped society on a mass scale.
Indonesian Occupation
The most decisive factor behind the rise of Catholicism came after Indonesia invaded and occupied East Timor in late 1975. Under Indonesia’s state ideology, citizens were required to adhere to one of several officially recognized religions.
Indigenous animist beliefs were not accepted, and people who did not declare a religion risked being labeled as atheists. In the Cold War context of Southeast Asia, atheism was closely associated with communism, which the Indonesian military treated as an existential threat.
For East Timorese civilians, this created an urgent and dangerous dilemma. Declining to choose a recognized religion could lead to suspicion, persecution, or violence. Islam, while dominant in Indonesia, was often associated with the occupying power itself.
Protestantism had only a limited presence. Catholicism, already familiar to many East Timorese and historically distinct from Indonesian authority, became the safest and most meaningful choice for the majority of the population.
Catholicism as a Shield
Choosing Catholicism was not only a religious decision but also a political survival strategy. Publicly identifying as Catholic provided protection from accusations of being communist sympathizers, which could result in detention, torture, or execution.
Baptism and church attendance became acts of self-preservation. Entire communities converted in a short period of time, leading to a dramatic statistical shift.
Within the first decade of Indonesian occupation, the proportion of Catholics reportedly rose from around 20% to approximately 90%.
The Church as a Symbol of Resistance
Another crucial reason for Catholicism’s prominence was the role of the Catholic Church as the most consistent and courageous advocate for East Timorese rights during the occupation. Indonesian authorities tightly controlled political expression, media, and civil society.
Many institutions were silenced or co-opted. The Catholic Church, however, retained a degree of autonomy due to its international connections and moral authority.
Church leaders, including bishops and priests, spoke out against massacres, forced relocations, and human rights abuses. They documented atrocities and communicated them to the outside world when few others could.
Churches also became spaces of refuge, education, and quiet resistance. For many East Timorese, Catholicism became inseparable from the struggle for dignity, identity, and survival.
Faith, Identity, and National Pride
As repression continued, Catholicism evolved into a marker of East Timorese identity distinct from Indonesian rule. Religious rituals, masses, and celebrations reinforced community bonds and offered hope in the face of violence.
The use of local languages in liturgy further strengthened this connection. The church did not merely provide spiritual comfort; it helped preserve a sense of nationhood when political expression was forbidden.
A Painful Yet Unique History
The overwhelming Catholic majority in East Timor today is not primarily the legacy of centuries of Portuguese colonization, but the result of a rapid and painful transformation during Indonesian occupation.
Forced religious identification, fear of being labeled communist, and the Catholic Church’s unique role as a defender of human rights all contributed to this shift.
Catholicism in East Timor is therefore not just a religion inherited from colonial history, but a faith shaped by resistance, survival, and the struggle for freedom.
