A Social History of Christianity

Description

The Christian community in India emerged from an Indian rather than a foreign or an imperial context. Its internal dynamics were shaped far more by Indian social realities than by missionary designs. This book presents a comprehensive social history of Christianity in north-west India, comprising Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, the Union Territories of Delhi and Chandigarh, and the Pakistani Punjab and North-West Frontier Province.

The book discusses significant events in the history of the north-west up to 1947, after which it focuses only on India. These events left a lasting impact on Christianity and shaped its future course, culminating in the transfer of churches’ power from foreign missionaries to Indians and proliferation of churches, and the ongoing struggles of the Christian community. The author pays special attention to the Christian community’s caste composition—how caste status and social mobility affected intra- and inter-community relations—religious diversity, uneven demographic distribution, and development, as well as Christianity as a religious movement in the region.

About the Author

Dr John C.B. Webster was educated at Amherst College (BA), Massachusetts, United States of America (USA); the Union Theological Seminary (MDiv), New York, USA; Lucknow University (MA), India; and the University of Pennsylvania (PhD), USA. He taught history at the Baring Union Christian College (where he was also director of the Christian Institute of Sikh Studies) and the Guru Nanak University in Punjab, India, as well as the United Theological College in Bengaluru, India. After returning to the United States, he was a Visiting Professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and served as both adjunct faculty and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Union Theological Seminary. His other major publications include The Christian Community and Change in Nineteenth Century North India, The Nirankari Sikhs, The Dalit Christians: A History, Religion and Dalit Liberation: An Examination of Perspectives, and Historiography of Christianity in India. He has been listed in Who's Who in America as well as Who's Who in the World.

Reviews

‘This book contains the story of a north-western Christian community, most of which has reached us “after passing through missionary filters”.... Yet, it is possibly the most honest narration known to this reviewer. The author had close links with north-west India for about a half century, and is therefore most qualified to give us such a honest account of a Christian community which has its roots in the “periphery”.’

—James Massey, Seminar

Table of contents

List of Tables and Maps
Preface
List of Abbreviations
1. Introduction
The Study of Christianity in North-west India
The Present Study
The Nature and Use of the Missionary Archive
2. The Beginnings: 1800–57
North-west India
The Coming of Christianity
Conclusions
3. The High Imperial Era: 1858–80
The Imperial Ethos
Education
The Religious Challenge
The Christian Community
Conclusions
4. The North-west in Ferment: 1881–1918
The Changing Context
The Urban Elites
Urban Women
The Rural Dalits
The Christian Community
Conclusions
5. Towards Independence and Partition: 1919–47
The Christian Community
Christians and Political Movements
Nationalism and ‘Missionary Raj’
Conclusions
6. Christianity in North-west India since Independence
Partition and Its Aftermath
The Reorganization and Proliferation of Churches
The Institutional Complex
The Christian Community
Conclusions
7. The North-west in the History of Christianity in India
Glossary
Bibliography
Index