Religion, Conversion and Identity: A Sociological Study of the Uraoñs of Chotanagpur

AUTHOR- Joseph Marianus Kujur

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INFORMATION

  • AUTHOR : Joseph Marianus Kujur
  • HB ISBN : 978-93-89676-19-8
  • Year : 2020
  • Extent : 344
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Set in the theoretical perspective of religious conversion in general, and that of tribal identity of Christians in particular, this volume brings out the complexities of the triangular relationship among tribal Christians, tribal Sarnās, and others. Based on historical records, some rare archival materials of the Church, oral traditions of the Urāoñ Adivasi community as well as fieldwork data, Religion, Conversion and Identity explores the dialectics between the old and the new. It presents insights derived from the processes of Indianization, indigenization and tribalization in the Church from the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, and also addresses issues of ethnic and minority studies with a focus on identity formation and articulation. The findings of this study have wider implication and can be used to address concerns over other conversions not only in India, but in the world at large. The book argues that the Urāoñ identity has evolved through the ages, that conversions are only side-effects of multiple factors resulting in the restructuring of identity, that in the fragmented relationship between Christians and Sarnā there are negotiations for convergence, that the Urāoñ Sarnā converts to Christianity are very much a Scheduled Tribe by virtue of being ‘Urāoñs’, and that calling the Urāoñ Sarnās ‘Hindu’ is self contradictory.

Joseph Marianus Kujur is the Provincial of Ranchi Jesuit Society and Chairman of the Governing Board of all Jesuit-run institutions of Ranchi Province. He is also the Chairman of the Central Zone, which includes the five Jesuit Provinces of Dumka-Raiganj, Hazaribagh, Jamshedpur, Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh, and Ranchi.