The South Asian: US Evangelism Serious Threat to Indian Society

March 22, 2005

US Evangelism Serious Threat to Indian Society

In the last couple of weeks, I have read a few articles on Christian Evangelism in India, and I took them seriously simply because they were not part of the rhetoric of certain groups that lean towards religious fanaticism.

One article was authored by Jeff Archer , who writes under the pseudonym Malcom Lagauche, and it presented the connections between the Bush Administration, the growing evangelical Christian groups and the evangelical undercurrents in policies of the Bush administration.

Another article titled Eastward, Evangelical Soldiers by Vijay Prashad, appeared in the February issue of the Indian magazine Frontline. He introduces the article with “U.S. evangelicalism does not represent Christianity but does represent the Bush administration's agenda for global hegemony”. In that article the author talks about the growing financial prowess of the evangelical Christian right, and its implications during these times when there has been serious cutback on domestic spending on social programs (largely driven by international financial institutions), and drastic reduction in American aid.

Under these conditions, evangelical groups have spread out over the third world, attempting to provide some respite to the heathens, on one hand, and harvesting souls on the other. The state government of Karnataka agreed to ‘host’ proselytizer Benny Hinn – a multi-millionaire evangelist from the US, even as local church groups in India dissociated themselves from his visit. A Sri Lankan Methodist minister, Reverend Sarangika Fernando observed their work and told The New York Times that he felt that the missionaries acted unethically. Christian leaders from around South Asia have criticized these efforts, loudly proclaiming that the work of US evangelical groups must not represent all of Christianity.

Numerous commentators of the rise of evangelical efforts have presented evidence to strategies for focused conversions in what is termed the Resistance Belt or the 10/40 Window. Vijay Prashad points out that the evangelical leadership– especially Luis Bush, head of the AD2000 & Beyond Movement – offered a concept for the new evangelism called 10/40: "The core of the unreached people of the world live in a rectangular-shaped window! Often called `The Resistant Belt', the window extends from West Africa to East Asia, from 10 north to 40 north of the equator. If we are serious about providing a valid opportunity for every person to experience the truth and saving power of Jesus Christ, we cannot ignore the compelling reality of the 10/40 Window regions and its billions of impoverished souls."

In India, a new wave of evangelism targets what is called the ‘cow belt’ with increased activity in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Haryana – a region that traditionally has seen little evangelical activity. Christian Today profiles a group named World Help that plans to set up over hundred thousand churches in Uttar Pradesh, claiming that they have a very Indian strategy for conversions in India. "The goal of that is that whole extended families and whole villages will become part of a church planting movement , so that it's not a single person here, a single person there being isolated and drawn out of their society, but rather, whole families and villages are coming to Christ”, says Eric Vess from this organization.

As these high-financed evangelical groups turn on the momentum in high-powered proselytizing, the response has been unbalanced. Most secular groups have ignored this process and the right wing Hindu groups in India have used this trend to justify their own brand of hate based religious nationalism. Within this mixture, local Indian church groups and Christian communities – most of who are neither involved in conversions nor associated with the evangelical groups are being threatened. Church leaders from within India have been strongly criticizing most of these efforts.

A similar story plays itself out in Sri Lanka, a nation that has seen hostilities between local Buddhists and Christians. External evangelical activity again threatens violence.

Under these circumstances, the whole question of conversion must be reviewed with appropriate focus given to the right to choose one’s religion and to convert as well as to the violence that is associated with proselytizing and conversions that is being practiced by such evangelical groups. With the secular communities – intellectual and activists – unwilling to engage in this question, the only voice that exists belongs to the religious right.

The secular community must also consider ways to collaborate with church leadership to ensure that while the rights of local Christian groups is protected and they continue to be secure, the efforts of international evangelical groups can be isolated, marginalized and critiqued and public campaigns can be managed around their efforts in ways similar to the ones that secular groups have structured around other religious right groups.

- Sanat Mohanty

Posted by collective at March 22, 2005 07:16 PM

Comments

lines of thought...

I have questions on the issue of proseletyzing as it is quite a gray area. Whether it is proseletyzing an ideology of non-violence, a political ideology, or a religion. It has flavours of the same. Mass conversion by dalits to Buddhism come under this word too. With the 'American' evalangical missions (agenda), which at this point shares a space with American 'Empire'expansion - there's some nasty, if not horrendous stuff afoot here.

In these times of rapid transition, materially, ideologically, politically .... the lines are more like shades of gray which rapidly shift and change colour.

As an aspirant of non-violence, I am aware that this construct defines itself from the frame of reference of 'violence'. And there is a constant contextual shifting of what denotes violence.
Every existence implies a violence of some degree on something else. For one 'being' (existence) to express, perhaps some other part of the universe did not.

In this arena of competition of identities, seems to be oftentimes, conflict of interest, and at other times war.

To engage in this conflict, whether at a physical, emotional, psychological or other level requires an investigation into the patterns and nature of conflict (or war) as well as of the rules of engagement.

Whatever the dimension in which one's battles are waged, it is tricky to keep a footing in a circle of non-injury. One constantly slips step.
For me, here lies the larger struggle.

I have more questions than answers ...

"If you
gaze into the abyss, then the abyss also gazes into you" --Freidrich Nietzche

Vidhi

Posted by: vidhi on March 29, 2005 12:14 PM

This article on US-based evangelism raises is very timely. In light of the issues raised by Sanat, and others raised by Vidhi in her comments, here are some more points to consider:

1) The best vaccination against the poison of fanatical religious evangelism is the availability of adequate opportunities for children and adults to learn and discuss (a) comparative religious philosophies, and (b) the differences between orthodoxy and orthopraxy (here Gandhi's work on non-violence is of enormous importance), and (c) how can religion play a positive role in the modern world.

2) The importance of the above will be quickly recognized by most people if it is pointed out that over the past 100 years or so, socieities all over the world have been forced to become part of a "global mining civilization". In contrast to traditional socieities where religious ideas and institutions (including ideas of “sacred”) have originated in a context where "wealth" is predominantly associated with the primary and secondary products of photosynthesis, the world that come into being in the 20th century is overwhelmingly based on “mining”. Not surprisingly, the “mining mentality” is deeply entrenched in all the dominant modern institutions and in ideas such as “economic growth”. Indeed, as the Nobel laureate Frederick Soddy pointed out in the 1920s and 1930s, the very idea of modern currency and banking is essentially based on the unrestrained use of fossil energy. Of course, in order for such a “mining civilization” to exist, it is necessary that human beings are brainwashed into becoming “homo economicus”, whether of capitalist or communist persuasion. In these circumstances, it is not surprising that traditional ideas of “sacred” are constantly being attacked by “modernizers” and the “mass-media”. Those who are religiously inclined must find ways of recognizing these trends and seeking common ground rather than creating petty rivalries between traditional religions.

3) In light of the two points mentioned above, the greatest challenge is to foster a dialogue on “ends and means” and “noble politics” at multiple levels across societies all over the world. Such a dialogue will naturally have to include secular as well as religious and spiritual concerns.

4) It is also important to recognize that the mass-media (print and television) presents the greatest barrier to the reform agenda outlined above.

-venkatesh

Posted by: Venkatesh R. Iyer on April 9, 2005 02:05 PM

I dont understand why people have developed so much Ego for the past centuries - to admit the fact that Jesus was no more than a Kind and Gentle HUMAN BEING.
If he was a God at all, WHAT DID HE DO ?
Ofcourse Christians will say, he took the Beating for all the SINNERS..
Has it ever struck to them that he took the Beating because he pissed off the Jews by saying I am the GOD ?
I like Jesus as a SAINT.. but he is not the GOD..
-> Jesus was born normally to a Single female (Mary) , which was Tailored later with a story saying Mary just conceived him like that ?? Comeon you got to be kidding.
-> Jesus married normally and had a happy married life like any other human.
-> If India starts counting all the Saints from the Purans they could probably find about a million Jesus Christs

I see GOD in people who are generous to Poor and help others. Unfortunately if the society has a good man , a group of people try to find the bad in him or her to distinguish between God and Humans. Everyone is GOD..Help people, Respect people, Live Happily, Be Responsible, Enjoy Life and Die Happily... You wont be penalized for not accpeting JESUS as GOD.

For Evalangicals my message : BE GOOD, DONT FEEL INSECURED...NO BODY CARES WHAT YOU THINK

Posted by: Ravi on January 24, 2007 07:49 AM

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