IDENTITY AND COMMUNITY

What do we mean when we talk about our “identity”, whether as individuals or as groups? Identity is a complex matter, for it involves our image of who we are in our own eyes and the eyes of others and the image we would like to project to the world. It is the basis on which we interact with those around us and on which they interact with us. This is as true for Christians in South Asia as it is for all others. We all have to deal with the question of who we are and how others see us.

Although our identity is intensely personal, it is not something we forge on our own. The world around us shapes how we view ourselves and how we engage with it. Thus our identity is affected by the geographic circumstances of our lives – that is, by the very fact that we live in South Asia. It is also affected by our social, economic and religious circumstances, such as the fact that in South Asia we live in a multi-religious context. History also plays a role in shaping our identity.

The historical reality is that most of the first missionaries to South Asia came from the West and brought Western forms of Christianity with them. This creates tension for South Asian Christians. How can we be both South Asian and Christian, without being considered Western? The result is that we are caught up in a constant struggle to develop a strong identity of our own while under pressure from external forces such as Western Christianity and other South Asian religions.

This issue is not a new one. In the past, South Asian converts to Christianity changed their names and adopted biblical or “Christian” names in order to proclaim their Christian identity; today many South Asian Christians opt for more indigenous names to assert their South Asian identity. Early converts withdrew from all cultural festivals and celebrated only Christmas and Easter; today Christians also join in the celebration of local cultural festivals, like harvest festivals, that have no religious connotations.

Our religious beliefs play a key role in defining our identity. They shape who we are and how others perceive us. But this should not happen only on a superficial level. At the core of our identity we should be formed by our relationship with God and our focus on our relationships with the world.

Our Christian identity is rooted in our theology – and we need to grasp that theology is not just about ideas and rituals. Our theology affects the way we see ourselves and the way we relate to others. For example, a key element in our theological identity is the fact that we have been called to be the people of God. But God does not want his people to be a closed-off community. We are to be active in the world.

Abraham was called to be a blessing to the nations (Gen 12:3). The same call was repeated to the Israelites, who were told that God wanted them to be “a light for the Gentiles” (Isa 42:6; 49:6). Paul stresses the abiding relevance of that calling to the church when he underlines that as children of Abraham by faith we are also called to be a blessing to the nations (Gal 3:14). Combine this with Jesus’ teaching that we are to be salt and light in our communities (Matt 5:13-16), and it becomes clear that our identity includes being involved in the communities in which we live. We should both contribute to them and critique them. Our faith as Christians should lead us to challenge unjust elements of our local communities, whether these take the form of unjust systems of labour or discrimination based on caste or ethnicity.

As Christians, we are to build our identity around beliefs derived from Scripture. But what does this mean in practice in South Asia? It means that our identity and vision are set by Christ our Lord, but we have to express that vision in ways that are intelligible to those around us. We are called to work out our salvation in the world in which we live (Phil 2:12). Ours is a dynamic engagement with identity as we seek to steer between questionable Western forms of Christianity and the dangers of syncretism with South Asian religions.

As we seek to express our Christian identity while also affirming that we are rooted in our local contexts and in our South Asian church traditions and spirituality, we cannot simply shrug off our common heritage, whether positive or negative. We live with it and must use its resources. One way of doing this is to use our cultural musical resources to make our worship more South Asian, rather than relying exclusively on Western hymns and worship songs. Other details of how we will do this will vary depending on the unique community in which we live.

We have received elements of our Christian identity from our history. By the same token, we need to remember that the Christian identity we construct today will become the heritage we bequeath to the generations that follow. The entire Christian community is thus responsible for a mature stewardship of our identity. The responsibility to drink from our own wells is vital, for the identity we create needs to be integrally South Asian and definitely Christian.

South Asian, because it will express our unique particularity, our rootedness in a particular time and place; Christian, because it will articulate the claim to universality, that is ours by virtue of the God we worship: the God of the nations, the God of the universe.

Paul Joshua Bhakiaraj