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Christianity in India

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Distribution of Christian population in different Indian states [1]

Christianity is India's third-largest religion, following Hinduism and Islam.[1] Abrahamic religions on the whole date back about 2500 years with the arrival of Judaism,[2] followed by arrival of Christianity around 2000 years ago.[3] Vasco da Gama, seeking pre-existing Christian nations in India, discovered a sea route to India by circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope[4] which caused a major influence on both the histories of Asia and Europe.[5]

The 2007 census recorded over 24 million Indian Christians, comprising 2.3% of the country's population.[1] There are three main regional concentrations of Christian population, namely in South India, on the Konkan Coast, and among tribal people in East, Central, and North-East India with the southern state of Kerala, contributing 25% of the total Christian population in India.[1]

Early Christianity in India

A set of palm leaf manuscripts from the 15th century or the 16th century, containing Christian prayers in Tamil

Dawn of Christianity in India

The dawn of Christianity to South Asia dates back to the arrival of Saint Thomas to Kodungallur in Kerala in 52 AD and establishment of the Seven Churches.[6] Subsequently as a carpenter he offered to build a palace for the Indo-Parthian king Gondophares,[7] later converting the king's daughter and her newlywed groom[8] before returning to Mylapore, Chennai in 72 AD where he attained martyrdom.[6] Most of the sources of information on the arrival of Christianity in India are from the Acts of Thomas and a few more oral traditions recorded on documents in later centuries.[9]

First Christians of India

Main article: Saint Thomas Christians
The Nasrani Menorah, the symbol of the Syrian Malabar Nasrani Christian community in South India.

The Syrian Malabar Nasrani people are an ethnic community in Kerala, South India. Their tradition goes back to the very beginnings of first century Christian thought and the seven churches that were established by St. Thomas the Apostle among the natives and the Jewish diaspora in Kerala. They follow a unique Hebrew-Syriac Christian tradition which includes several Jewish elements along with some Hindu customs. Their heritage is Syriac-Keralite, their culture South Indian, their faith St. Thomas Christian, and their language Malayalam. According to the Acts of Thomas, the first converts made by Thomas in India were Malabari Jews, who had settled in Kerala since the time of King Solomon of Israel.

There is a general agreement among the historians that St. Thomas, a Jew himself by birth, visited India in search of Jews settled here.

Although the Christian ideals were foreign, many Hindus embraced the ideologies of baptism because of its similarities to bathing in the Ganges, which was first mentioned in the Rig Veda, the Mahabharata, and the Devi Bhagvatam. After evangelizing in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the Apostle is believed to have been martyred at St. Thomas Mount in Chennai and buried on the site of San Thome Cathedral. Members of the Syro-Malabar Church, an eastern rite of the Catholic Church, adopted the Syriac liturgy dating from an unknown period before the 4th Century. In the 4th century, Apostle’s relics were taken to Edessa at the instance of the then Bishop of Edessa under whose jurisdiction the Kerala Church was and was later moved to Italy. The Christian community founded by St Thomas has since developed into a number of churches during the Portuguese persecution, including Syriac-rite churches in communion with the Roman Catholic, Antiochian Orthodox churches, and 'Nestorian' churches.

The arrival of St Thomas, and the subsequent establishment of the seven and a half churches is viewed with skepticism by Western historians. However, the theory has never been discounted, and the Keralites still attribute an apostolic origin to their church.

Medieval Period

Malankara Orthodox St. Mary's Church, also known as Cheriapally(Little Church) in Kottayam, Kerala; originally built in 1579

The Syrian Malabar Nasrani community was further strengthened by various Persian immigrant settlers. The trade routes brought with them not only riches but also stateless nations and nascent worldviews. The community was strengthened by Christian-Jewish Knanaya colonies of third century, Manichaeanism followers and the Babylonian Christians settlers of 4th Century, the 7th Century Syrian settlement of Mar Sabor Easo & Proth, and the immigrant Persian Christians from successive centuries. The Kerala Syrian Church was in communion with Syrian Church and was under the jurisdiction of Patriarch of Babylonian till the Portuguese arrival in the late 15th century. Bishops came from Syria.

They seem to have maintained their identity for a long time in the first few centuries and later amalgamated into one patronized community known differently as Nasrani, Malankara Christians, Syrian Christians.

The archaeological excavations at Pattanam show that the ancient port town of Muziris was in modern Kerala. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea calls it of “leading importance” describing it: “Muziris, of the same kingdom, abounds in ships sent there with cargoes from Arabia, and by the Greeks; it is located on a river, distant from Tyndis by river and sea five hundred stadia, and up the river from the shore twenty stadia.”[citation needed]

The South Indian epic of Manimekalai (written between 2nd and 3rd century CE) mentions the Nasrani people by the name Essanis referring to one of the early Christian-Jewish sect within the Nasranis called Essenes. The embassy of Alfred in 833 CE described the Nestorian Syrian Christians as being prosperous and enjoying high status in the Malabar coast. Marco Polo also mentioned the Nasranis and their ancient church in the Malabar coast in his writings Il Milione.

In the Early Modern Period

The Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica in Kerala, built in Neo-Gothic style
File:The Sacred Heart Church Chandannagar.jpg
The Sacred Heart Church of Chandannagar (l'Eglise du Sacré Cœur), West Bengal, reflects typical French architecture

Portuguese missionaries, who reached the Malabar Coast in the late 15th century, made contact with the St Thomas Christians in Kerala, and sought to introduce among them the Roman (Latin) Rite. Since the priests for St Thomas Christians were served by the Eastern Christian Churches, they were following Eastern Christian practices at that time. Throughout this period, foreign missionaries also made many new converts to Christianity. This led to the formation of Latin Catholics in Kerala. Latin Catholics in Kerala today comprises the St Thomas Christians who accepted Latin (Roman) Rite, found mostly in central Kerala, and the Christians converted by Portuguese influence and other missionary work, found mainly in the southern parts of Kerala.

With the Papal bull Romanus Pontifex the patronage for the propagation of the Christian faith in Asia was given to the Portuguese. The Portuguese colonial government in Goa supported the mission in India with incentives for baptized Christians. They offered rice donations for the poor, good positions in the Portuguese colonies for the middle class and military support for local rulers[10].

Early Roman Catholic missionaries, particularly the Portuguese, led by the Jesuit St Francis Xavier (1506-52), expanded from their bases on the west coast making many converts. Portuguese missionaries sought to convert the entire Hindu population of Goa.

As a result of Portuguese incentives many converted Indians were opportunistic Rice Christians, who even practiced their old religion[10]. This was seen as a threat to the immaculateness of the Christian belief. St. Francis Xavier, in a 1545 letter to John III of Portugal, requested an Inquisition be installed in Goa. However, it was not installed until eight years after Francis Xavier's death.

During the Goa Inquisition under the Portuguese, Hindus were forced to convert and many Hindus in Goa who refused or were suspected of practicing heresy were burnt alive in public.

Modern-day Goa has a substantial Roman Catholic population; around 30% of the population is Roman Catholic. The undecayed body of Saint Francis Xavier is still on public view in a glass coffin at the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa.

Beginning in the eighteenth century, Protestant missionaries began to work throughout India, leading to the growth of different Christian communities. In 1793 William Carey, an English Baptist Minister came to India as a Missionary. He worked in Serampore, Calcutta, and other places as a missionary. He started the Serampore College. He translated the Bible into Bengali. http://www.wholesomewords.org/missions/giants/biocarey2.html. He worked until his death in 1834.

Anthony Norris Groves, Plymouth Brethren missionary came to India in 1833. He worked in the Godavari delta area. He worked in India until his death in 1852. Mormon missionaries, including Hugh Findlay, arrived in Bombay and Pune in the early 1850s, but did not meet with success.

Contemporary situation

A Roman Catholic Church in Kochi.

The total number of Christians in India according to the 2001 census was 24.08 million (2.40 crores), or 2.3 percent of the population.[11] About 70% of Indian Christians in 1991 were Roman Catholics, including 300,000 members of the Syro-Malankara Church and 3.5 million (35 lakh) of the Syro-Malabar Church. In January 1993 the Syro-Malabar Church and in February 2005 Syro-Malankara Church were raised to the status of major archiepiscopal churches by Pope John Paul II. The Syro-Malabar Church is the second largest among 22 Eastern Catholic Churches who accept the pope (Bishop of Rome) as the "visible head of the whole church".

Most Protestant denominations are represented in India, the result of missionary activities throughout the country. The largest Protestant denomination in the country is the Church of South India, since 1947 a union of Presbyterian, Reformed, Congregational, Methodist, and Anglican congregations with approximately 2.2 million (22 lakh) members as of 1995. A similar Church of North India had 1 million (10 lakh) members. (These churches are in full communion with the Anglican Communion.) The Mar Thoma Church, which derives from the Syrian Orthodox Malankara Church, numbers 1 million and is in communion with the Anglicans, but not a full member. There were about 1.3 million (13 lakh) Lutherans, 473,000 Methodists, and 425,000 Baptists as of 1995. Oriental Orthodox churches of the Malankara and Malabar rites totaled 2 million (20 lakh) and 700,000 members, respectively. Pentecostalism, another denomination of Protestantism, is also a rapidly growing religion in India. It is spreading greatly in northern India and the southwest area, such as Kerala. The largest indigenous Pentecostal church in India is the India Pentecostal Church of God (IPC). Another prominent group is the Brethrens. They are known in different names Plymouth Brethren, Indian Brethren, Kerala brethren etc.

During the twentieth century, the fastest growing Christian communities have been located in the northeast, among the Khasis, Mizos, Nagas, and other hill tribes. Today Christians are most prevalent in the northeast (secessionist movements in a few states such as Nagaland are demanding an independent Christian-majority entity), and in the southwestern states of Kerala and Goa. Indian Christians have contributed significantly to and are well represented in various spheres of national life. They are currently chief ministers of the states like Andhra Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Meghalaya, and they were chief ministers earlier of Kerala, Manipur, Goa, and Chattisgarh. In the powerful election committee of the ruling Indian National Congress party, they take four out of twenty places.

See also: List of notable Indian Christians

Hindu-Christian Conflict

Historically, Hindus and Christians have lived in relative peace since the arrival of Christianity in India from the early part of the first millennium. The arrival of European colonialists brought about large scale missionary activity in South India and North-East India. Many indigenous cultures were converted to Christianity. Sometimes they were voluntary, and other times they were violent and forced. The Goa Inquisition was an example of forced conversions imposed on Hindus, Muslims, and Jews in India.

Hindus who converted to Christianity typically retained their social customs, including caste practices.[12] Aggressive proselytizing by Christian missionaries under British rule was a cause of resentment among Hindus and Muslims in the 19th century, who felt that their cultures were being attacked.[citation needed] This was one of the causes of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the British Raj.[citation needed] Also, many Christian ideals prompted reform movements within the Hindu society in the 19th century, the most notable being the Brahmo Samaj, which was influenced by British Christian Unilateralism.[citation needed]. Indian Christians have retained Hindu customs and practices, and have combined Hindu customs with Christianity to achieve a unique brand of Indian Christianity. For instance, some Christians in India celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali .[13] This form of syncretism has been a source of frustration among the more radicalized and Eurocentric Christian missionaries who wanted a stronger brand of Christian Exclusivism among Indian Christians.[citation needed] For the most part, Indian Christians rejected religious exclusivism and have chosen to coexist with Hindus in peace.

In more contemporary periods, Hindu-Christian amity is sometimes challenged by partisan politics and extremism from both communities. Christian missionary activity among lower-caste Hindus has created groups of Crypto-Christians, particularly among Dalits. Unfortunately, among catholics, discrimination against Dalit Christians remain strong among certain sections of the Catholic Church in certain regions, perpetrated by upper-caste Christian clergy in India.[14][15] As a response, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has successfully converted several Indian Christians back to Hinduism.[16] As a response to allegedly aggressive missionary activity four Indian states (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu mainly) have passed laws restricting or prohibiting religious conversion.[17] This has created some resentment in the Indian Christian community.

In October 2002, the Government of Tamil Nadu under Ms. J.Jayalalitha issued an ordinance aimed at preventing people from converting to Christianity, on the grounds that such conversions occur due to fraud. The accused may be sentenced to up to three years in jail if convicted of such a crime. The majority of instances of controversies with Christians in India do not involve the native Saint Thomas Christians or the Latin Rite Roman Catholics or the ecumenical Church of North India and Church of South India but evangelicals, Fundamentalist Christians, and others.[18] This ordinance was reportedly later repealed.

In July, 2006, BJP-dominated Madhya Pradesh government passed legislation requiring people who desire to convert to a different religion to provide the government with one-month's notice, or face fines and penalties.[19] In August, 2006, Chhattisgarh State Assembly (also BJP-dominated) passed similar legislation requiring anyone who desires to convert to another religion to give 30 days' notice to—and seek permission from—the district magistrate.[20]

There have been some instances of violence between Hindu Nationalists groups and Christians. Human Rights groups like Human Rights Watch allege that there is large-scale violence being perpetrated by Hindutva Hindu Nationalists against Christians[21].

There have been sporadic instances of violence between Hindu Nationalist groups like Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Christians, although they have also worked together in many enterprises. For instance, the Hindu Nationalist group Sewa Bharati has collaborated with relief groups, such as the Catholics Bishops Conference of India to conduct relief operations in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. Activities included building shelters for the victims, providing food, clothes, and medical necessities.[22] Also, some Christian priests have come out in support of the RSS[citation needed].

The Government of the state of Tripura has allegedly uncovered evidence to support the assertion that the Baptist Church of Tripura has been supporting the terrorist group National Liberation Front of Tripura, a violent separatist group that has attacked and killed Hindus in the region and that has banned Hindu festivals by force.[23]

Other Fundamentalist Christian militant groups include sections of the Nagaland Rebels (1947-present), active in predominantly Christian state of Nagaland in Hindu majority India. They were involved in several bombings in 2004.

Muslim - Christian Conflict

Muslims in India and Pakistan who convert to Christianity have been known to be subjected to harassment, intimidation, and attacks. In Kashmir, a Christian convert named Bashir Tantray was killed, allegedly by Islamist militants, in 2006.[24]

A Christian priest, K.K. Alavi, who is a convert from Islam, recently raised the ire of his former Muslim community and has received many death threats. An Islamic militant group named "The National Development Front" actively campaigned against him.[25]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Population by religious communities
  2. ^ Katz, Nathan; & Goldberg, Ellen S; (1993) The Last Jews of Cochin: Jewish Identity in Hindu India, Foreword by Daniel J. Elazar Columbia, SC, Univ. of South Carolina Press. ISBN 0-87249-847-6
  3. ^ Israel J. Ross. Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala. Asian Music, Vol. 11, No. 1 (1979), pp. 80-98
  4. ^ Vasco da Gama collection on University of Michigan
  5. ^ K. M. Panikkar. Asia and Western Dominance: A Survey of the Vasco Da Gama Epoch of Asian History, 1498-1945 The Pacific Historical Review, Vol. 23, No. 4 (Nov., 1954), pp. 407-408
  6. ^ a b Stephen Andrew Missick.Mar Thoma: The Apostolic Foundation of the Assyrian Church and the Christians of St. Thomas in India. Journal of Assyrian Academic studies.
  7. ^ Tom Shippey. Bibliophobia: Hatred of the Book in the Middle Ages
  8. ^ Susan Ashbrook Harvey. Women in the Syrian Tradition. The St.Nina Quaterly
  9. ^ Stephen Neill. A History of Christianity in India: The Beginnings to AD 1707 ISBN 0521548853
  10. ^ a b Daus, Ronald (1983). Die Erfindung des Kolonialismus. Wuppertal/Germany: Peter Hammer Verlag. pp. p.61-66. ISBN 3-87294-202-6. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  11. ^ Census of India: [1]
  12. ^ http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9360711/Christian-caste
  13. ^ http://www.hindubooks.org/sudheer_birodkar/hindu_history/christianity.html
  14. ^ http://indianhope.free.fr/site_eng/article_5.php3
  15. ^ http://www.dalitchristians.com/Html/arulappa.htm
  16. ^ http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050219/nation.htm#9
  17. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6050408.stm BBC Article dealing with conversion prohibition laws
  18. ^ Christian News source with allegations of Persecution in India
  19. ^ http://www.csw.org.uk/latestnews/article.php?id=536 Anti-conversion legislation enhanced in Indian state as new report condemns abuses of the laws 26/07/2006
  20. ^ http://www.csw.org.uk/latestnews/article.php?id=537 Second State government in India enhances anti-conversion laws 07/08/2006
  21. ^ http://hrw.org/english/docs/1999/09/30/india1626.htm
  22. ^ Relief missions from Delhi,The Hindu
  23. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/south_asia/717775.stm BBC News article explaining links between the Baptist Church of Tripura & the NLFT
  24. ^ Christian convert from Islam shot dead in Kashmir, SperoNews
  25. ^ Convert from Islam in India Remains on Death List, Christian Examiner
  • This article includes material from the 1995 public domain Library of Congress Country Study on India.
  • Trec International
  • International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention
  • American Baptist Convention
  • The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India, Vol.I (India), Vol.II (Kerala)

See also

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