Christianity Developments in India - Research Paper Example

?Christianity Developments in India Introduction Religious clusters are among one of the proliferating aspects of the contemporary setting of the world. Christianity is one that has a predominant locus in the religious ranking. Albeit the centric issues that emerge many years ago could be considered as greatest threats to Christianity, it has still proven its magnificent impact in the lives of the people. It can be depicted in the country of India, wherein Christianity has delved in a manifold of developments in the infrastructure and educational system of the country.1 Christianity in India is an incremental pace towards the modern perspective of life. Having an approximated two percent of the country’s overall populace, Christians are now proliferating and growing in number. This leads to area of research that had been conducted by this study, concerning the major developments of Christianity in India. This conduct will explain the nature of Christianity, and later on will depict the primitive and contemporary settings of India in the light of Christianity. 2. Christianity Christianity is delved in from the belief of the sole savior Jesus Christ. It has influenced the universe since 6BC--the birth of Jesus Christ up to date. The story of Christianity commences in the birth, life and death of God the Son. He is Jesus Christ, the one who was raised in Nazareth. 2 However, the death and resurrection of Jesus is more significant than His birth. This suggests that the notion of celebration of Christmas was held 400 years before it took over.3 From then, the next 200 years had opened the notion of Christmas that was developed through the veneration of Mary and the three wise men.4 The latter is being explained in this context because Christianity focuses on these significant happenings of the life of Jesus Christ. The life of Jesus is the salient factor that can view as the foundation of belief of Christians. Through His life, many significant notions can be cherished and be emulated for a greater purpose in life. Furthermore, over the years, Christianity has faced many challenges, including some creeds, such as Hindus and Muslims, 5 and the challengers Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Galvin. 6 The Bible had been questioned and its vernacular locus became a centric issue. Most significantly, the emergence of doctrines concerning the relationship of God and humanity also had created ambiguity of belief for other Christians. 7 As the result, the Western nations devalue the prominence of religion because they perceive that religion is no longer significant. This is the result of the proliferating number of creeds, which creates ambiguities in the perception of the public. As the world takes the pace of growth each day, Christianity has been delving favorable feedback to the encounters and responses of emerging community concerns and challenges made by some established beliefs, such as communism, materialism, and atheism. However risky the challenges are, Christianity has still able to combat with a decline in Western nations and is incremental in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.8 Moreover, there was a prediction that Christianity would vanish in the years to come. Such theory has been upheld by erstwhile Beatle John Lennon when he delineated in 1966 that “Christianity will go.” 9 As the world progresses, many pundits have come to support the notion of Lennon. Despite the detrimental number of Christian populace in the modern setting, it must be precise that such prediction is unfounded. As what Blainey delineates: “Christianity has repeatedly been reinvented. Every religious revival is a reflection of a previous state of decline; but no revival and perhaps no decline is permanent.” 10 3. The Indian Setting Primitive. Christianity was finally named in India when in the 14th century Syrian traders went through the course of Kerala.11 The transition was assisted by foreign contract, which comprised Christian traders. 12 From then on, another clusters in the shadow of the Europeans arrived in India and the religion began to diffuse. Notably, these are the Portuguese and British that invaded the land and assisted the diffusion of Christianity. 13 By 1700, the approximated Roman Catholic population in the country had reached 2 million, but had mitigated when it slid around 475,000 to 1.2 million. 14 Further, in the nineteenth century, Christians proliferated in number, and they had extended for up to 2.2 million populace, according to the Catholic Directory of India 1913. From 1861-1901, the growth pace of Christianity in India was really astonishing from 1.6 to 1.9 million.15 In 1911, their population had fostered at 2.2 million compared to 1.2 million to that of the Protestants.16 In 1991, 19.6 million Indians or 2.3% of India claimed that they are Christians.17 Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Assam are Indian states where Christians are widely found. Tamil Nadu is the locus where extensive building of chariots has been made. However, the utilization of chariots in wooden cars had deteriorated for years.18 Chariot festivals are very common in India; it has been adapted to some religious practices as a sort of temple or church. However, using the latter is not founded in the concept of Christianity.19 It can be said that submission of Indians to religion may be because of religious practices. However, the Mother Church of Christianity has always the final ground of what religious practices the Christianity of India should depict, 20 and the concept of chariots is unfounded.21 However, the use of such Chariots in Indian Christianity setting is an emblem of freedom; democracy of worship by Indians.22 Contemporary. Today, India has approximately twenty-three million Christians. However, this cluster ranks as the third in the biggest religious clusters subsequent to Hindus and Muslims.23 Being the third depicts a potential dominance but, in reality, Christianity is comprised only of approximately 2% in the general populace of India.24 Christians in India are comprised of a mixed populace and tribal. Not only Christianity has altered the Indian culture by building parishes and cathedrals, it has also founded some of India’s largest educational institutions, schools, and infirmaries. Nowadays, these said institutions have slithered in number owing to the dominance of the manifold better-established opponents by Indian organizations. The Indian workforce proliferates due to the growing notch of workers coming from indigenous people and the impoverished of other religious beliefs. The latter is the result of India’s most salient religious leaders’ effort who has been striving hard to stipulate the religious requirements of the Christian populace. Such efforts by the Christian leaders have created favorable feedback from community clusters in India.25 The detrimental concerns in India can be depicted with immorality of the Christian leaders as they were accused of misconduct and unethical deeds. They were charged as rapists and the masterminds of the destruction of religious temples. However, there is a dearth of physical evidence regarding the accusations. It is depicted that the endeavors of the Christian leaders in India are far more than the mainstream because of a high notch of sacrifice.26 In Kerala, specifically, there are large Christian societies. They are all in engaged in trade and are enjoying the support of the local government. However, the Christianity facet of India impedes that the bishop of Rome asserted to be the centric of all Christians in all parts of the world. If only Christians would open their mind about the Western world, they would precisely perceive the claim as unfounded. Only when Christians in the 16th century fathomed that Christianity was not centric when Christian missionaries had reached the Western world.27 4. Conclusion Christianity in India is a symbol that the latter involves mixed creeds that have metamorphosed the country’s locus in the contemporary setting. From then on, Christianity has opened new doors to developmental phase experienced by India today. However, such developments rendered by Christian organizations have been deteriorated by Indian organizations. This may somehow depict that politics is the main reason why such deterioration exists in India. Indian leaders had fear that Christianity might have been the main cause of detrimental Indian organizations so they attempted to generate and establish strong organizations to impede Christian organizations’ fast pace of growth. The influence of Christianity in India is the result of its developments. If only Christianity has not delved into the locus of Indian setting, perhaps India now has not yet fathomed that creeds rivalry and politics have become the foundation of its development. Bibliography “Basic Data.” 2011. Country Report, no. 8 (August): 25. Blainey, Geoffrey. 2012. “A short history of Christianity.” Policy 25, no. 1 (Autumn): 57-60. Neill, Stephen. 2004. A History of Christianity in India: The Beginning to AD 1707. Cambridge, United Kingdom: The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge. Rahman, Maseeh. 1998. “Modern-day Martyrs.” Time International (South Pacific Edition), no. 19 (May): 41. Raj, Selva J. and Corinne G. Dempsey. 2002. Popular Christianity in India: Riting Between the Lines. United States of America: State University of New York Press, Albany. Rerceretnam, Marc. 2010. “Anti-colonialism in Christian Churches: A Case Study of Political Discourse in the South Indian Methodist Church in Colonial Malaya, 1890s-1930s.” Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia 25, no. 2 (2010): 234-261. Read More