Jesudas Athyal on Christian Proselytization and Question of “Success” in India
Dr. Jesudas Athyal, Acquiring Editor in World Christianity for Fortress Press and former CGCM visiting researcher, is engaging in public debate about the role of proselytization in Indian Christianity. His recent article, “Christianity Hasn’t Failed in India. Conversion Isn’t Its Only Goal,” published in The Print, argues that Christianity’s success in India today cannot be measured by statistics alone. He argues that conversion was in many cases not the explicit goal of missionaries, many of whom wanted to live alongside people, support work for social improvement, and witness to their faith through strategies of “permeation” rather than proselytization. Athyal also points to the ways that persecution and multiple religious belonging can skew demographic data on religion.
Dr. Athyal closes his article noting the inconsistency of those who would blame Christianity for making little headway in India but who would agree with anti-conversion laws that violate religious freedom. He ends by saying, “A propaganda has been unleashed on several levels to present Indian Christianity as a failed project. However, the arguments that could convince the faithful may not stand scholarly scrutiny.”
Phillip Jenkins recently highlighted Athyal’s arguments in an article on the blog The Anxious Bench, where he urges greater recognition of the pressures faced by Christians in India today.
Dr. Athyal is also a co-author of Understanding World Christianity: India (Fortress, 2016), with Dyron B. Daughrity, as well as many articles in the field of World Christianity.