Abstract
Since 1950, when Nepal opened its doors to Christianity, people have been converting in rapid pace. Anthropologists have theorized for decades that in the process of converting from any religion to Christianity, persons experience a relational rupture. By combining the set theory of Hiebert and post-relational ontological turn theory of Holbraad and Pedersen, I explore how the anthropological approach must change its starting point in order to understand how and why conversion happens. As we understand the motivations for conversion, we can see that relational rupture does not exist for Christian converts because of the core emphasis on relationality found within Christianity. Through ethnographic research, I was able to effectively show how conversion to Christianity should be considered a post-relational ontological re(turn) to relations.
Highlights
Since 1950, when Nepal opened its doors to Christianity, people have been converting in rapid pace
Holbraad and Pedersen ask, What happens to all the social and spiritual connections severed in the processes of conversion— where, as it were, do all the cut-off relationships go? While processes of Christian conversion have often been understood by anthropologists to involve a reduction of relationality, it might, we suggest, be more analytically interesting and potentially more faithful to the ethnography to think of conversion as a relational transformation (2017:256)
When anthropologists approach the anthropology of religion by segregating people into groups based on their current affiliation with a particular religion, we are negating the fact that life is an ongoing transformative process
Summary
Since 1950, when Nepal opened its doors to Christianity, people have been converting in rapid pace. Hiebert’s and Holbraad and Pedersons’s, I hope to show that there is movement and transformation long before the one-time event of entry into the faith that many anthropologists seem to view through a bounded set understanding of the process.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: OKH Journal: Anthropological Ethnography and Analysis Through the Eyes of Christian Faith
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
