Book calls for 'religious disarmament' on conversions
Changing
Gods by Rudolf C. Heredia SJ (Penguin, 2007)
Religious conversion is a complex and
emotionally charged issue but fundamentalists of all hues
exploit it, liberals confuse it and many do not comprehend
what the fuss is about, says a new book.
Written by an unlikely author, the Catholic
Jesuit priest-sociologist Rudolf C. Heredia, 'Changing Gods:
Rethinking Conversion in India' highlights how mass
conversions have alienated people from their past traditions
and 'lived beliefs'.
Heredia is editor of the journal 'Social
Action' at the Indian Social Institute in New Delhi and has
long worked with marginalised communities.
Heredia told IANS: 'I am reluctant to sum
up three years' work in a sound bite. Perhaps the original
title I had chosen 'religious disarmament' says more than just
the two words.'
This book challenges the 'traditional
orthodoxies' which promote or oppose religious conversions.
Heredia argues that there is 'no religious merit in political
posturing or conversion for socio-economic gain'.
His book portrays how forced conversions
have weakened Indian society by dissociating people from their
traditions and beliefs. Heredia traces the history of
conversion in India and the changes that it wrought in the
lives of people, especially tribals and Dalits.
In most cases, he says, conversions fail to
alter people's devotion to so-called pagan gods and goddesses
but involves them instead in the 'politics of hate'.
'While religious commitment is essentially
a matter of personal conscience and choice, it inevitably
impacts other levels of individual and social life,' argues
the 400-page book. Published by Penguin India, the 400-page
paperback book is priced at Rs.350.
To defuse tensions over an issue that has
raked up a lot of passion in contemporary India, the author
advocates rethinking religious conversions in India with
'determined religious disarmament and discarding aggression'.
In today's multi-religious society, change
of faith can precipitate religious antagonism, or it can
facilitate social diversity and tolerance, Heredia argues.
He says that while he remains anchored
firmly to his Catholic faith, he is seeking common ground for
tolerance and dialogue, premised on a 'constructive
interaction with other faith traditions.' India
enews.com
Events
Religious conversion is a complex and
emotionally charged issue but fundamentalists of all hues
exploit it, liberals confuse it and many do not comprehend
what the fuss is about, says a new book.
To defuse tensions over an issue that has
raked up a lot of passion in contemporary India, the author
advocates rethinking religious conversions in India with
'determined religious disarmament and discarding aggression'.