Today postcolonial studies have opened up a vantage point to critically look at the claims of mod... more Today postcolonial studies have opened up a vantage point to critically look at the claims of modernity. They have unearthed some of the core contradictions implied in the universal claims of western modernity -the will to power embedded in them, establishment of empires of knowledge among the once colonized minds, continuance of hegemonic dominance over different others, etc. However, theories have been proposed to look at modernity also in a context -sensitive manner. The proposal of S. N. Eisenstadt for imagining multiple modernities is a case in point. He argues that "the best way to understand... the history of modernity is to see it as a story of continual constitution and reconstitution of a multiplicity of cultural programs." (Eisenstadt, 2000: 2) Going by this insight, one might consider an Indian modernity, which unlike the western variant, created its own modern 'cultural program' by retaining a thicker content of beliefs and traditions, while taking in scientific and technological rationalities. Even if one acknowledges Ashis Nandy's highly radical critique of modernity as the very form of violence (Nandy, 1999: 321 -344), it is not possible to deny the positive effects of the historical operatonalisation of modernity in the Indian context. It brought about an opportunity for equality for an average Indian. That a 'silent revolution' of emancipation, as in the words of Christophe Jaffrelot, was witnessed to in the Indian society is no less a convincing fact of Indian modernity . However, that today we are witnessing to some of the dialectics of Indian modernity is a sad reality to be reckoned with. The emergence and sway of ethnocentric cultural nationalism, religious nationalism to
Philosophia-international Journal of Philosophy, Dec 1, 2020
This article argues that Fides et Ratio, the encyclical letter of John Paul II, embodies a unique... more This article argues that Fides et Ratio, the encyclical letter of John Paul II, embodies a unique vision of the relationship between faith and reason, theology and philosophy, and mythos and ratio, which are premised on a dialectical mutuality, ever endeavoring to fulfill one another, even while opening ever new horizons of truth. Faith deepens with the arrival of the propadeutic recta ratio, and reason springs out of its weariness on the intimations of faith. Such a vision would be an apt inspiration for taking up philosophical and religious studies, especially in academic circles. The article shows how a genre of religious studies failed to emerge in the Indian context for various reasons: Some opine that those who introduced modern education in India did not introduce religious studies in the curriculum, and that became the starting point for the absence of the presence of religious studies in Indian academia; others say that the then prevalent 'secularist' ethos Nehruvian era precluded the emergence of religious studies; however, a significant reason to be noted is the apprehension of the Indian mind over the pragmatic orientation of the western-inspired academic studies of religions. This article shows that there could be a holistic way, emergent in Fides et Ratio, to pursue philosophical and religious studies by way of promoting a dialogue between faith and reason, within the horizon of faith, manifest in the consciousness of mythos. An endeavor of religious studies in the Indian academia, embodying this holistic way of dialoguing between faith and reason, is, needless to say, the need of the hour.
Journal of Religion and Social Communication, 2023
Today we find a number of attributions of religious
characteristics to AI. In usages like “apoca... more Today we find a number of attributions of religious characteristics to AI. In usages like “apocalyptic AI,” “homo deus,” “AI as Imago Dei,” “virtual immortality,” etc., we find religious characteristics being attributed to AI related processes. It would do well to critically analyse such attributes from the perspective of religious studies to understand their impact upon the dynamics of religions. One such core dynamic, acknowledged invariably in religious and theological studies, is that of the experience of “transcendence.” Several studies on religious transcendence analyse its “vertical” and “horizontal” aspects down through historical epochs. The modern era, in particular, is understood to have induced various shades of immanentism, along with an inability to transcendence. This paper studies some selected religious attributes made to AI and analyse their impact upon the experience of transcendence today
Pope Francis is able to communicate common values across borders of religion, regions, and sociop... more Pope Francis is able to communicate common values across borders of religion, regions, and sociopolitical systems. Catholic social teaching on the common good, particularly as articulated and promoted by him as part of a culture of encounter, conveys a relevant message for our times. Approaching the pope’s initiative from a South Asian context, I argue that an engagement with dharma, a religioethical vision, can be part of this culture of encounter, especially in public theological conversations about the common good. Specifically, the themes of the common good, like integral ecology and care for the vulnerable, as earnestly promoted by Pope Francis, can converse with dharma for mutual enrichment, even while the basic teachings on human dignity, freedom, and inalienable rights can usefully enrich the latter.
This paper explores the interface between religion and the contours of the subaltern self in the ... more This paper explores the interface between religion and the contours of the subaltern self in the Indian context. While the first part of the essay discusses some of the methodological themes of the academic study of the interface, the second part points out to some salient instances of the occurrences of the interface during the pre-modern and modern contexts of India. Since the Subaltern Studies Project (SSP) is one of the significant historiographical efforts that has emerged in the recent past to explore the agency of the subaltern self, the essay begins with critically observing the way the SSP introduced the debate on subaltern agency, and goes on to explore the interface, taking cue from the view of David Arnold, one of the founding members of the SSP collective, that SSP, at the outset, 'failed to take religion seriously enough.' Basing on independent initiatives of studying religion in relation to the subaltern self, the essay goes on to argue that religion needs be approached as a sui generis reality especially when exploring from subaltern perspective, which, according to the present author, is different even from the post-colonial perspective. The second part of the essay, then, cites examples from pre-modern and modern periods, wherein individuals as mystics and religious leaders or socio-religious movements emerged as typical examples of the interfacing between religion and the subaltern self. Based on these examples, the essay concludes that religion has occurred as singular 'experiences of the subaltern self to interpret itself into emancipatory existence.'
Religious Communities in the Digital Era: Dynamics of 'Believing' and 'Belonging' "Religious comm... more Religious Communities in the Digital Era: Dynamics of 'Believing' and 'Belonging' "Religious community" is a concept that is not clear and simple any more. What is being understood by it is increasingly becoming variegated, unbounded, and ambiguous. Gone are the days when one understood a religious community as a group of people, bonded by a set of beliefs and practices (expressed in cult, creed, and code), with a visible presence in a physical geographical space! The loss of this definiteness has to do with several factors: first of all, ours is a world of high quantum of migration and, as a consequence, religious communities get radically deterritorialized; secondly, people mingle and their identities get mutated across religions, cultures, and regions, and this phenomenon shakes up traditional forms of religious communities; thirdly, much more than the other two factors, the new media of communication-the digital media, sustained by computer mediated communication, creates virtual spaces which religious communities have come to inhabit today. Virtual habitation has become a new mode of existence of religious communities. How does it affect the nature of religious communities is the question this paper tries to explore.
For a very long time in history, Christians in India have lived out their faith and traditions in... more For a very long time in history, Christians in India have lived out their faith and traditions in an ambience of relative spontaneity and freedom. It involved dynamics of acceptance, rejections, hesitations, and criticism from outside others, even while Indian Christianity itself involved in dynamics of exclusions and inclusions towards others. All these religio-cultural dynamics took place in a vein of spontaneity, interactivity, and creativity. However, in the recent past, Christians in India have been made to become self-conscious of their identity as the majority’s ‘other’ through a process of ‘minority framing’. From being an ancient religious community which went about its life and activities in an ambience of freedom, the Indian Christian community is now made to become a ‘communally conscious minority’, concerned about its communal identity – vulnerable, ambiguous, shifting and so on. This paper goes into the contours of the dynamics of ‘othering’ in the case of Indian Christians, and surmises that being a vulnerable minority other is simultaneously being a surrogate victim of the sociological processes in India.
Pope Francis is able to communicate common values across borders of religion, regions, and sociop... more Pope Francis is able to communicate common values across borders of religion, regions, and sociopolitical systems. Catholic social teaching on the common good, particularly as articulated and promoted by him as part of a culture of encounter, conveys a relevant message for our times. Approaching the pope’s initiative from a South Asian context, I argue that an engagement with dharma, a religioethical vision, can be part of this culture of encounter, especially in public theological conversations about the common good. Specifically, the themes of the common good, like integral ecology and care for the vulnerable, as earnestly promoted by Pope Francis, can converse with dharma for mutual enrichment, even while the basic teachings on human dignity, freedom, and inalienable rights can usefully enrich the latter.
The discourse on dharma has become publicly consequential in India today. We find cultural, relig... more The discourse on dharma has become publicly consequential in India today. We find cultural, religious, ethical, social, and political agencies involved in the discourse. It would do well to take a deeper look at this doctrine. Centrality of Dharma in Indic Traditions Patrick Olivelle, a well-known Indologist, says: "Dharma is undoubtedly the most central and ubiquitous concept in the whole of Indian civilization. It is central not only in the Brahmanical / Hindu traditions, but also in the Buddhist and Jain. This very centrality, however, also made it possible for the concept to be given new twists and meanings at different times and by different groups, creating a dauntingly broad semantic range." 1 Etymologically, dharma comes from the Sanskrit root dhr, which means 'to hold', or 'to support'. 2 The earliest usage of the word occurs in the creation narratives of Rgveda, wherein it refers to the action of the gods, 3 in relation to the creation and maintenance of the cosmic order, i.e. holding the sky and earth apart, taking care of the smooth transitioning of seasons, protecting the creatures, and so on. RV 8.41.10 says: "He (Varuna) measured out the first creation, who (held) apart both worlds with a pillar and like the billy-goat supported the sky." 4 Here, 'measuring out', 'holding apart', and 'supporting' were the dharma of the god Varuna. These and other cosmic actions of the gods were understood as the primordial 'sacrificial' actions, which were the very foundations of the cosmic order.
By analysing the idea and practice of development as<br> they emerged during the different ... more By analysing the idea and practice of development as<br> they emerged during the different phases - such as the enlight-<br> enment phase, the post-World War phase, and the present-day<br> globalisation phase, - the essay underlines some of the features<br> of development which make it quasi-religious. It concludes by<br> observing the limitations of the reigning understandings and<br> calls for a critical approach to both development and religion. A<br> broad based approach to development needs to be supported<br> with new forms of religious interventions too. Liberation theol-<br> ogy that emerged within Catholic Christianity is one such ex-<br> ample of critical intervention of religion in societal transforma-<br> tion. Basing itself on a critical analysis of the structural dimen<br> sions of injustice, this theology as a religious intervention ral-<br> lied the people against oppressors and domin...
In this article the author argues that religious pluralism cannot be grasped deeply in a-historic... more In this article the author argues that religious pluralism cannot be grasped deeply in a-historical manner; it needs, on the other hand, a context-specific exploration in order to make meaningful statements upon it. It has to be anchored context-sensitively on social reality as it obtains in different instances of situatedness, the <em>sitz-im-leben</em> of life. Accordingly, this reflection would like to pursue a socio-religious approach, anchoring on a subaltern location. This agonistic experience of religious pluralism takes place in a dialectics of dissent and ascent. It is a dissent to the dominating other, and an ascent to the dominated self; it is an acute moment of experiencing distinction and identity, in an on-going process of negotiation with the other. This negotiation takes place within a deeper experience of the divine dialectics of transcendence and immanence, a spiritual experience which transcends the historical experience of domination, even while affir...
This article begins by observing that Indian modernity, in spite of contributing to emancipatory ... more This article begins by observing that Indian modernity, in spite of contributing to emancipatory transformations, is facing today its dialectics. The most perceptible fi eld where the dialectics manifests is that of democratic politics, wherein anti-democratic elements like majoritarianism, religious communalism, hegemonic caste identities, and those of neo-liberal market have come to instrumentalize the democratic system for their own ends. This happens in an ambience of a global retreat of liberal democracy which had been centering round the rights of individuals. It is time for democracy, as a form of political behavior, to take note of the role of communities and traditions, and lent itself for participatory practices. Participation in democracy can well be nurtured by conversations in public spheres. In such a context, religious communities, in this context, Indian Christianity, which has hitherto been an active contributor to the emergence of public spheres, would do well to p...
Scientific Annals of the “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University, Iaşi. New Series SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL WORK Section, 2021
Indian Christianity has been an interactive community, living out its faith and traditions in an... more Indian Christianity has been an interactive community, living out its faith and traditions in an ambience of spontaneity. It implied moments and dynamics of acceptance, rejections, hesitations, and criticism from the outside others, even while Indian Christianity itself involved in dynamics of exclusions and inclusions towards others. All these religio-cultural dynamics took place in a vein of spontaneity, interactivity, and creativity. However, in the recent past, it has been made to become self-conscious of its identity as the majority’s ‘other’ through a process of ‘minority framing’. From being an ancient religious community, which went about its life and activities in an ambience of freedom, the Indian Christian community is now made to become a ‘communally conscious minority’, concerned about its vulnerable communal identity. This essay narrates the contours of the changes.
Today postcolonial studies have opened up a vantage point to critically look at the claims of mod... more Today postcolonial studies have opened up a vantage point to critically look at the claims of modernity. They have unearthed some of the core contradictions implied in the universal claims of western modernity -the will to power embedded in them, establishment of empires of knowledge among the once colonized minds, continuance of hegemonic dominance over different others, etc. However, theories have been proposed to look at modernity also in a context -sensitive manner. The proposal of S. N. Eisenstadt for imagining multiple modernities is a case in point. He argues that "the best way to understand... the history of modernity is to see it as a story of continual constitution and reconstitution of a multiplicity of cultural programs." (Eisenstadt, 2000: 2) Going by this insight, one might consider an Indian modernity, which unlike the western variant, created its own modern 'cultural program' by retaining a thicker content of beliefs and traditions, while taking in scientific and technological rationalities. Even if one acknowledges Ashis Nandy's highly radical critique of modernity as the very form of violence (Nandy, 1999: 321 -344), it is not possible to deny the positive effects of the historical operatonalisation of modernity in the Indian context. It brought about an opportunity for equality for an average Indian. That a 'silent revolution' of emancipation, as in the words of Christophe Jaffrelot, was witnessed to in the Indian society is no less a convincing fact of Indian modernity . However, that today we are witnessing to some of the dialectics of Indian modernity is a sad reality to be reckoned with. The emergence and sway of ethnocentric cultural nationalism, religious nationalism to
Philosophia-international Journal of Philosophy, Dec 1, 2020
This article argues that Fides et Ratio, the encyclical letter of John Paul II, embodies a unique... more This article argues that Fides et Ratio, the encyclical letter of John Paul II, embodies a unique vision of the relationship between faith and reason, theology and philosophy, and mythos and ratio, which are premised on a dialectical mutuality, ever endeavoring to fulfill one another, even while opening ever new horizons of truth. Faith deepens with the arrival of the propadeutic recta ratio, and reason springs out of its weariness on the intimations of faith. Such a vision would be an apt inspiration for taking up philosophical and religious studies, especially in academic circles. The article shows how a genre of religious studies failed to emerge in the Indian context for various reasons: Some opine that those who introduced modern education in India did not introduce religious studies in the curriculum, and that became the starting point for the absence of the presence of religious studies in Indian academia; others say that the then prevalent 'secularist' ethos Nehruvian era precluded the emergence of religious studies; however, a significant reason to be noted is the apprehension of the Indian mind over the pragmatic orientation of the western-inspired academic studies of religions. This article shows that there could be a holistic way, emergent in Fides et Ratio, to pursue philosophical and religious studies by way of promoting a dialogue between faith and reason, within the horizon of faith, manifest in the consciousness of mythos. An endeavor of religious studies in the Indian academia, embodying this holistic way of dialoguing between faith and reason, is, needless to say, the need of the hour.
Journal of Religion and Social Communication, 2023
Today we find a number of attributions of religious
characteristics to AI. In usages like “apoca... more Today we find a number of attributions of religious characteristics to AI. In usages like “apocalyptic AI,” “homo deus,” “AI as Imago Dei,” “virtual immortality,” etc., we find religious characteristics being attributed to AI related processes. It would do well to critically analyse such attributes from the perspective of religious studies to understand their impact upon the dynamics of religions. One such core dynamic, acknowledged invariably in religious and theological studies, is that of the experience of “transcendence.” Several studies on religious transcendence analyse its “vertical” and “horizontal” aspects down through historical epochs. The modern era, in particular, is understood to have induced various shades of immanentism, along with an inability to transcendence. This paper studies some selected religious attributes made to AI and analyse their impact upon the experience of transcendence today
Pope Francis is able to communicate common values across borders of religion, regions, and sociop... more Pope Francis is able to communicate common values across borders of religion, regions, and sociopolitical systems. Catholic social teaching on the common good, particularly as articulated and promoted by him as part of a culture of encounter, conveys a relevant message for our times. Approaching the pope’s initiative from a South Asian context, I argue that an engagement with dharma, a religioethical vision, can be part of this culture of encounter, especially in public theological conversations about the common good. Specifically, the themes of the common good, like integral ecology and care for the vulnerable, as earnestly promoted by Pope Francis, can converse with dharma for mutual enrichment, even while the basic teachings on human dignity, freedom, and inalienable rights can usefully enrich the latter.
This paper explores the interface between religion and the contours of the subaltern self in the ... more This paper explores the interface between religion and the contours of the subaltern self in the Indian context. While the first part of the essay discusses some of the methodological themes of the academic study of the interface, the second part points out to some salient instances of the occurrences of the interface during the pre-modern and modern contexts of India. Since the Subaltern Studies Project (SSP) is one of the significant historiographical efforts that has emerged in the recent past to explore the agency of the subaltern self, the essay begins with critically observing the way the SSP introduced the debate on subaltern agency, and goes on to explore the interface, taking cue from the view of David Arnold, one of the founding members of the SSP collective, that SSP, at the outset, 'failed to take religion seriously enough.' Basing on independent initiatives of studying religion in relation to the subaltern self, the essay goes on to argue that religion needs be approached as a sui generis reality especially when exploring from subaltern perspective, which, according to the present author, is different even from the post-colonial perspective. The second part of the essay, then, cites examples from pre-modern and modern periods, wherein individuals as mystics and religious leaders or socio-religious movements emerged as typical examples of the interfacing between religion and the subaltern self. Based on these examples, the essay concludes that religion has occurred as singular 'experiences of the subaltern self to interpret itself into emancipatory existence.'
Religious Communities in the Digital Era: Dynamics of 'Believing' and 'Belonging' "Religious comm... more Religious Communities in the Digital Era: Dynamics of 'Believing' and 'Belonging' "Religious community" is a concept that is not clear and simple any more. What is being understood by it is increasingly becoming variegated, unbounded, and ambiguous. Gone are the days when one understood a religious community as a group of people, bonded by a set of beliefs and practices (expressed in cult, creed, and code), with a visible presence in a physical geographical space! The loss of this definiteness has to do with several factors: first of all, ours is a world of high quantum of migration and, as a consequence, religious communities get radically deterritorialized; secondly, people mingle and their identities get mutated across religions, cultures, and regions, and this phenomenon shakes up traditional forms of religious communities; thirdly, much more than the other two factors, the new media of communication-the digital media, sustained by computer mediated communication, creates virtual spaces which religious communities have come to inhabit today. Virtual habitation has become a new mode of existence of religious communities. How does it affect the nature of religious communities is the question this paper tries to explore.
For a very long time in history, Christians in India have lived out their faith and traditions in... more For a very long time in history, Christians in India have lived out their faith and traditions in an ambience of relative spontaneity and freedom. It involved dynamics of acceptance, rejections, hesitations, and criticism from outside others, even while Indian Christianity itself involved in dynamics of exclusions and inclusions towards others. All these religio-cultural dynamics took place in a vein of spontaneity, interactivity, and creativity. However, in the recent past, Christians in India have been made to become self-conscious of their identity as the majority’s ‘other’ through a process of ‘minority framing’. From being an ancient religious community which went about its life and activities in an ambience of freedom, the Indian Christian community is now made to become a ‘communally conscious minority’, concerned about its communal identity – vulnerable, ambiguous, shifting and so on. This paper goes into the contours of the dynamics of ‘othering’ in the case of Indian Christians, and surmises that being a vulnerable minority other is simultaneously being a surrogate victim of the sociological processes in India.
Pope Francis is able to communicate common values across borders of religion, regions, and sociop... more Pope Francis is able to communicate common values across borders of religion, regions, and sociopolitical systems. Catholic social teaching on the common good, particularly as articulated and promoted by him as part of a culture of encounter, conveys a relevant message for our times. Approaching the pope’s initiative from a South Asian context, I argue that an engagement with dharma, a religioethical vision, can be part of this culture of encounter, especially in public theological conversations about the common good. Specifically, the themes of the common good, like integral ecology and care for the vulnerable, as earnestly promoted by Pope Francis, can converse with dharma for mutual enrichment, even while the basic teachings on human dignity, freedom, and inalienable rights can usefully enrich the latter.
The discourse on dharma has become publicly consequential in India today. We find cultural, relig... more The discourse on dharma has become publicly consequential in India today. We find cultural, religious, ethical, social, and political agencies involved in the discourse. It would do well to take a deeper look at this doctrine. Centrality of Dharma in Indic Traditions Patrick Olivelle, a well-known Indologist, says: "Dharma is undoubtedly the most central and ubiquitous concept in the whole of Indian civilization. It is central not only in the Brahmanical / Hindu traditions, but also in the Buddhist and Jain. This very centrality, however, also made it possible for the concept to be given new twists and meanings at different times and by different groups, creating a dauntingly broad semantic range." 1 Etymologically, dharma comes from the Sanskrit root dhr, which means 'to hold', or 'to support'. 2 The earliest usage of the word occurs in the creation narratives of Rgveda, wherein it refers to the action of the gods, 3 in relation to the creation and maintenance of the cosmic order, i.e. holding the sky and earth apart, taking care of the smooth transitioning of seasons, protecting the creatures, and so on. RV 8.41.10 says: "He (Varuna) measured out the first creation, who (held) apart both worlds with a pillar and like the billy-goat supported the sky." 4 Here, 'measuring out', 'holding apart', and 'supporting' were the dharma of the god Varuna. These and other cosmic actions of the gods were understood as the primordial 'sacrificial' actions, which were the very foundations of the cosmic order.
By analysing the idea and practice of development as<br> they emerged during the different ... more By analysing the idea and practice of development as<br> they emerged during the different phases - such as the enlight-<br> enment phase, the post-World War phase, and the present-day<br> globalisation phase, - the essay underlines some of the features<br> of development which make it quasi-religious. It concludes by<br> observing the limitations of the reigning understandings and<br> calls for a critical approach to both development and religion. A<br> broad based approach to development needs to be supported<br> with new forms of religious interventions too. Liberation theol-<br> ogy that emerged within Catholic Christianity is one such ex-<br> ample of critical intervention of religion in societal transforma-<br> tion. Basing itself on a critical analysis of the structural dimen<br> sions of injustice, this theology as a religious intervention ral-<br> lied the people against oppressors and domin...
In this article the author argues that religious pluralism cannot be grasped deeply in a-historic... more In this article the author argues that religious pluralism cannot be grasped deeply in a-historical manner; it needs, on the other hand, a context-specific exploration in order to make meaningful statements upon it. It has to be anchored context-sensitively on social reality as it obtains in different instances of situatedness, the <em>sitz-im-leben</em> of life. Accordingly, this reflection would like to pursue a socio-religious approach, anchoring on a subaltern location. This agonistic experience of religious pluralism takes place in a dialectics of dissent and ascent. It is a dissent to the dominating other, and an ascent to the dominated self; it is an acute moment of experiencing distinction and identity, in an on-going process of negotiation with the other. This negotiation takes place within a deeper experience of the divine dialectics of transcendence and immanence, a spiritual experience which transcends the historical experience of domination, even while affir...
This article begins by observing that Indian modernity, in spite of contributing to emancipatory ... more This article begins by observing that Indian modernity, in spite of contributing to emancipatory transformations, is facing today its dialectics. The most perceptible fi eld where the dialectics manifests is that of democratic politics, wherein anti-democratic elements like majoritarianism, religious communalism, hegemonic caste identities, and those of neo-liberal market have come to instrumentalize the democratic system for their own ends. This happens in an ambience of a global retreat of liberal democracy which had been centering round the rights of individuals. It is time for democracy, as a form of political behavior, to take note of the role of communities and traditions, and lent itself for participatory practices. Participation in democracy can well be nurtured by conversations in public spheres. In such a context, religious communities, in this context, Indian Christianity, which has hitherto been an active contributor to the emergence of public spheres, would do well to p...
Scientific Annals of the “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University, Iaşi. New Series SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL WORK Section, 2021
Indian Christianity has been an interactive community, living out its faith and traditions in an... more Indian Christianity has been an interactive community, living out its faith and traditions in an ambience of spontaneity. It implied moments and dynamics of acceptance, rejections, hesitations, and criticism from the outside others, even while Indian Christianity itself involved in dynamics of exclusions and inclusions towards others. All these religio-cultural dynamics took place in a vein of spontaneity, interactivity, and creativity. However, in the recent past, it has been made to become self-conscious of its identity as the majority’s ‘other’ through a process of ‘minority framing’. From being an ancient religious community, which went about its life and activities in an ambience of freedom, the Indian Christian community is now made to become a ‘communally conscious minority’, concerned about its vulnerable communal identity. This essay narrates the contours of the changes.
"Religious studies" is a knowledge-perspective which is still in the early stage of its developme... more "Religious studies" is a knowledge-perspective which is still in the early stage of its development in India. The very genre of "religious studies", embodying a reflective and critical approach to religion, in line with the disciplinary pursuits of social sciences, has not yet sufficiently informed the Indian mind. This is, however, not to deny the rigorous pursuits of philosophical enquiries and reflections upon religious traditions that have been present in this subcontinent from time immemorial. Scholars like K. C. Bhattacharya, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Surendranath Dasgupta, Eric Frauwallner, Karl H. Potter and others, through their voluminous writings, have brought to our awareness the emergence from ancient times of deep metaphysical reflections found in various orthodox or heterodox traditions, philosophical "systems" and "devotion"-based "religious" traditions of this land. 1 These instances of deep reflections point not merely to the "axiological reflexivity" 2 presumably obtained by humanity in this region of the globe, but also to the emergence of human reasoning, expressed in argumentations, disputations and differentiations, as part of a relentless search for "truth". These forms of reasoning eventually flowed down to the making of the typical Argumentative Indian as envisioned by Amartya Sen. 3
Religious studies" is a knowledge-perspective which is still in the early stage of its developmen... more Religious studies" is a knowledge-perspective which is still in the early stage of its development in India. The very genre of "religious studies", embodying a reflective and critical approach to religion, in line with the disciplinary pursuits of social sciences, has not yet sufficiently informed the Indian mind. This is, however, not to deny the rigorous pursuits of philosophical enquiries and reflections upon religious traditions that have been present in this subcontinent from time immemorial. Scholars like K. C. Bhattacharya, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Surendranath Dasgupta, Eric Frauwallner, Karl H. Potter and others, through their voluminous writings, have brought to our awareness the emergence from ancient times of deep metaphysical reflections found in various orthodox or heterodox traditions, philosophical "systems" and "devotion"-based "religious" traditions of this land. 1 These instances of deep reflections point not merely to the "axiological reflexivity" 2 presumably obtained by humanity in this region of the globe, but also to the emergence of human reasoning, expressed in argumentations, disputations and differentiations, as part of a relentless search for "truth". These forms of reasoning eventually flowed down to the making of the typical Argumentative Indian as envisioned by Amartya Sen. 3
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characteristics to AI. In usages like “apocalyptic AI,” “homo
deus,” “AI as Imago Dei,” “virtual immortality,” etc., we
find religious characteristics being attributed to AI related
processes. It would do well to critically analyse such attributes
from the perspective of religious studies to understand their
impact upon the dynamics of religions. One such core dynamic,
acknowledged invariably in religious and theological studies,
is that of the experience of “transcendence.” Several studies
on religious transcendence analyse its “vertical” and
“horizontal” aspects down through historical epochs. The
modern era, in particular, is understood to have induced
various shades of immanentism, along with an inability to
transcendence. This paper studies some selected religious
attributes made to AI and analyse their impact upon the
experience of transcendence today
characteristics to AI. In usages like “apocalyptic AI,” “homo
deus,” “AI as Imago Dei,” “virtual immortality,” etc., we
find religious characteristics being attributed to AI related
processes. It would do well to critically analyse such attributes
from the perspective of religious studies to understand their
impact upon the dynamics of religions. One such core dynamic,
acknowledged invariably in religious and theological studies,
is that of the experience of “transcendence.” Several studies
on religious transcendence analyse its “vertical” and
“horizontal” aspects down through historical epochs. The
modern era, in particular, is understood to have induced
various shades of immanentism, along with an inability to
transcendence. This paper studies some selected religious
attributes made to AI and analyse their impact upon the
experience of transcendence today