The Routledge Handbook of Hindu-Christian Relations

517 Pages·2020·77.056 MB·English

by  Chad M. Bauman, Michelle Voss Roberts

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THE ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF

HINDU–C HRISTIAN RELATIONS
The historical interplay of Hinduism as an ancient Indian religion and Christianity as a reli-
gion associated (in India, at least) with foreign power and colonialism, continues to animate
Hindu– Christian relations today. On the one hand, The Routledge Handbook of Hindu–C hristian
Relations describes a rich history of amicable, productive, even sometimes syncretic Hindu–
Christian encounters. On the other, this handbook equally attends to historical and contem-
porary moments of tension, conflict, and violence between Hindus and Christians. Comprising
thirty- nine chapters by a team of international contributors, this handbook is divided into
seven parts:
• Theoretical and methodological considerations
• Historical interactions
• Contemporary exchanges
• Sites of bodily and material interactions
• Significant figures
• Comparative theologies
• Responses
The handbook explores: how the study of Hindu–C hristian relations has been and ought
to be done, the history of Hindu–C hristian relations through key interactions, ethnographic
reflections on current dynamics of Hindu–C hristian exchange, important key thinkers, and
topics in comparative theology, ultimately providing a framework for further debates in the area.
The Routledge Handbook of Hindu–C hristian Relations is essential reading for students and
researchers in Hindu– Christian studies, Hindu traditions, Asian religions, and studies in
Christianity. This handbook will also be very useful for those in related fields, such as anthro-
pology, political science, theology, and history.
Chad M. Bauman is Professor of Religion at Butler University, USA and a Research Fellow
at the Center for Religion and American Culture.
Michelle Voss Roberts is Professor of Theology and Principal at Emmanuel College, a
multireligious theological school in the University of Toronto, Canada.
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The Routledge Handbook of Hindu– Christian Relations
Edited by Chad M. Bauman and Michelle Voss Roberts
For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/ Routledge- Handbooks- in-
Religion/ book- series/ RHR
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THE ROUTLEDGE

HANDBOOK OF HINDU–
CHRISTIAN RELATIONS
Edited by Chad M. Bauman and Michelle Voss Roberts
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First published 2021
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 selection and editorial matter, Chad M. Bauman and Michelle Voss Roberts;
individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Chad M. Bauman and Michelle Voss Roberts to be identified
as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters,
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Bauman, Chad M., editor. | Voss Roberts, Michelle, editor.
Title: The Routledge handbook of Hindu–Christian relations/edited by
Chad M. Bauman and Michelle Voss Roberts.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge, 2021. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020037356 | ISBN 9780367000707 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781003139843 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Hinduism–Relations–Christianity. |
Christianity and other religions–Hinduism.
Classification: LCC BR128.H5 R68 2021 | DDC 294.5/152–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020037356
ISBN: 978-0 - 367- 00070- 7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1 - 003- 13984- 3 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Newgen Publishing UK
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CONTENTS

List of contributors ix

1 Introduction 1

Chad M. Bauman and Michelle Voss Roberts
PART I
Theoretical and methodological considerations 15
2 The formation and mutual re-f ormations of “Christianity”
and “Hinduism” as “religious” categories 17

Kerry P.C. San Chirico
3 The emergence of modern Hinduism 29

Hugh Nicholson
4 Western philosophy and Christian theology in twentieth- century
Hindu thought 41

Martin Ganeri
5 Orientalism and postcolonial theory in Hindu–C hristian encounters 54

Stephanie Corigliano
PART II
Historical interactions 67
6 Syrian Christians and dominant- caste Hindus 69

Sonja Thomas
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Contents
7 Hindu– Jesuit encounters 79

Francis X. Clooney, SJ
8 State power in the relations between Catholics and Hindus 90

Jason Keith Fernandes
9 Hindu– Protestant encounters 102

Arun W. Jones
10 The East India Company, Christianity, and Hinduism 114

Penelope Carson
11 Hindu– Christian debates in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries 127

Richard Fox Young
12 Critiques of Christianity from Savarkar to Malhotra 139

Chad M. Bauman
PART III
Contemporary exchanges: conversion, caste, and the diaspora 153
13 Anti- conversion laws in post- Independence India 155

Ian Richards
14 Hindu– Christian relations through the lens of caste 169

Sunder John Boopalan
15 Race, representation, and Hindu–C hristian encounters in contemporary
North America 180

Sailaja Krishnamurti
16 ISKCON–C hristian encounters 193

Claire C. Robison
17 Hindu– Christian relations in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific 206

Pratap Kumar Penumala
PART IV
Sites of bodily and material interactions 217
18 Popular religious traditions and shared religious spaces 219

James Ponniah
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Contents
19 “Religion” and Hindu– Christian relations after the 2004
Indian Ocean tsunami 230

Kristin C. Bloomer
20 Gender and the social boundaries between “Hindus” and “Christians” 243

Eliza F. Kent
21 Ritual and ritualization in Hindu–C hristian relations 257

Reid B. Locklin
22 Aesthetics, art, and visual culture in Hindu–C hristian relations 268

Patrick M. Beldio
23 Christian and Hindu responses to Christian yoga practice in North
America 280

Christopher Patrick Miller
PART V
Significant figures 295
24 Rammohun Roy 297

Dermot Killingley
25 Swami Vivekananda 307

Robin Rinehart
26 Mohandas K. (“Mahatma”) Gandhi 316

Bradley S. Clough
27 Raimon Panikkar 326

Erik J. Ranstrom
28 Abhishiktananda 334

Catherine Cornille
PART VI
Comparative theologies 343
29 A theology of Hindu– Christian relations 345

Michelle Voss Roberts
30 Rethinking the One and the many in Advaita 355

Anantanand Rambachan
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Contents
31 Creation, cosmos, ecology 369

Daniel Scheid
32 Competing philosophies and theologies of the human person 381

Ankur Barua
33 Divine embodiment in Hinduism and Christianity 392

Jon Paul Sydnor
34 Truth and salvation in Hindu– Christian encounters 404

Peniel Jesudason Rufus Rajkumar
35 Inculturation 417

Michael Amaladoss, SJ
36 Peace and conflict 430

Edward T. Ulrich
37 Contemporary Hindu– Christian dialogue 443

Bob Robinson
PART VII
Responses 457
38 Response: shared and contested spaces: Hindu– Christian relations
through a performing arts lens 459

Vasudha Narayanan
39 Response: the Handbook in light of the past and future of
Hindu– Christian relations 476

Francis X. Clooney, SJ
Index 485

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CONTRIBUTORS

Michael Amaladoss, SJ, from India, has a PhD in Sacramental Theology from Paris. He has
been a Professor in the Vidyajyoti Institute of Theological Studies in Delhi and has taught in
many centers in Asia, Europe, and North America. He is the Founder- Director of the Institute
of Dialogue with Cultures and Religions, Chennai, India. He is the author of 34 books and
about 500 articles in many languages.
Ankur Barua’s primary research interests are Hindu Studies and the comparative philosophy
of religion. He studies various historical, philosophical, and conceptual aspects of the Hindu
traditions, and, in particular, works on the traditions of Vedanta. An integral part of his research
relates to the question of whether Christian terms such as “grace” have any Hindu analogues
and whether Hindu terms such as dharma have any Christian equivalents.
Chad M. Bauman is Professor of Religion at Butler University and a Research Fellow at the
Center for Religion and American Culture. He is author or co-e ditor of four books: Christian
Identity and Dalit Religion in Hindu India, 1868–1 947 (Eerdmans, 2008), Constructing Indian
Christianities (Routledge, 2014), Pentecostals, Proselytization, and Anti-C hristian Violence in
Contemporary India (Oxford University Press, 2015), and Anti- Christian Violence in India
(Cornell, 2020).
Patrick M. Beldio is a scholar in theology and religious studies, instructor at Montgomery
College, Maryland, professional sculptor, and Catholic who follows a Sufi practice founded by
Meher Baba. His current book project, Forming the New Creation: The Integral Yoga of the Mother
and Sri Aurobindo in Art and Creativity, is unique in examining the role of the Mother in equal
measure to Sri Aurobindo and their teaching in art.
Kristin C. Bloomer is Associate Professor of Religion at Carleton College in Northfield,
Minnesota. She is the author of Possessed by the Virgin: Hinduism, Roman Catholicism, and Marian
Possession in South India (Oxford University Press, 2018). She holds a PhD from the University
of Chicago’s Divinity School and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the University of
Montana, Missoula. Prior to entering academia, she worked as a journalist.
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