Christology in the Indian Context
Located in southern Asia, India is a unique setting to understand the interaction between religion and culture. Firstly, it is highly religious society with only 0.1% of Indians reporting no religious affiliation, per a national census conducted in 2011 (Census of India). It is also largely considered one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world (Robinson, 2004). It is not only the birthplace of several major world religions, including Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, but also has large populations of followers from other principal religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. The high religiosity of the Indian context as well as cultural and political features like poverty influence the
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This is particularly salient in the Indian context as it is a country that struggles with deep and overwhelming poverty and economic injustice. The modern Indian Christology is also heavily influenced by Liberation Theology, which was birthed in Latin America. Thus, because Jesus is first contextualized in his own time, the Scriptures can be used to not only understand poverty and injustice in Jesus’s time but also in the modern era. George (2013) states, “Ever since the gospel of Jesus Christ was proclaimed in India one fact stands out clearly. That it was not the dogmas about Christ that touched the heart and mind of India, but the person of Jesus of Nazareth, his life, work and words, his suffering and death” (pp. 115). It is from the personhood of Jesus that the Christological understanding of Peedith Seväk-Sardär, or Suffering Servant-Lord, was founded (George, 2013). This understanding of Jesus finds that He is both liberator and one who suffers with the people. Throughout the Gospels and even the Old Testament, Peedith Seväk-Sardär both takes on the suffering of humanity and reestablishes the covenant between God and humanity. This specific concept of Jesus is also deeply rooted in Hindu thought and philosophy, which provides even more meaning to those in the Indian context. Peedith Seväk-Sardär is shaped by the Hindu concept of Seva, or service is a core concept that refers to the duty of all human beings to help ease the suffering of those around them through deeds, thoughts, and words. As all things are connected and have a sacred and holy essence of the divine within them, seva is an act of worship to God. Jesus becomes the ultimate example of seva in act on the cross as well as throughout his ministries. In the modern struggles of many Indians who bear the weight
Molloy, Michael. Experiencing the World's Religions. 5th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2010. 320-322. Print.
...ge parts of India, becoming the predominant faith for much of the population. (Allen 399)
Religion, “part of the human experience that has to do with a god or gods, a higher power, or the ultimate values of life” (Cason & Tillman 6-7), is one of the most controversial and interesting subjects for humanity. It has been around for as long as anyone can recall and they have difference and similarities in their founders, beliefs, and history. Religion has served to give some sort of a meaning to life and everything around it. In modern society, some religions have grown and expanded significantly. These larger religions have been classified as world religions. In addition, these world religions have been split into two categories known as Eastern and Western religion.
Throughout all of the above evidence, a common theme is demonstrated. Daily life was influenced by religion and philosophies in both India and China. Religion and philosophies affected
Religion is considered as a pervasive force in this world. It shapes people as to how they behave and interact with almost everything present in the society. Influencing behavior, character formations, ideals, policies, standards are just among the dimensions and societal perspectives affected and impacted by religion. Because of these applications and implications in human lives and existence, religion should be understood deeply, particularly, on how it affects the world. Looking at the American perspective of the term "religion," it could be simply
Hinduism was the first major religion to develop in South Asia. Along with it, came a strict caste system and clear social hierarchy. Hinduism stressed the importance of karma and people purifying their lives over many reincarnations to achieve holy perfection. Later on, Buddhism developed in India and incorporated many of the same cultural and religious practices. One key change was the looseness of the religion in regards to social status, as it did not see a person 's place in the caste system as a factor in achieving the afterlife. In response to a decline in Hinduism, especially among the poorer classes, Hinduism became more accepting of these classes and also developed alternate paths of devotion. In summation, South Asian religion has taken on a trend of
Religion is big part of human life. Every area of the world has some kind of religion or belief system. Religion is defined as “a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices” (“Religion” Def.2). With such a large amount of religions today, religion is widely variegated, usually with divisions in each one. Despite the large amount of religions, I will only be covering only three religions: Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism.
If there is one aspect of society that has endured the ages and is an integral part of society today is religion. There are currently about 7 billion people on earth and of those 7 billion more than half adhere to some form of organized religion. The world’s top religion with about 33% of the population or 2.1 billion followers is Christianity, followed by Islam and Hinduism with 1.3 billion and 851 million adherents respectively. These are just a few of the most well-known religions in the world but; what of the religions obscured in mystery and left in the background? The religions you don’t hear much about in your classrooms or in the media. What is their history? What are their beliefs? I hope to shed some light on these questions and bring to light some of the less popular religions in the world. I will be covering several different religions in this paper, Sikhism, Jainism, Confucianism, and Shinto
Religion is an ever-growing idea that has no set date of origin. Throughout history religion has served as an answer to the questions that man could not resolve. The word religion is derived from the Latin word “religio” meaning restraint in collaboration with the Greek word “relegere” which means to repeat or to read again. Religion is currently defined as an organized system of beliefs and practices revolving around, or leading to, a transcendent spiritual experience. Throughout time, there has yet to be a culture that lacks a religion of some form, whether it is a branch of paganism, a mythological based religion or mono/polytheistic religion. Many religions have been forgotten due to the fact that they were ethnic religions and globalizing religions were fighting to be recognized, annihilating these ancient and ethnic religions. Some of these faiths include: Finnish Paganism, Atenism, Minoan Religion, Mithraism, Manichaeism, Vedism, Zoroastrianism, Asatru, and the Olmec Religion. Religion is an imperative part of our contemporary world but mod...
Hinduism is often viewed as a particularly tolerant religion. The lack of a single omniscient God, absence of a prophet, and the open worship of what may look like many Gods may tell a tale of open worship, individuality within religion, and a peaceful, tolerant way of life. Without further examining what Hinduism entails, this may seem like the perfect religion. When the impression of superiority is looked at with a little skepticism, the pretty picture is marred by the deep scratches of discrimination, sexism, and elitism.
Religion usually plays a big part in the cultures of the world and is the basis for their beliefs and values. In many countries religion is very important, so important that some cultures use it in every aspect of their lives. China l...
...ld note that all three religions, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, have been the dominant, prevailing religious trends in India for many centuries, and they clearly reflect the culture, history, and spirituality of the country. All three of these religions effectively reflect the views of believers on life, death and honorable conduct. Nonetheless, despite the fact that they are very much related with each other, each has some distinct features distinguishing it from all others, and contributes to the understanding of the religious background in India both at the beginning of the new era of humanity, and in the contemporary period of time.
Because of the colossal impact of religion in the countries surveyed the only accurate way to peek at how these people understanding themselves and their place in the world is to first have an understanding of the major religion or religions that are at work within a given society. But that statement demands the question, how is it that through religion we define ourselves? My research relies heavily on the inte...
Religion plays an enormous role in the history of mankind. Wars have been fought over it, lives have been surrounded by it, and it has directly or indirectly shaped the lives of many individuals. Culture and religion play a large role in developing each other. People’s religion is decided by their culture. The prominence or the lack of religion will develop someone’s religious identity have play a core role in determining what that person believes.
India sits in the middle of the scale and can be considered both individualistic and collective. There is great need for belonging to a bigger social framework. In Indian culture family is highly stressed. They strive to increase and preserve their family’s riches, by working hard in order to maintain the family’s dignity and insure the longevity of their offspring.. On the other hand the individualistic aspects of Indian culture are influenced by the major religion in India, which is Hinduism. Hindus believe in reincarnation where past lives are seen as affecting and determining the present life, as a result of this individuals are responsible for how they live their lives and how that will impact their next lives. Since aspects of both individualism and collectivism are present, India scores intermediately in this dimension. (Cultural tools, n.d.)