The Holy Spirit in the Household

Abstract

Abstract Why are the Bhil tribals increasingly converting to Pentecostalism in India? Drawing on more than a decade of in-depth ethnographic fieldwork among the Bhils in southern Rajasthan, this article argues that the Pentecostals have approached conversion not as “change of religion” (dharma parivartan) but as “holistic transformation of life” (jeevan parivartan). In a context in which the state has been withdrawing from providing basic social services to people at its margins, the pentecostal churches have come to play a vital role. Specifically, the article discusses that the presence of the Holy Spirit has brought about three major transformations—miracle healing, ethical subjectivity, and gender relations—in the lives of the Bhils. Finally, the article concludes that by combining developmental programs with prayer and fellowship, the pentecostal churches have not only brought ethical transformations among the Bhils but have also converted them “to a morally inspired existence.”