Christianity is India's third-largest religion after Hinduism and Islam, with approximately 27.8 million followers, constituting 2.3 percent of India's population (2011 census).According to the tradition of Indian Christians, the Christian faith was introduced to India through Thomas the Apostle, who is said to have reached the Malabar Coast (Kerala) in 52 AD. According to another tradition Bartholomew the Apostle is credited with simultaneously introducing Christianity along the Konkan Coast. There is a general scholarly consensus that Christian communities were firmly established in the Malabar Coast (Kerala) of India by the 6th century AD, which were communities who used Syriac liturgies. Starting from European colonisations from 15th century several Western Christian communities like Latin Rite Catholics and Protestants were created in different parts of the country.