Abstract
Christian conversion has become a major topic of discussion amongst academics, religious leaders, and policymakers alike in recent decades, especially in developing countries. Nepal has witnessed one of the highest rates of Hinduism to Christianity conversion in South Asia. Whilst there are no legal restrictions for religious conversion in Nepal, the conversion from Hinduism to Christianity appears to be disproportionately higher amongst Dalit communities in Nepal. However, religious conversion amongst Nepalese Dalits is yet to be fully understood. This research uses mixed methodologies of data collection and analysis to explore various issues related to religious conversion amongst Hindu Dalits into Christianity in Nepal. Results indicate whilst elderly and female Dalits tended to convert to Christianity, a range of factors specific to personal and communal biographies including social, cultural, emotional, and spiritual interplay together to shape the process of religious conversion amongst the Dalits. The paper concludes that the study of religious conversion should consider a range of sociocultural factors to fully understand the dynamics of religious conversion amongst Dalits.
Highlights
Religious conversion is a process by which a person commits to the beliefs of a new religious tradition and shifts away from their previously held religious beliefs (Stark andFinke 2000)
This paper investigates the issue of religious conversion amongst the Hindu Dalits to Christianity within sociocultural institutions and action situations
Hindu Dalits to Christianity is much more than just the economic benefits accrued to them
Summary
Religious conversion is a process by which a person commits to the beliefs of a new religious tradition and shifts away from their previously held religious beliefs This paper neither makes any assumptions about religious conversion in Nepal nor does it naturally deducts that the disproportionally high rate of Christian conversion amongst the Dalits is a direct result of an active proselytization taking place in Nepal. This leaves the debate on religious conversion in Nepal, especially the conversion of Hindu Dalits to Christianity in need of further exploration and explanation, as it appears to be a part of the broader societal changes encompassing of an individual’s life experiences, exercise of individual freedom, and adaptation of modernity
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