Christian Identity and Dalit Religion in Hindu India, 1868-1947

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Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, Oct 7, 2008 - Religion - 276 pages
Series: Studies in the History of Christian Missions (SHCM)When a form of Christianity from one corner of the world encounters the religion and culture of another, new and distinctive forms of the faith result. In this volume Chad Bauman considers one such cultural context -- colonial Chhattisgarh in north central India.In his study Bauman focuses on the interaction of three groups: Hindus from the low-caste Satnami community, Satnami converts to Christianity, and the American missionaries who worked with them. Informed by archival snooping and ethnographic fieldwork, the book reveals the emergence of a unique Satnami-Christian identity. As Bauman shows, preexisting structures of thought, belief, behavior, and more altered this emerging identity in significant ways, thereby creating a distinct regional Christianity.
 

Contents

Chhattisgarh the Satnamis
8
Plan of the Book
15
Broader Issues
28
Factors in Becoming or Not Becoming Christian
71
The Myth of History and the History of Myth
101
Allopathic Medicine and the Allure of Efficacy
133
Christian Womanhood
167
Human Recapitulations
191
Conclusion
224
The Destruction of Gass Memorial Centre
237
Glossary
251
Index
270
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