backgrounds. Muslims living in the West may take issue with the current state of social and international justice, and they would again stand with the majority of fellow citizens.4
The other is from the leading prophet of Islamic reform, Tariq Ramadan. He writes in the powerful summary he has compiled of his thinking, What I Believe:
I mean to build bridges between two universes of reference, between two (highly debatable) constructions termed Western and Islamic ‘civilizations’ (as if those were closed, monolithic entities), and between citizens within Western societies themselves. My aim is to show, in theory and in practice, that one can be both fully Muslim and Western and that beyond our different affiliations we share many common principles and values through which it is possible to ‘live together’ within contemporary pluralistic, multicultural societies where various religions coexist.5
Less prominent in the discussion have been Samuel Huntington’s other ‘civilizations’ – they are Latin, Japanese, Sinic, Hindu, Orthodox and African. Even since Huntington wrote 15 years or more ago, the growing importance of the Chinese presence in the world has been endorsed by its population numbers, its enormous economic growth and its centrality to the world economy, with its vital contribution to stabilization after the great banking crisis of 2008–9. It has now overtaken Japan as the second largest economy in the world. Brazil has been leading South America economically, while Venezuela resisted the power of the USA with the demagogic leadership and socialist rhetoric of its now late President Chavez. The Hispanic population grows in proportion rapidly within the USA. Africa has the potential to become less of a basket case, and more assertive of its place in the world. Here we have witnessed the symbolism of the football World Cup taking place in South Africa, and the potential growth in several countries, once stability is shown to be sustaining, and natural resources come to the fore. David Smith, in The Observer in July 2010, described how what had been dubbed the ‘hopeless’ continent, ten years before, was now experiencing a spectacular recovery from the global recession thanks to decades of market reform and strong trade ties with China.
I wish in this Introduction to say from the outset that this is not primarily an academic book, but one to encourage practitioners, and would-be practitioners from both faiths, to develop their competence and confidence in the field of Hindu–Christian relations. As such, it is written mainly in broad-brush colours rather than narrowly argued academic reasoning. This does not mean that it is merely popular in its feel, but though chapters vary in this way, it is a book written with a mission: to encourage a wider interest in its subject across the churches, clergy, theological students and lay people, and Hindus who wish to go deeper in their engagement with Christians.
After the chapter on Christians in India and their engagement with Hindus, there follow three chapters which consist of three lectures I gave in India in several colleges, in autumn 2011. They are constructed around three bhakti movements in the West, primarily the UK. These are ISKCON, a very promising movement for Christians to interact with; South Indian bhakti movements and their temples; and examples of conversion to Christianity, where bhakti has been to the fore, including an example of someone who calls himself a Jesu Bhakter (someone devoted to Jesus). There follows a short chapter on the Swaminarayan movement, a very important movement found wherever Gujaratis have settled, which means throughout the diaspora. Next there are three case-study chapters. Two are major studies: on the city of Leicester, where I live and which is seen as the Hindu heart within the UK; and on the USA, with a considerable and wealthy Hindu population. The third case study is a smaller one, from Sweden, where I have spent some time. It is hoped that these three chapters can give a feel for our topic throughout the diaspora. Next there is a chapter on Hindu–Christian forums in the UK that I have been involved in. The final chapter, before the concluding comments on the question about how far this is a ‘meeting of opposites’, is a discussion of the major theological, spiritual, dialogical and mission issues arising out of the encounter between Christians and Hindus in the West.
There are many interviews in this book, and these were conducted mainly in 2011 and 2012, and some in 2013 and 2014. These were recorded accurately at the time, and checked where possible.
Christian–Hindu encounter in India: From the beginnings of Christianity in Kerala to the present day
A key to understanding Indian Christianity is that it is the faith of a minority, and indeed a tiny minority. Just 2.3 per cent of Indians registered as Christians in the last census, and this number was down from 2.6 per cent in 1971. In numbers this is over 24 million people, a large proportion practising. Some estimates are that the figure is now around 30 million. There are, of course, enormous regional variations, with Christianity by far the majority faith in certain small north-eastern states, and comprising around a quarter of the population in the highly educated state of Kerala. Southern states also have percentages well above the average, as do certain urban areas. But other states vast in population such as the Hindi belt of North India have tiny numbers of Christians. There are less than 0.3 per cent in the largest state by population, Uttar Pradesh, and no more in the rest of the northern areas outside the cities or tribal areas. This means that Christians are, and always have been, surrounded by a vast ocean of people of other faiths; they are so often indeed just a drop in that ocean.
Of course, the nature of the ocean around them will vary; in most areas it is Hinduism in a broad sense, but the make-up of that population varies enormously in terms of caste, main theological and philosophical traditions, deities worshipped in rural contexts and city temples, and manifestations of Hindu practice in terms of festivals and customs. Among these factors, the Dalit questions have come to the fore in recent decades, and whether Dalits see themselves as Hindu at all; and the variety of tribal belief systems and practices varies enormously regionally and locally.1
It is therefore impossible for Christians to live uninfluenced by these contexts. How far have expressions of Christianity changed within this environment? At the same time, what is surprising is how much influence Christianity has had on those around them, particularly Hindus. A question is how to measure this relationship – is it by the number of Hindus who have become Christians, or by the changes found in Hinduism as a result of living alongside this minority? This influence has been both upon the individuals concerned and also in the thinking and practice of the faith or faiths that make up Hinduism.
In terms of relationships, a key question is whether Christianity is an Indian religion or not. Ambedkar was clear it was not.2 He admired it greatly for the strength of its social gospel, but felt he could never join it, because it would mean joining a ‘foreign’ religion, just as much as Islam was. The Hindutva movement of recent decades has also had, as a major platform, that only Hindus can be truly Indian, and neither Christians nor Muslims can be fully trusted for their Indianness because their ultimate loyalties lie elsewhere. A diametrically opposed view was taken by India’s first prime minister, Nehru, who in Parliament in 1955, around the question of conversion and the constitution, affirmed strongly that Christianity was an Indian religion as were others. He said, vividly, ‘Christianity is as old in India as Christianity itself. Christianity found its roots in India before it went to countries like England, Portugal and Spain. Christianity is as much a religion of the Indian soil as any other religion of India.’
I now look at the history of the major churches, in terms of their relationship with people of other faiths, especially the 80 per cent who are Hindus.
The churches in India and their interaction with Hinduism
Orthodox
