New Caledonia (Nouvelle-Calédonie), a French overseas territory in the South Pacific, consists of the main island of New Caledonia (or La Grande Terre), the Loyalty Islands (Lifou, Mare, and Uvea), the Isle of Pines, and other minor islands. Its current religious landscape is the result of French colonization and Western Christian proselytizing. Of the approximately 240,000 residents, a majority of New Caledonians consider themselves Christian, with 60% identifying as Roman Catholic and 30% identifying as Protestant, mostly with evangelical and Pentecostal churches. While the indigenous Melanesian peoples, or Kanaks, make up about half of the Catholic population, they are the majority of the Protestant population, outnumbering those of European descent. Of the remaining 10% of the population, a significant portion identifies as nonreligious.

The non-Christian population ...