MarvinGrenier8 at 21:04, 26 February 2026

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{{Short description|Christian theology concerned with the Dalit caste}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Christianity in India sidebar}}
'''Dalit theology''' is a branch of [[Christianity|Christian]] [[theology]] that emerged among the [[Dalit (outcaste)|Dalit]] [[caste]] in the [[Indian subcontinent]] in the 1980s. It shares a number of themes with [[Latin American liberation theology]], which arose two decades earlier, including a self-identity as a people undergoing [[Exile|Exodus]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Rao|first=Anand|title=Soteriologies of India and their role in the perception of disability : a comparative transdisciplinary overview with reference to Hinduism and Christianity in India|publisher=LIT Verlag|year=2004|isbn=3-8258-7205-X|location=Berlin-Hamburg-Münster|pages=232|oclc=54973643}}</ref> Dalit theology sees hope in the "Nazareth Manifesto" of {{Bibleverse|Luke|4|NIV}}, where [[Jesus]] speaks of preaching "good news to the poor ... freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind" and of releasing "the oppressed."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Schouten|first=Jan Peter|title=Jesus as guru : the image of Christ among Hindus and Christians in India|publisher=Rodopi|year=2008|isbn=978-1-4356-9523-8|location=Amsterdam|pages=247|oclc=302001445}}</ref>

==Development==
A major proponent of Dalit theology was [[Arvind P. Nirmal]] (1936–1995), a [[Dalit Christian]] in the [[Church of North India]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Schwarz|first=Hans|title=Theology in a global context : the last two hundred years|publisher=William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company|year=2005|isbn=978-0-8028-2986-3|location=Grand Rapids, Michigan|pages=529|oclc=61309426}}</ref> Nirmal criticised [[Brahmin]]ic dominance of Christian theology in India, and believed that the application of liberation theology to India should reflect the struggle of Dalits,<ref name=":1" /> who make up about 70% of the Christians in India, as claimed by Poor Christian Liberation Movement (PCLM), and 90% of the Christians in Pakistan.<ref>Carol Henderson Garcia and Carol E. Henderson, ''Culture and Customs of India'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002, {{ISBN|0-313-30513-7}}, p. 40.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040226173223/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/496862.cms Dalit Christians demand equality], ''Times of India'', 14 February 2004.</ref><ref name="Phan2011">{{cite book |last1=Phan |first1=Peter C. |title=Christianities in Asia |date=2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-9260-9 |page=25 |language=English|quote=For example, 90 to 95% of Pakistani Christians are Punjabi of the chura (dalit) group converted from Hinduism rather than from Islam or local religious systems.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Sara |first1=Singha |last2=Ariel |first2=Glucklich |title=Dalit Christians and Caste Consciousness in Pakistan |url=https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/761014 |accessdate=22 September 2020 |language=English |date=23 April 2015 |quote=This study explores caste discrimination in Pakistan against untouchable (Dalit) converts to Christianity. During the nineteenth century in India, many Dalits converted to Christianity to escape caste persecution. In the 1870s in Punjab, a mass movement to Protestant Christianity flourished among the Dalit Chuhra caste. The Chuhras were the largest menial caste in Punjab and engaged in degrading occupations including sweeping and sanitation work. By the 1930s, almost the entire Chuhra caste converted to Protestant Christianity. In 1947, during the partition of India, the majority of Chuhra converts in Punjab became part of the Protestant community in Pakistan. After Partition, many uneducated Chuhras were confined to menial jobs in the sanitation industry. Today, the stigma of Dalit ancestry is a distinct feature of social discrimination against Chuhra Christians in Pakistan. |archive-date=23 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423172947/https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/761014 |url-status=live }}</ref> Nirmal also criticised the [[Marxist]] element within [[South America]]n liberation theology.<ref name=":0" /> Nirmal drew on the concept of the [[Suffering Servant]] in {{Bibleverse|Isaiah|53|NIV}} to identify Jesus himself as a Dalit – "a waiter, a ''[[dhobi]]'', and ''[[bhangi]]''."<ref name="AR233">Anand Rao, p. 233.</ref>

Evelyn Ruth Bhajan, a deacon in the [[Church of Pakistan]], stated that Dalit theology is vital in that it aligns the Church's mission with "strategies based on the social, political and economic implications of liberation in Christ."<ref name="Bhajan2018">{{cite web |last1=Bhajan |first1=Evelyn Ruth |title=Mission in the Pakistani Context |url=https://rethinkingmission.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Mission-Pakistani-Context.pdf |publisher=[[USPG]] |access-date=5 December 2020 |language=English |date=2018 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Bhajan stated that this liberation includes that from [[persecution of Christians|persecution]], segregation, and economic depression.<ref name="Bhajan2018"/>

Dalit theologians have seen passages in the gospels, such as Jesus' sharing a common drinking vessel with the [[Samaritan woman]] in {{Bibleverse|John|4|NIV}} as indicating his embracing of Dalitness.<ref>[http://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/1842/2594/2/Bird%20A%20thesis%2008.pdf Adrian Bird, ''M.M. Thomas: Theological Signposts for the Emergence of Dalit Theology'', PhD thesis, University of Edinburgh, February, 2008, p. 53–54.]</ref> The [[parable of the Good Samaritan]] is also seen as significant, providing a "life-giving message to the marginalized Dalits and a challenging message to the non-Dalits."<ref>M. Gnanavaram, "'Dalit Theology' and the Parable of the Good Samaritan," ''Journal for the Study of the New Testament'', Vol. 15, No. 50, 59–83 (1993).</ref>

[[M. E. Prabhakar]] expanded on the Dalitness of Jesus, stating that "the God of the Dalits ... does not create others to do servile work, but does servile work Himself."<ref name="JP63">John Parratt, ''An Introduction to Third World Theologies'', Cambridge University Press, 2004, {{ISBN|0-521-79739-X}}, p. 63.</ref> He also suggested that Jesus experienced human, and especially Dalit, brokenness in his [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucifixion]].<ref name="JP63"/> Prabhakar has developed a Dalit [[creed]], which reads in part:
<blockquote>
"Our cries for liberation from harsh caste-bondage<br />
Were heard by God, who came to us in Jesus Christ<br />
To live with us and save all people from their sins."<ref>Rowena Robinson, ''Christians of India'', SAGE, 2003, {{ISBN|0-7619-9822-5}}, pp. 199–200.</ref>
</blockquote>

[[Vedanayagam Devasahayam]] (b. 1949) of the [[Church of South India]] followed Nirmal as head of Dalit theology at the [[Gurukul Lutheran Theological College]], and further developed Nirmal's ideas, writing a number of books.<ref name="HS530">Hans Schwarz, p. 530.</ref> Devasahayam later became bishop of the Church of South India's Madras Diocese.<ref name="HS530"/>

Dalit theology opposes [[indigenization]] movements within Indian Christian liturgy, since these are seen as reinforcing traditional caste hierarchies.<ref name="CSRS101">Charles Stewart and Rosalind Shaw, ''Syncretism/Anti-Syncretism: The Politics of Religious Synthesis'', Routledge, 1994, {{ISBN|0-415-11117-X}}, pp. 101–102.</ref> However, the incorporation of some Indian religious traditions is supported.<ref name="CSRS101"/>

==Literature==
* Arvind P. Nirmal and V. Devasahayam, ''A Reader in Dalit Theology'', Gurukul Lutheran Theological College & Research Institute, 1990, 180 pages.
* V. Devasahayam, ''Outside the Camp: Bible Studies in Dalit Perspective'', Gurukul Lutheran Theological College & Research Institute, 1992, 54 pages.
* V. Devasahayam, ''Doing Dalit Theology in Biblical Key'', Dept. of Research and Publications, Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute, 1997, 75 pages.
* V. Devasahayam, ''Frontiers of Dalit Theology'', Gurukul Lutheran Theological College & Research Institute / Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1997, 501 pages.
* Masilamani Azariah, ''A Pastor's Search for Dalit Theology'', Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2002, 211 pages.
* Peniel Rajkumar, Dalit Theology and Dalit Liberation: Problems, Paradigms and Possibilities, Ashgate, 2010, 218 pages.
* Keith Hebden, Dalit Theology and Christian Anarchism, Ashgate, 2011, 186 pages.
* Y.T. Vinayaraj, Re-imagining Dalit Theology: Postmodern Readings, CSS, 2010
* Anderson H M Jeremiah, ''Community and worldview among Paraiyars of South India: 'Lived' religion'', Bloomsbury, 2012, 285 pages
* Y.T. Vinayaraj,"Dalit Theology after Continental Philosophy," Palgrave Macmillan, 2016.
* Jobymon Skaria, Dalit Theology, Boundary Crossings, and Liberation in India: A Biblical and Postcolonial Study, London: Bloomsbury, 2022, 223 pages

==See also==
* [[Caste system among Indian Christians]]
* [[Dalit Christian]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |author1-last=Ashok |author1-first=Kumar M. |author2-last=Boopalan |author2-first=Sunder J. |year=2015 |chapter=Indian Christians in Conflict: Dalit Christian Movement in Contemporary India |editor-last=Hunt |editor-first=Stephen J. |editor-link=Stephen J. Hunt |title=Handbook of Global Contemporary Christianity: Themes and Developments in Culture, Politics, and Society |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |series=Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion |volume=10 |doi=10.1163/9789004291027_017 |pages=308–324 |isbn=978-90-04-26538-7 |issn=1874-6691}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060709201901/http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1121 George Oommen, "The Emerging Dalit Theology: A Historical Appraisal," ''Indian Church History Review'', Vol. XXXIV, no. 1, June 2000, pp. 19–37.]
*[http://jmathyal.tripod.com/id1.html Jesudas M Athyal, "New Challenges for Dalit Theology," International Consultation on 'Dalit Theology and A Theology of the Oppressed' at Gurukul Lutheran Theological College, Nov 2004]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20010226191903/http://csichurch.com/article/dalit.htm K. P. Kuruvila, DALIT THEOLOGY: AN INDIAN CHRISTIAN ATTEMPT TO GIVE VOICE TO THE VOICELESS]
*[http://www.dalitchristians.com/Html/history.htm Site offering a summary of Dalit history]{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

{{Liberation theology}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalit Theology}}
[[Category:Christianity in India]]
[[Category:Christianity in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Liberation theology]]
[[Category:Christianity and Hinduism]]
[[Category:World Christianity]]
[[Category:Dalit religion]]

Dalit theology - Revision history

MarvinGrenier8 at 21:04, 26 February 2026