“Conversion” is a category with deep roots in Christian, specifically Protestant, thought and culture. How well or poorly does it apply to varieties of religious transformation in different religious and cultural contexts? What do we mean by “conversion” in diverse socio-historical contexts beyond U.S.-based Christianity? In this panel, we seek to decolonize the category of conversion by examining three distinct instances of religious change that disrupt our assumptions, revealing the implicit biases that shape scholarly and everyday understandings of conversion.
In this paper I analyze the ways an early social and political reformer, O. Kandaswamy Chetti (1867-1943), sought to challenge colonial constructions of religious categories in Madras (Chennai) at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. Chetti was a self-described Hindu follower of Christ who refused to take baptism and “convert” to Christianity, though he embraced positive – even closely Protestant – views regarding Christ and biblical scripture. As such Chetti engaged an early process of decolonizing the criteria of religion by creating what I call a “hybrid religiosity” to obtain social capital that he could use for reform initiatives. In contrast, his fellow Chettiar and friend Vengal Chakkarai (1880-1958) converted to Christianity and engaged in social and political reform on behalf of and from within the Christian convert community. The contrasting case studies provides insights into the ways some have sought to challenge and decolonize conversion narratives and identity.
This paper argues for a critical reconceptualization of ‘conversion’ from an intersectional and comparative perspective, based on a ethnographic study of Dutch women who converted to Judaism, Christianity or Islam. First, it critically reflects if, and how, the concept of conversion can be applied to all three contexts, highlighting the critique voiced by Jewish and Muslim women about the Christian (Protestant) connotations with the term. Second, it proposes a reconceptualization of conversion that includes the dimension of race, by analysing the different processes of racialization experienced by the participants. The paper builds on the innovative work by scholars who call attention to the intersections of race and religion, which is crucial for the decolonization of ‘conversion’ studies. A bottom-up comparative approach has the potential to critically examine not only the positions of (religious/racial) minorities, but also the mechanisms of (religious/racial) hegemony at work in Western Europe.
| Eliza Kent | ekent@skidmore.edu | View |