The places where indigenous populations converted, such as Africa and PNG were largely tribal areas where Christianity was presented as an amazing concept and the indigenous people, many of whom had never come into contact with non-Africans before, were quick to listen to what the British had to say.

On the other hand, a big factor is how much the colonial powers put into converting the ‘uncivilized barbarians.’ European powers and churches put lots of resources into converting the local populations in Africa and PNG. However, the British didn’t put as many resources into converting India. Portugal and France, on the other hand, did the same to India as they did to all their colonies, and today, Goa and Puducherry are some of the most Christian parts of India.

And that brings me to the biggest point, unlike Africa or PNG, India was very well developed and urbanized, with a long history and various rich empires in its history. Europeans were nothing new to India, Indian kings and emperors often bought guns from European powers, a good example is King Krishnadevaraya, who used guns from the Portuguese to defeat his enemies. As such, religion in India was already very organized, and Indians did not just let go of their beliefs which had been consistent for a few millennia once they were colonized.