Orientalism and postcolonial theory in Hindu–Christian encounters

Abstract

Postcolonial theology in the Hindu–Christian encounter looks at faith and the formation of self in light of the colonial experience in India. This context shares with other decolonized people the need to examine power imbalances, including feminist perspectives and subaltern voices, and the ways that the decolonized may replicate the hegemonic structures that they once sought to free themselves from. The literature within the Hindu–Christian encounter is especially important in that it reveals how the colonized in many ways influenced and transformed the colonizers. This process is exemplified in the Christian ashram movement and in the continued popularity of Hindu contemplative practices and yoga in the West. This essay will examine the work of several leading scholars of postcolonial theology in the Hindu–Christian context and also offer some suggestions for how postcolonial theology relates to interreligious learning and specific acts of cultural appropriation.