All
 
|
 
 


Christianity in India: From the Apostle Thomas to the Present
 
PIIS032150750020551-8-1
DOI10.31857/S032150750020551-8
Publication type Article
Status Published
Authors
Nikolay Myazin 
Occupation: Chief specialist
Affiliation: Ministry of internal policy and mass communications of the Kaluga region
Address: Kaluga, Kaluga, 67 Saltykova-Shchedrina St., apt. 22
Journal nameAsia and Africa Today
EditionIssue 1
Pages66-73
Abstract

The first Christians appeared in southwestern India during Antiquity; they belonged to Nestorianism and were fully incorporated into Indian society. The descendants of the Christian settlers and the descendants of the converts formed different castes. In the mid-16th century a Catholic diocese was established in the Portuguese possession of Goa, and most of the local Christians were converted to Catholicism. Protestantism began to spread in the early 18th century in the Danish colony of Trakenbar on the southeast coast. The East India Company did not permit missionary activity on its lands. The evangelical revival movement in the late 18th century led to the establishment of missionary societies focused on the Christianization of new lands, and they sought permission to establish missions in British possessions. Subsequently, the British administration did not provide much support for missionaries, using the confessional controversy to consolidate the power of the empire.

Preaching was most effective among tribal and Dalit peoples. Missionaryism among Dalits caused serious discontent in society and contributed to the emergence of reform movements in Hinduism. In independent India, several states enacted "anti-forced conversion" laws to limit conversions to Christianity and Islam. The rise of Hindu nationalism, which viewed Christianity as an alien religion, proved to be a deterrent to the spread of Christianity. In the second half of the 20th century new trends in Christianity developed most rapidly: Pentecostal and non-denominational Protestant churches, as well as Catholic charismatic movements.

The share of Christians in India's population has not changed much in the last 70 years. Conversions to Christianity have been offset by lower birth rates in Christian families. Christians now constitute about 2.6% of the country's population; Christianity has spread most widely in the states of the Northeast, where Christian denominations have actually been able to replace tribal religions and in Kerala, where Christianity took hold almost two thousand years ago.

KeywordsIndia, Catholicism, Protestantism, missionaryism, politics, demographics
Received05.06.2022
Publication date06.03.2023
Number of characters21227
Cite  
100 rub.
When subscribing to an article or issue, the user can download PDF, evaluate the publication or contact the author. Need to register.

Number of purchasers: 0, views: 381

Readers community rating: votes 0 

1. Missick S.A. Mar Thoma: The Apostolic Foundation of the Assyrian Church and the Christians of St. Thomas in India. Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies. 2000. Vol. 14. № 2. Pp. 33–61.
2. Nesterov A.G., Rakultseva E.A. 2014. Malankara Church in South India in the late 19th – early 20th centuries. Scientific Dialogue. 2014. Vol. 32. № 8. Ekaterinburg. Pp. 48–56. (In Russ.)
3. Ryan J.D. European Travelers before Columbus: The Fourteenth Century’s Discovery of India. The Catholic Historical Review. 1993. Vol. 79, № 4. Pp. 648–670.
4. Hedlund R.E. The Witness of New Christian Movements in India. AMS Conference Malaysia. 31 July – 7 August 2004. 19 p.
5. Mkenda F. Jesuits, Protestants and Africa before the Twentieth Century. (eds. Maryks R.A., Mkenda F.) Encounters between Jesuits and Protestants in Africa. Jesuit Studies. 2018. Vol. 13. Pp. 11–29.
6. Veer P. The Moral State: Religion, Nation, and Empire in Victorian Britain and British India. CSST Working Paper. 1996. № 111. Pp. 15–43.
7. Peel J. D. Y. Christianity, Islam, and Orisa-Religion. Three Traditions in Comparison and Interaction. Oakland: University of California Press, 2016. 310 p.
8. Shaumyan T.L. 2021. Hinduism in Indian social and political life. International Analytics. Moscow. Vol. 12. № 4. Pp. 106–122. (In Russ.)
9. Burgess S.M. Pentecostalism in India: An Overview. Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies. 2001. Vol. 4. № 1.
10. Stanley J. The Rise of ‘New Generation’ Churches in Kerala Christianity. Theology and Mission in World Christianity. 2021. Vol. 19. P. 271–291.
11. Klyachenkov E.A. 2019. The Charismatic Movement in the Catholic Church. International Journal of the Humanities and Natural Sciences. № 2. Moscow. Pp. 73–82. (In Russ.)
12. Miazin N.A. The Philippines is a Stronghold of Catholicism in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia: Current Development Issues. 2022. Moscow. Vol. 1. № 1 (54). Pp. 193–205. (In Russ.)
13. Jones A.W. Faces of Pentecostalism in North India Today. Society. 2009. Vol. 46.
14. Kuhlin J. Lived Pentecostalism in India. Middle Class Women and Their Everyday Religion. Uppsala. 2022. 205 p.
15. Solodkova O.L. 2014. The Situation of Religious Minorities in India on the Example of Dalit Christians. Bulletin of A.M. Gorky Literature Institute. № 4. Moscow. Pp. 94–105. (In Russ.)
16. Atnashev V.R., Ovchinnikov V.A. 2013. Indian nationalism and extremism: Experience for Russia (political and legal aspects). Management Consulting. St. Petersburg. № 2. (In Russ.)
17. Federico G. Mantovanelli. The Protestant Legacy: Missions and Literacy in India. SSRN Electronic Journal. 2014. 45 p. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2413170  (accessed 04.06.2022)
18. Solodkova O.L. 2015. The Growth of the Christian Community in India and Hindutva. Vestnik RUDN. № 3. Moscow. (In Russ.)
19. Sud N., Tambs-Lyche H. Introduction: Religion in the Making of a Region. South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 2011. Vol. 34. № 3. Pp. 319–332. DOI: 10.1080/00856401.2011.620549
20. Bauman С., Leech T. Political Competition, Relative Deprivation, and Perceived Threat: a Research Note on Anti-Christian Violence in India. Ethnic and Racial Studies. 2012. Vol. 35. № 12.
21. Spektor I.B. 2021. Hindu nationalism and religious minorities: The experience of political cooperation between the BJP and the Indian Muslim community. Islam in the Modern World. Moscow. Vol. 17. № 1. Pp. 59–74. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.22311/2074-1529-2021-17-1-59-74
22. Joshi A.P., Srinivas M.D., Bajaj J.L. Religious Demography of India. Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai, 2005. 56 p.
23. Bird W. 2022 Global Megachurches. https://leadnet.org/world/  (accessed 06.05.2022)
24. Kramer S. Religious Composition of India. Pew Research Center. 21.09.2021. https://www.pewforum.org/2021/09/  21/causes-of-religious-change/ (accessed 17.03.2022)
25. Evans J., Sahgal N. Key findings about religion in India. Pew Research Center. 29.06.2021. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/06/29/key-findings-about-religion-in-india/  (accessed 18.03.2022)
26. Matur A. 2020. Prohibitions on Religious Change in India: The Politics of Individual States. Institute on Religion and Politics. (In Russ.). https://irp.news/zaprety-na-peremenu-very-v-indii-politika-otdelnyh-shtatov/  (accessed 20.04. 2022)
27. Singh K. 3706 Acquitted in Kandhamal Riots. Orissa Post. 24.01.2020. https://www.orissapost.com/3706-acquitted-in-kandhamal-riots/  (accessed 01.06.2022)
28. Zakharov I.A. The expansion of Pentecostalism in Africa. Asia and Africa today. 2022. № 12. Pp. 77–84. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.31857/S032150750023566-4

Система Orphus

Loading...
Up