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There is reliable evidence of Christian presence in south India from the third century A.D. South Indian Christian traditions suggest that the Apostle Thomas (one of the chosen twelve who followed Jesus) visited India and it is possible that true history lies behind this tradition. Details of the tradition include his date (52 A. D.) and place of arrival (Cranganore [Kodungallur]) and various details of his death by martyrdom in Mylapore (now a part of the modern city of Chennai [Madras]). There are a number of books available discussing these Syrian Christian traditions. Christianity in the south Indian state of Kerala has grown out of these ancient Syrian roots. But Christianity throughout the rest of India was born of missionary efforts out of Europe (and North America) that began from the 16th century. "The Great Century" of missionary endeavour (K. S. Lattourette's appropriate designation for the nineteenth century) was focused on India more than on any other nation. Christianity took root in various places spread throughout the Indian subcontinent, and was awakened to new life and energy in Kerala itself. Even harsh critics of Christianity in India (like Arun Shourie in Missionaries in India: Continuities, Changes, Dilemmas) admit that the missionary movement provided valuable services to India, particularly in the fields of education and medicine. But mission history has become politicized, with advocates like Shourie and Vishal Mangalwadi ( Missionary Conspiracy: Letters to a Postmodern Hindu ) propagating opposite interpretations. Such books tell more about present day intellectual trends than about mission history, which thankfully can be studied in numerous helpful monographs written by dispassionate scholars. |
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The vast majority of Indian Christians outside the state of Kerala trace their roots to the mass movements to Christianity from underprivileged ("outcaste" and tribal) peoples. The greatest impact has been in the far northeast of India where whole tribes have become Christian and social structures and cultural traditions have changed significantly due to both this conversion experience and also the forces of modernization. It is estimated that 65% of India's Christians are from "outcaste" backgrounds, although leadership in the churches remains strongly with Syrian, Anglo-Indian and higher caste background Christians. An urban elite of middle class Christians has developed from the educational and social advantages that Christianity and the missionary movement offered, and this elite is far from its rural "outcaste" roots. |
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An entirely new theological discipline, Dalit Theology, has arisen to focus on the needs of the neglected majority of poor rural Christians. "Dalit" means the oppressed and is now the favoured term in place of "outcaste" with all its pejorative connotations. Concurrently with the rise of Dalit Theology the process of contextualization (the chosen Protestant term) or inculturation (favoured Roman Catholic terminology) in relation to the classical cultures of India continues to be discussed and to various extents experimented on. Indian Christian theology largely referred to such interaction with classical Hinduism until this rise of Dalit theology. There is tension indeed between advocates of these two theological trends as many Dalit theologians see the classical cultures of India as the enemy of the poor and downtrodden rather than as a friend to be accommodated. |
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Having noted these vibrant and important intellectual debates regarding Christianity in India, it must be noted that the average Indian Christian is hardly aware of such scholarly wrangling. His or her faith is much more pietistic than intellectual, and in many cases is much more a mere following of tradition than a vibrant force in personal life. This, however, is hardly different from Christianity in other nations, nor does it differ from advocates of other religious traditions. |
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Indian Christianity is a leader of world Christianity in a number of important fields. The ecumenical movement seeking union among various denominations boasts no greater victory than the union of various Prostestant churches into the Church of South India (1948) and the Church of North India (1971). Indian Christianity has produced heroes, both missionary and national, that adorn the Christian faith and that are recognized and studies the world over. Indian Christianity is an international leader in the quest for contextual theology and in the practice and theology of interreligious dialogue. Finally, Indian Christianity has made an invaluable contribution in the area of Christian social and political theory and action, culminating in the birth of Dalit Theology. Christianity in India today is incredibly diverse, a kaleidoscopic conglomeration of peoples, languages, cultures, perspectives, theologies and practices. Christians and churches relate to surrounding society in vastly differing ways, from being a dominant force in Kerala, Goa and northeast India, to a significant influence in other southern and northeastern states, to a desperately weak minority in the main body of India. The study of Christianity in India raises issues of import for Christianity in any and every other nation; and a study of any aspect of global Christianity that neglects Christianity in India is shamefully deficient. |
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Both the history of Christianity in India and its diverse expressions in the present day are stranger and more fascinating than fiction could conjure; its future is surely also beyond conjecture or even imagination. |
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