Description

The Routledge Handbook of Hindu-Christian Relations      

Edited by Chad M. Bauman, Michelle Voss Roberts

London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group,  2020, pp. 516.

The historical interplay of Hinduism as an ancient Indian religion and Christianity as a religion associated (in India, at least) with foreign power and colonialism, continues to animate Hindu–Christian relations today. On the one hand, The Routledge Handbook of Hindu–Christian Relations describes a rich history of amicable, productive, even sometimes syncretic Hindu–Christian encounters. On the other, this handbook equally attends to historical and contemporary moments of tension, conflict, and violence between Hindus and Christians. Comprising thirty-nine chapters by a team of international contributors, this handbook is divided into seven parts:

• • Theoretical and methodological considerations
  • Historical interactions
  • Contemporary exchanges
  • Sites of bodily and material interactions
  • Significant figures
  • Comparative theologies
  • Responses

The handbook explores: how the study of Hindu–Christian relations has been and ought to be done, the history of Hindu–Christian relations through key interactions, ethnographic reflections on current dynamics of Hindu–Christian exchange, important key thinkers, and topics in comparative theology, ultimately providing a framework for further debates in the area.

[Marg Network Note:  This is a rich, thoughtful, edited work of leading scholars of South Asia. The text and topics are rigorous and detailed; this book is not recommended for one’s initial study of South Asian religious life.]

Credit to Routledge for the book cover image and description.