Chapter-II

Review of Literature
 Chapter - 2

Review of Literature

A literature review surveys reports, books, journals, scholarly articles, and any

other sources relevant to a particular issue, area of research, or theory, and by doing

so, provides a description, summary, and critical evaluation of these works in relation

to the research problem being investigated.

Review of literature has several purposes. It is done a) to identify gaps in

current knowledge b) to avoid reinventing the wheel i.e. to discover the research

already conducted on a topic c) to set the background on what has been explored on a

topic so far d) to increase the breadth of knowledge in ones area of research e) to help

one to identify seminal works in his/her area f) to allow one to provide the intellectual

context for his/her work and position his/her research with other related research g) to

provide one with opposing viewpoints h) to help one to discover research methods

which may be applicable to one’s work.

In this study the researcher has done an extensive review of literature not only

to gain a deep insight into the area of study but also to identify the gaps in the current

knowledge relating to Meenakshipuram mass conversion. From the review of

literature the researcher has found out that so far no study has been attempted on

Meenakshipuram mass conversion from a victimological perspective. Hence, this is

an attempt to analyse or re-examine the Meenakshipuram mass conversion from a

victimological perspective. The review has been done on major areas such as caste,

religion, status of dalits and their discrimination by caste Hindus, conversion, mass

conversion, reconversion, and conversion in Meenakshipuram village.

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2.1 Caste

The origin of varna11 and jati (caste) is usually associated with the advent of

Aryans on the Indian soil. There is no research finding that existed prior to that or

within the Dravidian society. This probably explains antagonism to Brahminism,

representing conquering Aryans, and the claim of some groups to the designation of

Adi Dravidas of Tamil Nadu (Sangwan, 1996).

Dalit literature is mainly the product of socio-cultural changes in India,

accelerated after independence. A new awareness was already kindled among the

downtrodden through the efforts of Mahatma, Phule and Ambedkar and as a result

protest emerged in India. The process of liberation of the downtrodden started in the

19th century, gained momentum though the efforts of Ambedkar in the 20th century

and found its expression in the dalit. This literary movement though partially

influenced by Marxist thoughts and Black literature of America is rightly called an

‘Ambedkarite movement’ as the thoughts and actions of Ambedkar remained as a

major guiding force. After the death of Ambedkar, the downtrodden community was

frustrated and its hopes were shattered. It started experiencing all that it was entitled

to by law was denied to it in practice by the society. The younger generation started

reacting to the society with hatred and anger.

Thus the dalit literature is not a just literary event but also the outcome of

social injustice meted out to a class that has not remained what it was for ages. When

a class of impatient and articulate young men at the centre of this movement, found

out that the strata of the higher class remained unchanged and engaged constantly in
11
Varna – in Vedas the society is divided into 4 social classes viz. Brahmin, Kshathriya,
Vaishya and Shudra.

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tormenting and humiliating the dalits as in the past it reacted with bitterness forcefully

(Amaresh, 1987).

The issue of identity of untouchables has been a recurrent theme especially

during the colonial and post-colonial period. Frequent change in the nomenclature or

identity is characteristic of “untouchables history than any other community in India

and intertwined with the intellectual developments in the wider milieu”. In addition to

their caste or sub-caste (or Jati) identity, homogeneous categories expressing generic

identity of untouchables cutting across regional and intra untouchable distinctions

have been deployed by various agencies during the colonial period. For instance, they

have been categorized as depressed classes, dalits, and scheduled castes serving

multifarious contexts, ranging from official documentation necessitated by the

colonial structure to the cultural movements of the caste Hindu and untouchable

communities (Yagati, 2003).

2.2 Current Status of Dalits

The present status of dalit is not the same as it was in the past. Literature

available reveals that in the past dalits did not occupy any status. They were treated as

inferior and low grade caste as they were associated with unclean occupation. They

were treated as untouchables. In villages, they lived in a separate settlement called

cheri. They were not invited by the other caste members to participate in marriage and

death, feats, but they were expected to come for food like beggars. They were treated

so as their survival was dependent upon other castes.

Dalits did not receive such treatment during early Vedic period, when the

Hindu Civilization was established. In order to maintain structural and functional

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order in the Hindu Society, the system of varnavyavastha was established.

Varnavyavastha was related to Karma (work) not Janma (birth). On the basis of

Karma an individual gets membership in a particular Varna. The food, water and

marriage relation between different varnas were maintained. No Varna was superior

and no Varna was inferior, because they were structurally and functionally

interdependent to maintain the whole Hindu Civilization.

In course of time varna system was changed into Jati (caste) system. In the

system of caste birth began to play a significant role. The membership of Jati was

given on the basis of Janma (birth) and not on Karma (action). In order to maintain

the ethnicity of Jati endogamy began to be practised and each caste appeared as an

endogamous group. To exchange daughter outside the other caste man was tabooed.

Inter-caste marriage was not taken good and the offspring’s from such marriage were

treated as dogala (mongrel). They were abused frequently.

In the caste structure different castes were functionally, structurally and

economically related through land administration (Jajmani Vyavastha). Through these

land administration all castes were structurally and functionally interrelated and

interdependent to maintain the whole. The food and water relation within the caste

was maintained through uncooked food (rice, pulse, vegetable, etc.). But the

food relation between different castes was maintained through cooked food

(puri, vegetable, curd, milk, etc.). The food and water of untouchables were not

accepted but untouchables accepted uncooked and cooked food from the house of

other castes.

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 During the Mughal period, feudalism was established. Feudalism subjected

untouchables to exploitation and oppression by feudal lords and their musclemen.

Similar was the case during Zamindari system established during British rule.

Zamindar provided land to depressed castes to establish houses. They were called as

their own men. They used them for their selfish purposes. They had to do Begari for

the Zamindar.

After independence, the scenario has changed. Our constitution has provided

dalits all facilities. Slavery, begari, bonded labour and untouchability has been

abolished. Education has been made free; provision has been made for reservation in

jobs. Various legislative, protective, rehabilitative measures have certainly brought

transformations in the status of dalits. Now among dalits some are well educated.

They have food, water and invitation relationship with other Hindu castes. Some

occupy responsible posts in government jobs.

2.3 Educational Status

Literature available reveals about the taboo on education of untouchables in

pre-independent India. But after independence things have changed. The government

of free India has made education compulsory for all citizens of the country beyond

any caste, creed, religion etc. Primary schools have been established in the entire

country. Education up to school has been made free and compulsory. Dalit students

receive books, dress and scholarships. Now in primary schools they get midday meal

as well. During the last 70years after independence the educational status of dalit has

improved substantially (Mishra, 2004).

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2.4 Political Status

Literature available reveals that dalits did not enjoy any political status in the

pre-independence era. However, they had their own caste panchayat. But at village

level or inter-village level politics they did not enjoy any status. The decision of the

majority was binding on them. They had to accept the decision. Otherwise they were

subjected to exploitation and oppression. However, after independence the political

statuses of dalits have undergone considerable change. Now dalits have voting rights,

they can contest in elections and cast their vote in elections of panchayat, legislative

assembly and parliament. In the elections dalit candidates are given opportunities only

in the reserved constituencies by the political parties. Thus, they have become part

and parcel of modern political system.

2.5 Religion and Dalit Exploitation

Dalits have suffered from religious disabilities for centuries though they have

been an integral part of Hindu society and religion. On account of the practice of

untouchability they have been deprived of many religious rights which other Hindu

castes are enjoying. When a temple is to be repaired or constructed, a general meeting

is held in the village in which heads of all Hindu households take part. Mutually they

decide the amount expected to be spent on erection. Then they elect a treasurer on

consensus basis. The treasurer keeps the account of the temple construction. All heads

of the households express their desire to contribute in the name of erection of the

temple either in cash or in kind. They are not compelled to pay a particular amount in

cash or in kind. Everybody decides the amount according to their socio-economic

status. Dalits do not possess money; they generally contribute their labour in the name

of erection of temple. They are ready to offer five days labour without any wages.

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 In the ritual Pranpratistha, they bring materials of worship on their head, play

dhol, singha and musical instruments. They sing variety of prayer songs. They make

the ritual of Pranprathistha (ritual of giving life in the images) enjoyable for other as

well.

In the maintenance of the temple, the priest collects sun-fried rice, ghee, dhup,

agarbatti and cash or kind to prepare prasadam for daily offering in the temple. He

also visits at the door of the dalits. They also contribute sun-fried rice, dhup, ghee,

agarbatti, etc., for the maintenance of worship. Thus, their religious sentiment is

exploited in the name of religion. They become ready to offer labour on religious

occasions without any wages or nominal wages, but they are not allowed entry in it.

2.6 Prevention of Atrocities, Act 2015

Punishments for offences of atrocities –

(i) Forces a member of Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe to drink or eat

any inedible or obnoxious substance;

(ii) Acts with intent to cause injury, insult or annoyance to any member of a

Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe by dumping excreta, waste matter,

carcasses or any other obnoxious substance in his premises or

neighbourhood;

(iii) Forcibly removes clothes from the person of a member of a Scheduled Caste

or a Scheduled Tribe or parades him naked or with painted face or body or

commits any similar act which is derogatory to human dignity;

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 (iv) wrongfully occupies or cultivates any land owned by, or allotted to or

notified by any competent authority to be allotted to a member of a

Scheduled Tribe or gets the land allotted to him transferred;

(v) wrongfully dispossesses a member of S.C. or S.T. from his land or premises

or interferes with the enjoyment of his right over any land premises or water;

(vi) compels or entices a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe to

do ‘beggar’ or other similar than any compulsory service for public purposes

imposed by Government;

(vii) forces or intimidates a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe

not to vote or to vote to a particular candidate or to vote in a manner other

than that provided by law;

(viii) institutes false, malicious or vexatious suit or criminal or other legal

proceedings against a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe;

(ix) gives any false frivolous information to any public servant and thereby

cause such public servant to use his lawful power to the injury or annoyance

of a Scheduled caste or a Schedule Tribe;

(x) intentionally insults or intimidates with intent to humiliate a member of

Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe;

(xi) assaults or uses force to any woman belonging to Scheduled Caste or a

Scheduled Tribe with intent to dishonour (outrage) her modesty;

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 (xii) being in a position to dominate the will of a woman belonging to a Schedule

Caste or a Scheduled Tribe and used that position to exploit her sexually to

which she would not have otherwise agreed;

(xiii) corrupts or fouls the water of any spring, reservoir or any other source

ordinarily used by members of the Scheduled caste or a Scheduled Tribe so

as to render it less fit for the purpose for which it is ordinarily used;

(xiv) denies a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe any customary

right of passage to a place of public resort or having access to a place of

public resort to which other members of public or any section thereof have a

right to use or access to;

(xv) forces or causes a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe to

leave his house, village or other place of residence; shall be punishable with

imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which

may extend to five years and with fine.

(2) Whoever, not being a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe:

(i) Gives or fabricates false evidence intending thereby to cause, or knowing it

to be likely that he will thereby cause, any member of a Scheduled Caste or

a Scheduled Tribe to be convicted of an offence which is capital by the law

for the time being in force shall be punished with imprisonment for life and

with fine; and in an innocent member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled

Tribe be convicted and executed in consequence of such false or fabricated

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 evidence, the person who gives or fabricates such false evidence, shall be

punished with death;

(ii) Gives or fabricates false evidence intending thereby to cause, or knowing it

to be likely that he will thereby cause, any member of a Scheduled Caste or

a Scheduled Tribe to be convicted of an offence which is capital but

punishable with imprisonment for a term of seven years or upwards and with

fine;

(iii) Commits mischief by fire or any explosive substance intending to cause or

knowing it to be likely that he will thereby cause damage to any property

belonging to a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe, shall be

punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six

months but which may extend to seven years and with fine;

(iv) Commits mischief by fire or any explosive substance intending to cause or

knowing it to be likely that he will thereby cause destruction of any building

which is ordinarily used as place for custody of the property by a member of

a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe shall be punishable with

imprisonment for life and with fine;

(v) Commits any offence under the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) punishable

with imprisonment for a term of ten years or more against a person or

property on the ground that such person is a member of Scheduled Caste or a

Scheduled Tribe or such member, shall be punishable with imprisonment for

life and with fine;

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 (vi) Knowing or having reason to believe that an offence has been committed

under this chapter, causes any evidence of the commission of that offence to

disappear with the intention of screening the offender from legal

punishment, or with that intention gives any information respecting the

offence which he knows or believes to be false, shall be punishable with the

punishment provided for that offence; or

(vii) Being a public servant, commits any offence under this section shall be

punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one

year but which may extend to the punishment provided for that offence.

Thus, atrocity is wicked, oppressive and cruel, but it has social, economic and

political dimensions. There are certain sections of society who are subject to atrocity

frequently. For example: the State of Bihar is in-famous for atrocity on dalits, from

seventies till now. The incidents of atrocity on dalits are increasing day by day.

2.7 Religion

Fox (1999) includes religious relevance in his study of the influence of

religious legitimacy on grievance formation by ethno-religious minorities and in his

study of the influence of religious institutions on ethnic mobilization uses more

sophisticated methodology, including correlations and multiple regressions. Religious

relevance is found to be an important element in these processes. However, other than

confirming that religious relevance can be an important factor in ethno-religious

conflicts, these findings have little bearing on the relationship between religious

relevance to the conflict and religious discrimination.

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 Jonathan Fox (2000), there are three religious factors posited here to be

associated with discrimination. The first is that the religious worldview of the

majority group is challenged by the actions of the minority group. That is, the

minority group engages in actions perceived by the majority group as posing a threat

to their religious beliefs.

The second religious factor associated with higher levels of discrimination is

religious legitimacy. For the purposes of this study religious legitimacy is defined as

the extent to which it is legitimate to invoke religion in political discourse. There is

considerable agreement among scholars that religion can be invoked by both

governments and opposition groups to legitimate their causes.

The final religious factor posited to be associated with higher levels of dis-

crimination is relevance of religion to the conflict. As is argued above, religion is an

issue that tends to inflame emotions. Accordingly, it is logical to argue that when

religion is an important issue in a conflict, it is likely to increase the level of conflict

behavior by the participants in that conflict.

Botticini and Eckstein (2005) argue that before the eighth and ninth centuries

AD, most Jews were farmers (like the rest of the population). With the establishment

of the Muslim Empire, Jews massively entered urban occupations. This was

voluntary, as there were no restrictions that prohibited Jews from remaining in

agriculture. This, however, led to persistence in occupational selection. The authors

argue that this transition away from agriculture into crafts and trade was the outcome

of their widespread literacy prompted by a religious and educational reform in

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Judaism in the first and second centuries AD, which gave them a comparative

advantage in urban, high-skill occupations.

Best and Rakodi (2011) describe that conflict and violence often have a

religious dimension, whether they occur between adherents of different faith

traditions or rivals within a faith tradition. Religion may play a role as a marker of

identity, a mobilizing device, a basis for rationalizing violent behaviour or a source of

values on which to base peace-building and reconciliation. The relationships between

religious and other key actors, especially in the state, are complex. Religious leaders

may play important roles in instigating or preventing violence, and in either sustaining

bad feeling or attempting to prevent a re-occurrence. The various organizational forms

associated with religious traditions may provide a basis for mobilization, give

humanitarian assistance during the emergency, assist longer term recovery and build

peaceful (or confrontational) relationships in the longer term.

Levy and Razin (2012) analyse the relation between religious beliefs,

religious participation, and social cooperation. They focus on religions that instill

beliefs about the connection between rewards and punishments and social behaviour.

The study asserts that religious organizations arise endogenously, analyze their effect

on social interactions in society, and identify a spiritual as well as a material payoff

for being religious. The main finding is that religious groups that are more demanding

in their rituals are smaller, more cohesive, and are composed of individuals whose

beliefs are more extreme.

Oluwaseun et.al (2014) discusses the role of religion in modern society.

Religion no doubt in the perception of faithful is truly the opium of the masses, it

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cushions the effects of living in a problem-stricken world characterized by

faithlessness and hopelessness. It is the task of religion, once the other-world of truth

has vanished, to establish the truth of the world. It is the immediate task of

philosophy, which is in the service of religion to unmask self-estrangement in its

unholy forms once the holy form of human self-estrangement has been unmasked;

religion provides a vent and creates a disconnect between man and hopelessness while

reminding us of a life in the hereafter, it absorbs the heart of the pounds of suffering,

and puts on man a garb of hope which will get to be shown off on the spiritual and

mundane runway. The study revealed that religion as a tool for integration has played

more divisive roles than integrating roles and that either in terms of its facilities,

personnel, or programs, religion is not predisposed to performing the original function

it set out to accomplish.

Nath (2015), in his study “Religion and its role in society”, highlights the

meaning of religion, origin of religion, different aspects of religion and role of

religion in society and finally to justify the necessity of religion in society. This

study’s summary is as follows:

1. People get mental peace from religion.

2. Religion explains the causes and remedies of individual sufferings and as such

it consoles people at such junctures.

3. The important function that religion performs is that it inculcates social virtues

in people like truth, honesty, love, discipline, etc.

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 4. Religion works as an instrument in converting animal qualities to human

quality.

5. Religious education teaches people into promoting social welfare.

6. Religious rites and festivals are means of recreations.

7. Religion creates values amongst people and as such it is the source of social

cohesion.

8. Religion is an important instrument for promotion of social solidarity.

9. Religious institutions help in controlling the behaviour of the individual.

10. Religion works as an instrument of influencing political system.

11. In economic field religion works as an instrument of influence.

12. Religion works as an effective means in strengthening the self-confidence of

people.

The study has delineated the role of religion in society. It is clear that the

negative aspect of religion is tremendous in our society. Not only this, religion

restricts free thinking of human beings. It produces a sense of numbness in man and

thereby makes him insensible to the actual happenings of the world. It teaches people

to live in the world of determinism. People forget the capacity of their free thinking

which ultimately makes them blunt in analyzing the natural phenomena scientifically.

It is true that in primitive society science was not so developed and people were

ignorant about the happenings of natural phenomena. At that time religion was

necessary to control the barbarous and ignorant people. People were satisfied with the

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answers given by religious institutions. Even in mediaeval period people were

convinced that the sun moves round the earth and challenging which the great

scientist Galileo, on a charge of heresy, had to spend the rest of his life under house

arrest. But now it is scientifically proved that the earth moves round the sun. Thus, if

institutional religion is eradicated from the society, people will live peacefully and

there will be less possibility of quarrels and bloodshed amongst the people. They will

also be able to understand the happenings of natural phenomena scientifically.

2.8 Conversion

Rettamalai Srinivasan (2017), the publisher of the quarterly Paraiyan

(1893-1900) strictly advocated against the religious conversion of dalits. He clearly

didn’t support the conversion to Buddhism either as suggested by Iyothee Thass.

Rather, he propagandised and mobilized the Paraiyars to challenge the privileged

caste groups by reclaiming their identity as Paraiyars (Which produced some discard

among those who saw themselves as Buddhists historically then). He advocated using

the term “Paraiyar” with pride, and formed the Paraiyar Mahajan Sabha (Paraiyar

Peoples Association) in 1892. Even some Paraiyars keep Paraiyar as suffix in their

names in the present Tamil Nadu.

Iyothee Thass’(1999), views on conversion have an intellectual understanding

like that of Ambedkar. He didn’t advocate the conversion of dalits to Islam or

Christianity rather he didn’t wanted them to practice Hinduism. This is evident from

his memorandum to the British census registration officials in 1881, stating that “the

people of Depressed Classes in Tamil land should be considered as Adi-Tamilar and

not as Hindus”.

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 In 1898, Iyothee Thass visited Sri Lanka with Panchama School Head Master

Krishnasamy and converted to Buddhism. After embracing Buddhism, in the same

year (1898), he founded ‘The Sakya Buddhist Society’ in Royapettai, Madras.

In 1907, he started his journal Oru Pice Tamilan as an organ of this organization.

He believed Paraiyars were the inheriting Tamil Buddhists and worked to reconstruct

Tamil Buddhism against casteism. Iyothee Thass seemed to have a standpoint of

considering anti-caste consciousness and Buddhism as inclusive and thus was open to

people irrespective of their linguistic and ex-caste status. In 1807, a Hindu Brahmin,

who was a police constable, got converted to Islam, performed sunnath and the other

rituals for the conversion. Iyothee Thass welcomed this move of Brahmin denouncing

his caste and religion. This can be corroborated by The Tamilan celebrating the

brahmin police constable‘s embrace of Islam, with his/her renunciation of his or her

brahminhood (Ayyathurai 2011, Balasubramaniam, 2017).

Flugel’s (1945) psycho-analytical study on conversion pointed out that

conversion sometimes reflects the release of repressed social feelings. Early

socialization may have taught one that certain religious beliefs can be saved. These

ideas may be repressed until there is a carefree, moral, or even immoral type of

behaviour that seems to deny ever having been exposed to such teachings. Then,

suddenly, upon conversion, repressions are released, a strong sense of guilt emerges,

and beliefs appear to have been fashioned anew in a very abrupt manner. What has

really occurred is that past social experiences have suddenly emerged from the

unconscious into the conscious mind.

Turner (1979) deals with an issue much discussed since the time of Max

Weber in social science literature: the relationship between Protestantism and

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socio-economic development. Data from a Mexican Indian municipality whose

members have recently experienced mass conversion to Protestantism are presented to

give a non-Western perspective on Weber's thesis. The resultant socio-economic

changes are discussed in terms of alleviating three major problems of any

underdeveloped Indian community: poverty, disease, and illiteracy. After dealing with

the history of conversion and community development, the question of why

conversion took place is discussed by identifying the relevant socio-economic,

cultural, and other factors. Finally, the question of how conversion became the

catalyst for community development is discussed, focusing on the implications of the

conversion experience, its confirmation, and the resultant value orientation changes.

Oommen (1985) has summarized some of the points emerging from

conversion studies. Given the importance of collectivities in India (tribes, caste, kin-

groups over individuals), one hears more of group conversion. The resulting patterns

were that if two or more castes of identical status with traditional animosity existed in

a region, then one of them converted; if both or all did so they invariably turned to

different denominations; there were differences within the church fold; and,

irrespective of denominational variations, the social stigma continued with further

fissions as the case of neo-Christians attests.

Robinson (1998), the Portuguese used two methods of attracting converts, one

political and one economic: orphanages to raise children in the Christian faith and a

system of privileges by which one could advance in the Portuguese administration.

These methods had limited success and eventually the methods for conversion

changed significantly, becoming stronger and more coercive. This stronger, more

coercive attempt to convert Goan Hindus consisted mainly of attacks on Hindu

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religion and the manipulation of socio-economic factors. Temples and idols were

destroyed and laws passed banning the religious practices of Hindu priests.

Socio-economic manipulation consisted mainly of changing property inheritance

laws, with the hopes, perhaps, of acquiring property for the Catholic Church.

Conversion in 16th century Goa opened the way for converts, particularly those

converts from the higher castes, to gain access to the administrative positions in the

Portuguese government and it allowed converts to maintain some of the political and

social influence that they had traditionally exercised. As Rowena Robinson states:

“Christianity was the religion of the rulers and conversion was often viewed as the

first step towards acquiring some of the superiority of their position.”

Bhowmick & Jana (1997), in their study about Sandals in West Bengal writes

that, “Prior to conversion, all members of the tribe were the same and socially equal.

With conversion, however, the Santal and Santal Christian converts now make a sharp

distinction between them. Each of them tries to plead the superiority of its own

“creed” over the other and advances several cultural and religious reasons to justify its

attitude and evaluations. Such attitudes have affected their social relations adversely

and created considerable gulfs between the types of Santals.

Heredia (2004), Conversion is a complex and delicate issue that is only

further obfuscated and vitiated by the communal and chauvinistic situation prevailing

in our society today. The savarna response to dalit conversion as expressed in

anti-conversion laws, under the guise of protecting them only traps them further in a

'no entry, no exit' situation. Conversion as dharmantar is here elaborated within a

theoretical framework that encompasses a fourfold discourse.

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 At the first level of the psycho-logical discourse conversion is a matter of

personal identity and individual freedom; at the socio-cultural level the concern is one

of community identity and collective rights; at the economic political level the focus

is on economic interest and political fair play; and finally the socio religious discourse

is concerned with a faith understanding and the conviction and commitments, the

belief and practices that go with it. In each of these discourses the perspectives of the

converter and the converted is considered, opening up issues of civil rights that must

not be compromised, especially those of the dalits involved.

Four concrete instances are explored within this theoretical framework.

Ambedkar's conversion is a challenge to any honest attempt to contextualise the

present issues more historically. The counter point to this is Gandhi who cannot quite

comprehend conversions within the horizon of his understanding of varnashrama

dharma. Yet it is precisely Gandhi's openness that puts incisive questions to the

converter even as he paternalises the converted.

The Bishop's inter-religious encounter in Rishikesh provides a good example

of the ambiguities that underlie any venture in an open and equal dialogue. It then

becomes imperative to distinguish emic and etic perspectives if any hermeneutic for

dialogue are to be viable. The frustration of the dalits often leads them to use

conversion as a bargaining chip and even if this is not a truly religious act, it is

certainly a genuine and legitimate protest, a desperate attempt to escape the

oppression of their tormented lives. But the backlash they sometimes suffer only

compounds their tragedy the more.

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 In view of a future praxis some critical issues and concerns are indicated. Thus

it is necessary to consider 'conversion' as a 'process' rather than an 'event' if one is to

address the complexities involved. Mass conversions are not necessarily a matter of

force or fraud; they are often a socio cultural protest movement against oppression.

But rather than addressing the real issues that might give them their legitimate civil

liberties, including their religious freedom, and their fundamental democratic rights,

including that of equal citizenship, they are all too readily manipulated for political

ends.

Smilde (2005) says that the Christian converts are “neither necessary nor

sufficient cause of religious conversion”. He draws this conclusion in his research on

reasons for conversion of Venezuelan men to Evangelical Christianity in Venezuela.

Smilde used qualitative comparative analysis to analyze life history interviews he held

with men from two churches. Although he thus did not find enough evidence to say

that life problems were either necessary or sufficient to explain religious conversion,

he does acknowledge that life problems play a role when it comes to structural

availability. Often problems, according to Smilde, “result in structural availability

when addiction, violence or inconformity creates conflict in the home”. Also Smilde

shows how important network ties are to the conversion process of Christians. Smilde

sees network ties as “culturally constituted, frequently contested, sites of interaction”.

Within these sites of interaction, network influence will sometimes lead individuals in

the “direction of evangelical participation”. With regard to network influence, there

are some sub-factors that eventually lead to conversion. Central is social conformity,

especially in an asymmetric relational context.

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 Wohlrab-Sahr (2006) goes deeper into the problems the converts to Islam

may face. Using biographical analysis, Sahr finds that there is a close relationship

between problem and problem solution between religious conversion and “processes

of biographical crisis”. Based on this idea of problem and solution, Sahr distinguishes

three types of conversion, which she found among converts to Islam in both Germany

and the United States. The three types refer to “three different realms of experience

and characteristic problems associated with each”. The process of conversion to Islam

made it possible for the converts “to articulate these problems and find specific

solutions”. The first sphere of problems indicates “issues of sexuality and gender

relations”. Characteristic experiences that belong to this sphere are experiences of

“devaluation and stigmatization” or more general issues of sexuality and gender like

the distinction between manliness and womanliness (e.g. being not perceived as

‘manly’ enough) or homosexuality and heterosexuality. The second sphere refers to

“issues of social mobility”. The characteristic experiences in this sphere are, in the

words of Sahr: “failed attempts to move up socially and economically and the loss of

personal acknowledgement associated with such failure”. The third sphere of

problems is about issues of nationality and ethnicity. What Sahr means with this is

mainly problems of belonging and distinction.

Van Nieuwkerk (2008), in her article used the rational-choice approach in

order to understand female conversion to Islam in the Netherlands. She interviewed

three Dutch female converts to Islam and analyzed their life stories. She used a

biographical approach and attempted to “bring the history and identity of the actors

and the content of their faith into focus without denying the ‘rationality’ of their

choice”. One of the conclusions van Nieuwkerk draws is that religious pluralism in

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the environment the women grew up in, is an important factor that facilitates the

conversion process.

Bardia (2009) argues that Ambedkar was a religious man but did not want

hypocrisy in the name of religion. To him religion was morality and it should affect

the life of each individual his character, actions, reactions likes and dislikes.

He experienced the bitterness of caste system in Hindus and criticized it.

He renounced Hinduism and embraced Buddhism as a religious solution to the

problems of untouchables. Ambedkar rejected Islam, Sikhism and Christianity and

preferred Buddhism because of two reasons. Firstly, Buddhism has its roots in the

Indian soil and secondly, it is the religion of ethics, morality and learning which has

no place for caste system. Ambedkar laid down 22 vows for the people who wanted to

convert to Buddhism. On 14th October 1956 Ambedkar embraced Buddhism with his

followers, more than five lakh in number. He brought a great revolution in the life of

the depressed, suppressed and oppressed castes in India.

Ambedkar’s ideas about religion can be reduced to the following:

1. The function of a true religion is to uplift the virtues of fellow-feeling,

equality and liberty.

2. Religion must mainly be a matter of principles. The moment it degenerates

into rules, it ceases to be the essence of a truly religious act. Religion is an

influence of force suffused through the life of each individual moulding

his character, determining his actions and reactions, his likes and dislikes.

3. Man cannot live by bread alone. He has a mind which needs food for

thought. Religion instils hope in man and drives him to activity.

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 4. Religion in the sense of morality must remain the governing principle in

every society.

5. Religion, if it is to function, must be in accord with reason which is merely

another name for science.

6. It is not enough for religion to consist of moral code, but its code must

recognize the fundamental tenets of liberty, equality and fraternity.

7. Religion must not sanctify or ennoble property.

8. Religion must be judged by social standards based on social ethics. No

other standard would have any meaning if religion is held to be a

necessary good for the well-being of the people.

9. The religion that compels the ignorant to be ignorant and the poor to be

poor is not religion but vitiation.

10. Religion and slavery are incompatible.

11. Religion is for man and not man for religion.

Jindra (2011) finds that converts to Islam as well as to Christianity experience

problems or crises that heighten the structural availability. Heightened structural

availability in this context means that the potential convert puts him or herself in a

situation where it is very likely to get in contact with a religious group/tradition.

Jindra analyzes and compares 50 conversion narratives to different religious groups

across the Midwestern United States. Two of the groups she studies are converts to

Islam and converts to Christianity. Jindra shows that these two groups have the most

pronounced predisposing background experiences and unhappiness because of these

‘crises’. More than half of the respondents of both groups said that they had short-

term crisis events before their conversion, and connected to these crises a “certain

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amount of structural availability”. Jindra finds that in a majority of the stories

problems like familial problems, relationship problems and/or loneliness and

depression were reported prior to conversion. However, the nature of the problems

sometimes differed per group. The converts to Christianity experienced problems with

regard to family relations and self. They experienced “inadequate nurturance” during

childhood and/or adolescence, which means that they experienced a somewhat milder

form of familial disorientation than experienced by converts to Islam. The converts to

Islam, on the other hand, experienced “cultural, social and/or familial disorientation”

which led to a search for connection to either their cultural background or a clear

social structure.

2.9 Mass Conversion

Mass conversion can be better understood with explanation of Klausner

(1997) in his article titled ―How to think about mass religious conversion: Toward

an explanation of the conversion of American Jews to Christianity. He explains mass

conversion as "Mass conversion" is a concept in social rather than psychological

theory. The concept does not refer simply to the numbers of converts or the rates of

conversion, though those may be a consequence. Rather, it refers, to a change in the

religious character of a society and of its social institutions. A change in the religious

character of groups, as such, is a form of social change. Social change may result

from a shift in population composition, or from a refraction of the group's symbol

system or culture. The focus here is on change rendered by a structural differentiation.

A societal conversion occurs when a subgroup differentiates itself from the

body of its community and becomes a candidate for absorption into the wider society

or to another society. At the same time, a subgroup, structurally differentiated from

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the wider, or another society acts as a receiving sector for that society

(Klausner, 1991). The dynamic of this process is, largely, political, driven by changes

in power relations and social authority. The consequences ramify through other

institutional spheres, economic, familial and, ultimately, religious. Vulnerability to

such political change may follow socio-cultural shocks which weaken the authority

and integrity of that society. Such a shock may be due to conquest, or a population

toleration or simply rapid technical or economic change. If the conditions are

propitious, the relative increase in the authority of another group becomes a ground

for reorganizing relations in the weakened system and its acceptance of a new

hegemony. The new hegemony may imply revised cultural definitions of reality or, as

Peter Berger (1967) says, new "plausibility structures," which become bases for the

legitimation of new social norms and values. Individual religious conversions may

ensue from such societal conversions. They may begin slowly, and then in, ease

rapidly and, finally, level off at some point short of the complete elimination of the

sub society.

Societal conversion, social reconstruction, is not unlike revolution which

includes a new philosophical anthropology affecting the definition of what is and is

not subject to human control, what is nature and what is culture.

2.10 Mass Conversion of Paravas

The Paravas of southern Tamil Nadu, a fishing community have their own

distinctive identity and strong caste institutions. Like the Europeans, the early Pandya

rulers of the Tamil country required the collaboration of specialized fishing groups to

operate the pearling industry for them. The Paravas' conversion to Christianity took

place at the climax of a savage maritime war (1527-39) between the Portuguese and

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Muslim naval forces allied with the Zamorin of Calicut. In 1532 a delegation of

seventy Paravas appealed to the Portuguese authorities at Cochin for protection

against their long-standing rivals, the Lebbai Muslim divers patronized by local Hindu

and Muslim chieftains. The Portuguese immediately recognized the value of a client

community allied to their interests in the struggle to control the Tirunelveli pearl

revenues. A party of Padroado clerics sailed to the southeast coast, and within months

20,000 baptisms were reported among Paravas in thirty maritime villages.

Pandian (2000) while explaining the assertion of dalits mobilization in Tamil

Nadu briefs the Meenakshipuram Pallars conversion to Islam as an autonomous

mobilization. The unevenness between the material condition of the Pallars and their

caste-based social status, also the failure of the Dravidian and other political parties to

meet the aspirations of the Devendrars (Pallars) surfaced in the form of conversion to

Islam at Meenakshipuram. The conversion and rechristening of Meenakshipuram as

Rahmat Nagar clearly describes the asymmetry between the material advancement

and social degradation of the dalits

2.11 Reconversion

Hardiman (2000) in his study states that, The Arya Samaj initiated a

mechanism for re-conversion through a ritual process known as shuddhi, a process

that had been used at many points in Hindu history to remove ritual pollution,

“providing a means through which transgressors can be assimilated back into their

caste and religion.” Earlier in the 19th century, this ritual was conducted to remove

ritual pollution acquired by caste Hindus when they travelled outside India. In the

1870s, Saraswati adapted the process to re-convert Muslims and Christians who had

previously converted out of Hinduism. In the wake of the mass movements of the late

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19th century, as well as the results of the British decennial census instituted in 1871,

many caste Hindus and Hindu organizations came to believe that their religion was

“threatened” demographically by proselytization. As Hardiman has argued, this

interpretation, which “assumed, often wrongly, that there were clear-cut boundaries

between Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, and Christians,” became a form of “Hindu common

sense.” For the Arya Samaj, the key to reversing this supposed demographic trend

was through “counter proselytization,” and “reconversion,” a process which “would

culminate in the public performance of shuddhi”.

Shuddhi became even more crucially important to the Arya Samaj following

the famine in western India in 1899-1900. During the famine, many Hindus were

converted to Christianity in the region, and scores of orphans were taken in by the

missions. Arya Samaj “missionaries” were sent from its regional stronghold of Punjab

to the areas hit hardest by the famine to “rescue” Hindu orphans from the missions

and to institute shuddhi campaigns. By 1900, the Arya Samaj was “acting as a nation-

wide organization in mobilising a counter to the missionaries.”

Unsurprisingly, there was a political flavour to the Arya Samaj’s desire to

reclaim converts that had left the Hindu fold. This political flavour of the shuddhi

movement can be seen in the “demographic fear” sown by the Arya Samaj in both

Punjab and Gujarat with regards to conversion, particularly the conversion of

untouchables and tribal peoples. Conversion was seen as imperial aggression, which

led to considerable insecurity among caste Hindus.

Viswanathan (1998) views Ambedkar’s conversion as inherently political, as

both a critique and a strategic manoeuvre with demographic significance.

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She discusses Ambedkar’s dissatisfaction with the modern secular state as an antidote

to caste oppression and reads his conversion to Buddhism as effectively revealing “the

wide gap between the secular commitment to the removal of civil disabilities and the

secular state’s persistent functioning within a majoritarian ethic. Viswanathan

provides a compelling analysis of Ambedkar’s Buddhism as a “form of political and

cultural criticism” and “dissent against the identities constructed by the state. While

she accurately points out Ambedkar’s frustration with the state’s functioning with a

“majoritarian ethic,” her reading of conversion as a denouncement of secularism as a

“universalist world view stalling the processes of enfranchisement” does not resonate

with my reading of Ambedkar’s thought. Throughout his activist career, Ambedkar

stayed committed to the democratic process and to secularism as a governmental

ideology. Conversion, it seems, was meant to supplement the governmental laws and

institutions of independent India to facilitate the establishment of liberty, equality, and

fraternity.

According to Kanti (2014), dalits constitute 17% of the population amounting

to 170 million in India. One out of every six Indians one is a dalit, yet due to their

caste hierarchy dalits incessantly counter discrimination and violence which prevent

them from enjoying the basic human rights and dignity promised to all citizens of

India. More than 260 million people worldwide suffer from this “hidden apartheid” in

different forms of segregation, exclusion, and discrimination. Several legislations in

the constitution have been enacted for the protection of the dalits. On the contrary,

atrocities, violence and discrimination against them persist unabated. This is a matter

of fact that since the police resorts to various machinations to discourage reporting

and registration of cases, sometime dilutes the seriousness of the offences, shields the

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accused persons; thereby dalits very often are intimidated to report cases against the

powerful perpetrators of atrocities. Considerable physical violence is inflicted on

members of this deprived and marginalised community as substantiated by official

reports. There are missing reported cases where dalits are harassed and exploited for

being poor and for being coming from polluted castes as per traditional caste

hierarchy. Sometimes the whole dalit community in the village is socially boycotted.

A democratic movement from the grassroots level has to be launched against

discrimination and atrocities as they are more apparent in rural areas.

Thorat (2005),in his study cites the data of Action Aid, 2000 a study of

555 villages in 11 States, including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Gujarat,

held that in 36 per cent of the villages, dalits were denied casual work in agriculture.

Denial of use of water sources (well, pond and tube well) and restrictions on access to

common property resources (grazing land, fish ponds and other resources) in

21 per cent of the villages affected dalit women’s entitlement to medicinal and food

plants and increased their burden of household tasks. Also, dalits were denied the

right of sale of vegetables and milk in the village cooperatives or to private sellers.

Ghurye (1961) observes that when the Indo-Aryans came over to India and

established their social organization, they made a fourfold division. The division

Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra was actually based on occupations and

emerged as the caste system regulating a very rigid way of life of Hindus and Hindu

Religion. Each caste was entitled to fulfill a rigidly prescribed obligation or duty,

which was clearly prescribed within which people of that caste were to condition their

existence. In this social setup the phenomenon of pollution between certain castes was

introduced, named untouchability. This was a code of conduct to be observed by all

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castes, which had settled rules of pollution between and among castes. In fact the

entire social behaviour or activity of this caste-oriented Indian society was driven by

this discipline of pollution caused by the physical nearness of human beings of certain

castes. It is to be remembered that, it was a priest-dominated, religion-centred life

style that gave birth to the caste system overwhelming all human activities by

untouchability. Untouchability was the measuring rod by which the social status and

position of the caste were measured by Hindus declaring them as upper castes or

lower castes. In course of time various privileges became the birth right of the upper

castes and disabilities were piled upon the others.

Ram (1995) is an attempt to analyze some of the changes that occurred among

the Scheduled Castes or dalits especially after the death of Ambedkar in the contexts

of their education and social integration; social stratification and mobility especially

in urban areas; atrocities, protest movements and socio-political consciousness for

social identity, etc., both in rural and urban areas. The study exposes that

marginalization of the dalits is presently visible at three levels; the upward mobile

dalits mostly living in urban areas who have accepted values of the middle classes as

their positive reference group. Secondly, those dalits who have migrated to towns and

cities mostly live in slums and squatter settlements who are usually employed in the

unorganized sector. And finally, majority of dalits in villages are marginal in three

specific ways; settlement in separate hamlets, their relationship are still found in the

forms of Jajmani system and the growing amount of tensions and conflict between

them and Caste Hindus.

Shah (2001) reveals that dalits in India have been socio-economically

oppressed, culturally subjugated and politically marginalized for centuries. They have

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begun to articulate their identity, asserting not only equality for themselves but also

bring about revolutionary changes in the social order. The contributors in this volume

collectively analyze and debate on dalit identity, movements and political

participation through institutional channels which is being done from the dalit

perspective.

Mendelsohn and Vicziany’s (2000) study on untouchables which primarily

deals with subordination and poverty, class, politics including violent politics, the

state and public policy. In the study two propositions are presented as fundamental;

firstly, the untouchables are among the very bottom elements of Indian society in both

status and economic terms. Secondly, they have undergone a profound change in their

view of themselves and the society around them. It also presents the different forms of

ritual of untouchability and its violent result, untouchable politics and untouchable

politicians since 1956. The role of reservations have played in the lives and careers of

particular scheduled caste MPs and MLAs as well as the poverty and condition of

these subordinated Indians are also elaborately presented.

Srinivas (1977) defined caste as a hereditary, endogamous, usually localized

group, having a traditional association with an occupation and a particular position in

the local hierarchy of castes. He also points out that a caste itself seems to be usually

segmented into several endogamous sub-castes. Moreover, fairly close correlation

existed between caste system and distribution of land- holding and power.

Van Nieuwkerk (2008) published an article in which she used the rational-

choice approach in order to understand female conversion to Islam in the Netherlands.

She interviewed three Dutch female converts to Islam and analyzed their life stories.

She used a biographical approach and attempted to “bring the history and identity of

102
the actors and the content of their faith into focus without denying the ‘rationality’ of

their choice”. One of the conclusions Van Nieuwkerk draws is that religious pluralism

in the environment the women grew up in, is an important factor that facilitates the

conversion process.

Bowen (2009) also found that converts to Islam in Denver experienced

problems or stressful life changes, as Bowen calls them that played an important role

in the conversion process. According to him these stressful life changes can be

divided into six categories: spiritual confusion, interpersonal, character

(drugs/alcohol, temper), material (job, school, incarceration), physical, moved to a

different city”.

A study by Seggar and Kunz (1972), however, seems to argue with the

notion that sudden conversion involves radical change. In this study, Seggar and Kunz

studied new members of the Mormon Church, and defined conversion as a change in

group membership. From this study they concluded that conversion is a gradual

process which unfolds when social circumstances are ripe, and that the change in the

"converts" was not a change in core beliefs, but rather a slower developmental process

whereby the individual became more and more identified with the Mormon Church.

The results of this study underscore one of the difficulties of previous research on

con-version. Religious conversion has been equated with a change in religious group.

Zinnbauer and Pargament (1998) in their study on Spiritual Conversion

found that women seemed to benefit more from an increase in religiousness than men.

Women who experienced religious change reported greater improvement in sense of

self and self-confidence than other women and men. Also, compared with those who

did not change in religiousness, women who experienced religious change became

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more self-reliant, and men who experienced religious change became less self-reliant.

And finally, women in this study generally increased in spirituality over time more

than men. The reasons for this are unclear. One pervasive finding in research on

religion is that on a wide number of measures of religion, women report being more

religious than men.

Among specific kinds of stress or problems related to conversion, stress-laden

childhood or family stress is often mentioned. Paloutzian, Richardson and Rambo

(1999), when dealing with the question of a predisposition to convert, emphasised that

people who experienced some difficulties during the childhood or adolescence were

particularly prone to conversion because they had personal or behavioural needs that

were not satisfactorily met. The most known theory which pays attention to this factor

is the theory of attachment which lays emphasis on the relationship between the infant

and his or her primary caregiver or attachment figure.

Considering several aspects of the conversion process, Lofland and Skonovd

(1981) distinguish 6 “motifs” for conversion. Intellectual conversion is characterized

by low social pressure, medium temporal duration and level of affective arousal.

Mystical conversion can be described as accompanied by no or little social pressure,

short duration and high level of affective arousal. Low social pressure, long duration

and low level of affective arousal is typical of Experimental conversion and medium

social pressure, long duration and medium affective arousal of affectional conversion.

Both Revivalist and Coercive conversion are characterised by high social pressure and

level of affective arousal, but short duration occurs in Revivalist and long duration for

Coercive conversion. Adopting beliefs and then starting to participate can be assigned

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to Intellectual and Mystical conversion, on the other hand, first participation and then

adopting beliefs can be found in the rest of the motifs.

Rambo’s (1993) seven-stage model outlining seven stages of conversion:

1. Historical, religious, social cultural and personal context of conversion

3. Quest, which includes an active agency on the part of the convert in his or her
predicament

4. Encounter with a new religious or spiritual option

6. Making a commitment, deciding to become a real member of a new religious

7. Experiencing consequences of conversion, including consolidation of new

Rambo emphasises that individual factors and stages are not universal, unidirectional

or invariant, but rather interactive, multiple and cumulative over time.

Piedmont (2001) found a significant shift in all of the Big Five dimensions,

namely decreasing neuroticism, and increasing extraversion, openness, agreeableness,

and conscientiousness in persons undergoing psychotherapy in a drug rehabilitation

programme. That effect reportedly remained stable even after 15 months. Since the

treatment programme included a spiritual intervention component, Piedmont

suggested that similar changes can be enabled also by religious conversion.

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 Kalam (1989) based on empirical studies conducted in Tamil Nadu from 1984

to 1988 he finds that religious conversion or change of faith has always led to

disturbed emotions and frayed tempers, not just in India but in other religious

communities as well. What makes conversions in India seem different and in a way

unique as compared to those elsewhere in the world is the factor of the caste system,

which, the way it has evolved and entrenched itself throughout India, has no parallels

anywhere. Such is the complex picture that emerges from our investigation into the

phenomenon of conversion to Islam in India among the dalits. What is obvious here is

that no simple explanation would suffice. It is up to social scientists to delve deeper

into these several factors noted in this study and attempt to discover an explanation or

explanations that would scientifically be plausible. In so far, as our own impression is

concerned, we would tend to prefer the protest factor above other factors. From this

perspective, the phenomenon of mass conversions in Tamil Nadu was a protest

movement that came about as a result of relative deprivation. Three basic factors have

been considered necessary to identify an event as a social movement: 'collective

mobilization, the presence of an ideology and an orientation towards change'.

All these factors were present in Tamil Nadu.

Khan (1983) in his book titled ‘Mass-conversions of Meenakshipuram:

A sociological enquiry’, gives a detailed description about conversion in

Meenakshipuram in 1981. This is the only authentic study on Meenakshipuram

conversion in the form of book available. The author conducted this study

immediately after the conversion, so most of the information he gives in the work are

first hand one. From this work only we could come to a conclusion about actual

number of converts, post conversion activities by various organizations, etc.

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2.12 Theories of Religious Conversion

Theory is valuable in so far as it illuminates different aspects of a

phenomenon. Various theoretical approaches include some dimensions and exclude

others. Rambo (1999) is of the view that scholars of conversion must be aware of

theoretical issues and systematically utilize theoretical options with sophistication.

Such an approach will expand understanding of conversion and also enhance

comparative studies of conversion. He explores the nature of theory and provides an

overview of resources for the study of conversion to Islam. Theoretical orientations

considered in his paper include: globalization, post-colonial, feminist, cross-cultural,

religious/spiritual, intellectualist, narrative, identity, ritual, psychoanalytic, archetypal,

attribution, attachment, process/stage, and Islamization theory.

In his article, Rambo has made a critical examination of contemporary

conversion theory which would facilitate scholars engaged in studying the dynamics

of conversion to Islam. To enrich the knowledge of religious conversion, he has

provided an outline of conversion theories from the perspective of human sciences

such as anthropology, psychology, and sociology to assess the assumptions, methods,

and goals of various research strategies. Utilization of different theories is necessary

to appreciate the complexity and variety of conversion processes (for an alternative

approach to these issues, see Robertson, 1978 and Scroggs and Douglas, 1967).

The following is an overview of different theoretical options.

2.12.1 Globalization Theory

This theory asserts that the growth of New Religious Movements, Islamic

Reform and Revitalization Movements, and Charismatic Christianity are made

possible by the ease of global communication systems, including television, radio,

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internet, tape recorders, video cameras and video players and the ease of mobility

through different modes of transportation (Brouwer et al., 1996; Huntington, 1996;

Metcalf, 1994; Poewe, 1994). Through various forms of mass communication the

yearnings of people who are displaced, dispossessed, and searching for spiritual

renewal and transformation are contacted, cultivated, and recruited to new religious

options (for approaches to this issue from the perspective of rationalization and

secularization theory, Hefner, 1993; Kaplan, 1995; Van der Veer, 1996).

2.12.2 Post-colonial theory

An evolving perspective that provides new insights into the conversion

process, particularly in the missionary context, is post-colonial theory. This approach

examines the experience of millions of people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America

with imperialism and colonialization. The enormous presence of military, economic,

and cultural power moulded the superstructures and infrastructures of societies,

cultures, economies, and subjectivities of oppressed peoples all over the world.

Conversion to various ‘‘world’’ religions (especially Christianity) is interpreted as a

part of the ‘‘colonialization of the mind and spirits’’ of the dominated peoples.

Paradoxically, some post-colonial theorists acknowledge the complex blending of

submission and resistance in the conversion process (Kaplan, 1995; Rafael, 1998;

Viswanathan, 1998). In addition, post-colonial theory cautions the conversion theorist

to the dynamics of the dialectical nature of conversion. In fact, the ‘‘convert’’ often

changes the ‘‘converter’’, in some cases radically. Thus, conversion is not merely

passive and submissive, but resistant and innovative.

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2.12.3 Feminist theory

This theory points to the importance of gender in all aspects of life. In western

society, patriarchy has ruled society, culture, and religion. Male domination of women

has given priority to male perspectives in a number of important social, cultural, and

economic domains. As a result, feminist studies of conversion have only recently

emerged. Feminist theory points to issues that need to be addressed in the study of

religious change. Then several related questions arise such as whether women

experience conversion differently from men, and, if so, in what ways? Do religious

models of conversion constrict and distort women’s motivations, needs, and desires?

Is religious conversion healing and helpful to women, or another mode of

domination? It is imperative that conversion studies include feminists’ concerns in

future research and writing (Brereton, 1991; Connor, 1994; Juster, 1989, 1994)

2.12.4 Cross-cultural theory

Cross cultural concerns are significant in theories of conversion in the field of

Psychology and are applicable in other disciplines like sociology and Anthropology

also.

There are severe limitations of scientific psychology that has been primarily

developed in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States. With few

exceptions, scientific psychology is based upon research using people of European

racial and cultural heritage. Because of this, patterns of family life, modes of

selfhood, norms of mental health, etc., may differ from those from other racial, ethnic,

and national origins. Most psychologists tend to generalize their perceptions of

personality, motivation, self, mental health norms, etc., to people from all over the

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world. This has been incorrect and injurious in using psychology in non-western

settings on people with Asian, Latin American, African, etc. backgrounds.

Alan Roland (1988, 1996), along with other psychologists, has attempted to develop

culturally sensitive psychological theories. After extensive research in India and

Japan, Roland developed a model of selfhood having some cross-cultural value.

Rather than the stereotyped notion of the isolated self of the West and the group

mentality of the East, he emphasizes dimensions of selfhood that have different

emphases in different cultures and at different stages of a person’s life. His five

dimensions are individual self, family self, spiritual self, developing self, and private

self. All of these are present, to one degree or another, in every culture. In the West,

the individual self is given special status among well educated, urban people.

These people also possess other spheres of selfhood, but in many cases to a

much lesser degree. In India and Japan, the family self is more fully developed and

most people are focused on that aspect of selfhood. Roland’s ideas are very important

to conversion studies. Many western scholars use the norms of the individual self in

their assessment of conversion motivations, dynamics, and processes. Thus, ‘‘group’’

conversion or conversions of entire families are deemed less worthy of respect than

conversions of individuals who confront intellectual and religious issues in a rational

manner. The norm in the West is the isolated, autonomous person who makes

decisions based on rational calculations, separate from family pressure and the

constraint of traditional religion. A viable and valuable psychological theory of

conversion requires recognition of and appreciation for different forms of selfhood in

the person and group before a conversion and to the contours of selfhood after the

conversion has developed.

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2.12.5 Religious/spiritual theory

Most of the scholars in the human sciences, play down, or totally reject the

role of religion and/or spirituality in their theories of conversion (Renard, 1996).

This stance is incorrect as it avoids to ‘‘what’’ one converts. Religion and spirituality

are important to conversion processes in two distinct ways. First, various

religious/spiritual traditions provide models, guidelines, or theologies for a valid

conversion. Within a tradition, there is a ‘‘good’’ and ‘‘bad’’ or a ‘‘right’’ and

‘‘wrong’’ conversion. For conversions particular rituals are mandatory, motives are

assessed, beliefs are expected, and outcomes are prescribed. Thus, the nature of a

person’s conversion experience is, to some degree, informed, shaped, and structured

by the myths, rituals, and symbols of a particular tradition. For many people, the

motivation for and experience of conversion is shaped by substantive

religious/spiritual desires, yearnings, and experiences. This dimension, at least for

some people, cannot be reduced to other explanations. Religion and spirituality should

be considered a domain of life and experience that has its own validity. There are

experiences, both cognitive and affective, that are distinctive to religion and

spirituality. These are not always necessarily good or ‘‘healthy’’, but they are

categories of experience that should be considered when we create theories of

conversion (Salzman, 1953).

2.12.6 Intellectualist theory

Robin Horton enunciated one of the most influential theories of conversion in

the 1970s (Horton, 1971, 1975a, 1975b; Horton and Peel, 1976). According to

Horton, human beings are active agents who seek to understand, predict, and control

space–time events. Human beings’ cognitive and intellectual activities are geared to

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the social and cultural world they occupy. Horton noted that the fundamental

worldview of small-scale African societies consisted of several spheres.

The microcosm was the daily world that occupied most of a community’s energy.

Their religious concerns revolved around the explanation, prediction, and control of

their concrete world. Virtually all groups had a macrocosm-the wider world-that was

only minimally developed because their daily life was focused on the microcosm.

With increasing mobility and interaction with people from the wider social world, the

Africans sought to expand their myths, rituals, and symbols to include the

macrocosm. Africans came into contact with Christianity and Islam. In order to

make sense of the new situation and wider social, cultural world, they expanded their

cosmology. Horton argues that conversion took place differentially based

on the degree to which a group was focused on the microcosm or macrocosm

(for critiques of Horton’s theory, see Fisher, 1973, 1985 and Ifeka-Moller, 1974).

2.12.7 Narrative theory

Narrative theory assumes that human beings outline and understand their lives

by telling stories. In order to make sense of one’s life, a narrative must be constructed

or adopted. In some religions, the reconstruction of one’s biography is a principal

element in the converting process. Biographical reconstruction and the resulting

narrative give new meaning to a person’s definition of self, identity, relationships, and

God or some other understanding of the world and life. Adopting a new story involves

resonating with a story, finding or building connections between ‘‘my’’ story and

‘‘the’’ story, and retelling or incorporating of the story into one’s own life narrative

(Booth, 1995; Stromberg, 1993).

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2.12.8 Identity theory

Many scholars on conversion have pointed to the notion of identity as a crucial

concern for converts given the pace of urbanization, modernization, secularization,

and the resulting pluralisation of self and community understanding. As a

consequence, old notions of self, relationships, communities, and convictions are

under enormous stress. Identity theory, particularly in social psychology and

sociology, provides a structure within which to understand people’s need for

convictions and values that consolidate understandings of the self, to structure

relationships with other people, and to provide a sense of continuity and connection

with a worldview that transcends the flux and fragmentation of the contemporary

world (Erikson, 1954; Gillespie, 1991).

2.12.9 Ritual theory

Since the publication of Victor Turner’s The Ritual Process in 1969,

anthropology and religious studies underwent significant change. Before, particularly

in Protestant circles, ritual was ridiculed as meaningless and mechanical repetition.

Turner and more recent students of ritual have conclusively established that ritual is

not only an integral part of human behaviour and consciousness, but also creative and

constructive in the formation of communities and in influencing subjectivity.

Recently, scholars of conversion have underlined the importance of ritual in

conversion processes. Finn’s book Rambo: Theories of Conversion (1997) provides a

fine study of early Christianity as well as a model of how ritual theory can be used in

the study of conversion. Ritual action and religious performance create, shape, and

sustain religious and spiritual experience and provide reinforcement for religious

belief. Anthropologists have long recognized the importance of rituals, but now it is

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time for sociologists, psychologists, historians, and all students of conversion to draw

upon this rich resource.

2.12.10 Psychoanalytic theory

According to Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, the dynamics of

conversion are a reflection of the primal forces within the personality. The id, ego,

and superego engage in constant conflict. Human inclinations drive people to seek

gratification of urgent and powerful desires, but culture, religion, and the conscience

(superego) serve to restrain. Though Freud had many different views of religion,

conversion processes are generally seen as fragile compromises in the on-going

conflict of the life and death instinct. The drama of infant, mother, and father are

replicated in the conversion process. Guilt, terror, grief, and emotional deprivations,

sufferings, and desires propel the person into religious rituals, beliefs, and

relationships that provide some gratification to imperfect human beings. One of the

major contributions of the psychoanalytic tradition is the vigilance for pathology.

Freudians tend to see religion and conversion as inherently pathological. Others, in

reaction to Freud, have established that religion and conversion are healthy and

life-giving. Either extreme is a distortion. Being aware and watchful to the likelihoods

of pathology, distortions, and other forms of destructiveness is appropriate, if not

mandatory (Murphy, 1979; Salzman, 1953; Stone, 1992; Ullman, 1989).

2.12.11 Archetypal theory

Based upon the work of Carl G. Jung, archetypal theory asserts that there are

fundamental, universal patterns within the human psyche that give form to human

experience. Archetypal theory postulates that conversion takes place when a person is

enchanted by a powerful religious symbol or experience that meets profound needs

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within that person’s psyche. The symbol systems of most religions are dramatic and

compelling renditions of the human difficulties and dilemmas eliciting deep-rooted

yearnings in millions of people. Therefore, students of conversion must take seriously

the symbol systems of religion so as to understand the attraction and effect upon a

convert (Smith, 1990).

2.12.12 Attribution theory

The universal human need to find meaning in life is the basis for attribution

theory. This includes meaning for incomprehensible daily events as well as more

insightful issues of the human quandary, including undeserved suffering, death, and

those issues that disturb human consciousness. Attribution theory may be seen not

only as a major motivation for the adoption of a new religious perspective in order to

make sense of life and to have a sense of purpose, but also as a major mechanism

within the conversion process. Adopting a new system of attributions about the nature

of self, others, and God is a significant aspect of what happens for many converts.

This theory is valuable in stressing the cognitive and intellectual spheres of

conversion (Proudfoot and Shaver, 1975; Spilka et al., 1985).

2.12.13 Attachment theory

Based on the work of John Bowlby, attachment theory asserts that human

beings form emotional ties that reveal the connection of an individual with their

primary caregiver. Conversion can be a compensation for severely deprived and

distorted parenting patterns or it can be compatible with parental modes. Utilization of

this approach must be sensitive to the sociocultural modes of family relationships

developed in diverse racial, ethnic, and national groups (Kirkpatrick, 1997). Affective

and emotional issues are mainly illuminated in this theory.

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2.12.14 Process theory

Lofland and Stark’s ‘‘Becoming a World-Saver’’ (1965) introduced an

approach to conversion that stressed the complexity and extended sequence of the

process. Some have criticized and expanded the theory, but all process theorists agree

that religious change takes place over time and consists of various elements that are

dynamic and synergistic. Many process theoretical models have been developed and

the nature of the stages has varied. Building on the work of Lofland and Stark, (1965),

Tippett (1977) and Downton (1980), Rambo proposed a process theory of conversion

consisting of seven stages: context, crisis, quest, encounter, interaction, commitment,

and consequences. Process models attempt to be inclusive of a variety of factors and

forces operative in religious change (See also Downton, 1980; Snow and Phillips,

1980; Rambo, 1993). The theory is meant to be suggestive, not constricting

(for a critique of Lofland and Stark’s theory, see Snow and Phillips, 1980 and

Lofland, 1977).

2.12.15 Islamization theory

Studies of conversion to Islam in various geographical areas include the

following: Africa (Horton, 1971; Ikenga-Metuh, 1985; Fisher, 1985), Australia

(Bouma, 1997), South East Asia (Coatalen, 1981), India (Eaton, 1993; Mujahid,

1989), the Malay Archipelago (Hamid, 1982), Britain (Köse, 1996b), Europe

(Allievi, 1998) and the United States (Kepel, 1994/1997; Poston, 1992). Few of these

studies emphasize individuals. Most focus on Islamization, in other words, the

creation of social, cultural, religious, and political environments in which individuals,

families, communities, and societies flourish as Islamic. Many studies are historical

(Arnold, 1896/1961; Bulliet, 1994; Dennett, 1950; De Weese, 1994; Eaton, 1993;

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Watt, 1979). There are also examinations of the historical process of Islamic

conversion using various interpretative models including the diffusion of innovation

theory by Bulliet (1979). Eaton’s (1985, 1993) splendid study of conversion to Islam

in India makes a substantial contribution. His work is unusual in that it systematically

tests the adequacy of various theories. In addition, Köse’s excellent research (1996a)

critically examines the usefulness of psychological and sociological theories of

conversion. Traditional theoretical explanations for Islamic conversion include the use

of force, attractiveness of Islam as a movement for the liberation of slaves and

soldiers, compliance with new political regimes, desire for the privileges of Islamic

political power (e.g. tax relief), influence of traders (through intermarriage and

patronage relationships), and attractiveness of monotheism (especially for those from

‘‘pagan’’ and ‘‘primal’’ religions).

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