Known in Spanish as las Islas Malvinas, the Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean some 483 km off the coast of Argentina. Besides the two main islands of East Falkland and West Falkland there are 776 smaller islands. As a British overseas territory, the Falklands are self-governing internally, while the UK takes responsibility for defence and foreign affairs. Argentina claims sovereignty over the islands, and a long-running dispute with the UK on this issue remains unresolved. In a 2013 referendum, 99.8% of the votes cast by the Falkland Islanders, who are mostly of British descent, were in favour of continuing their status as a British overseas territory. The majority of the small population live in Stanley, the capital, located on East Falkland.

In the 2006 census, some two-thirds of the population identified themselves as Christians. With no Indigenous people, religious life in the Falklands since the seventeenth-century settlement has been shaped by the Christianity of Europeans: first the Spanish and French, then for the past 250 years the British. Somewhat like parts of rural England, a mild Anglicanism permeates community life, though formal religious practice plays a minor role for most. Practising Anglicans worship at Christ Church Cathedral in Stanley (the southernmost Anglican cathedral in the world). A small but determined non-conformist community have made their mark since Charles Spurgeon, the London-based Baptist preacher, sent one of his kit churches, known as tin tabernacles, in the 1880s. The Scottish Presbyterian tradition also has a presence, in the form of the Tabernacle United Free Church. The Revd Forrest McWhan, minister of the Tabernacle from 1934 until his death in 1965, was an influential figure in shaping the Christian history of the islands. The life of the small Catholic community is centred on St Mary's Church in Stanley. Very small numbers of Greek Orthodox, Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are present as well. There is no formal ecumenical body but relations between the different churches are cordial.