9 - Christian Responses to Repression in India and Sri Lanka

Summary

Abstract: Christian communities in both India and Sri Lanka face social and legal discrimination as well as occasional incidents of anti-Christian violence, the frequency of which has increased dramatically since the late 1990s.  Though the manifestation of this discrimination and violence differs in the two countries, the primary reason for anti-Christian animus in both is the presence of religious nationalists (Hindu in India; Buddhist in Sri Lanka) who perceive in the growth and presence of the “foreign” religion of Christianity a threat not only to their own political power, but also to the “traditional” social and religious mores and norms they deem the secret of the nation’s past and future success.  This chapter provides the historical context necessary to understand the nature and origin of anti-Christian hostilities in both countries, describes the extent of anti-Christian discrimination and violence, and then catalogs a variety of Christian responses, including flight (i.e., migration to safer territories), self-sequestration, theological and missiological innovation, human and religious rights advocacy and activism, and intra- and inter-religious collaborations and networking of various kinds.