RCSS Policy Studies 5

Religion has been a major component in routine life in South Asia for a considerable period of time.Similarly, it has also been a major player in politics and conflict formation as well as a source for mass mobilization for socio-culturally and politically motivated millenarian or revivalist movements in the region. In India, a sense of distrust between Hindus and Muslims has become steadily institutionalized since the partition. The primaryreason for the creation of Bangladesh and Pakistan had been the religious differences between the populations in these areas and what constitutes India today.In Sri Lanka, Hinduism and Buddhism are primary markers in the cultural and ethnic identities of Sinhalas and Tamils.Such differences in identities play a major role in perpetuating the on going ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, particularly due to the manner in which such identities areperceived and represented in popular belief and conservative academic discourse.While the mere differences in cultural identities were not the cause of the inter-ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, the religious differences between the two groups have been manifestly used by nationalistand chauvinist politicians among both groups for sectarian purposes.

What is evident from such realities is that religion is a major factor in South Asian society and politics, and one could argue that it has thepotential for conflict formation and intensification as the case of the politics of RSS has amply demonstrated in India. It is clear that the status and dynamics of religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam and their role in politics in South Asia have been extensively investigated by anthropologists and political scientists.It is also clear that in comparison, the role of Christianity in the study of religion and politics of South Asia has been largely neglected.This is particularly the case when it comes to the dynamics of Christian groups active in South Asia since relatively recent times, as opposed to Christianities which arrived in the region during European colonial expansion, often with the direct or indirect sponsorship of the rulers. Moreover as Bayly observes, South Asia’s distinctive manifestations of Christianity have been overlooked in “debates about the rise of large scale fundamentalist movements in the nations of the subcontinent” (Bayly 1994 726).

What I hope to achieve in the following analysis is to place in context the socio-political role played by emerging new Christian groups specifically in Sri Lanka and Nepal, and to assess their impact as a catalyst for conflict formation in these two countries as well as the region.In doing so however, I would also be looking at comparative material from India,particularly from Kerala and TamilNadu in South India as well as material from South Korea and the Philippines.

As I have noted earlier, the dynamics of a variety of Christianities (eg., Roman Catholicism, Methodists, St. Thomas Christians in Kerala etc.) in the politics and religiosity of South Asia have not been adequatelydocumented compared to the attention given to Hinduism, Islam andBuddhism in the anthropology of South Asia.While historical analyses of the origins, changes, and the expansion of these conventional Christianities -- which have been in the region since the beginning of the European colonial period, if not since much earlier -- do exist, their role in politics and the nature of influence they exert in national or regional politics or network formation are under-investigated. This is certainly the case for Sri Lanka and Nepal except for brief historical analyses of missionary activities between the 17th and early 20th centuries and intermittent journalistic interventions at specific moments in recent time -- such as the “conversion row” in Sri Lanka and Nepal in the late 1980s and 1990s.

However, over the last five decades, but more clearly and specifically in the last decade or so, parts of South Asia such as Sri Lanka, and Nepal, have witnessed a rapid and relatively large influx of new Christian denominations based in Europe, North America and to a certain extent East Asia as well. In addition, a similar situation prevails in Taiwan, South Korea, Mongolia and parts of Thailand as well as parts of South America. For some time now there has been a reasonable output of scholarly andpopulist material from these areas dealing with the dynamics and politics of such new Christianities. Some of this material will be used for comparative purposes. On the other hand, one of the main goals of the present analysis would be to investigate the nature of the politics of religious conversions adopted by these groups, and the impact it has on inter-religious relations, and in general the socio-political climate in Sri Lanka and Nepal. In the light of these findings and comparative analyses, the regional consequences of these religious dynamics will also be assessed.

It is also clear that much of the debate on the emerging religiouspluralism in general, and specific contexts of conversions into evangelical Christianities in particular, are camouflaged and often lost and diffused in acrimonious accusations and counter-accusations of those involved. This is particularly the case in Nepal and Sri Lanka. This is another reason why an investigation of this nature is necessary. Moreover, it is hoped that this analysis will contribute to the growing literature on religious dynamics in general and Christianities in particular, while it will also make a more visible contribution to the relative lack of knowledge on evangelical Christianities in South Asia.

Locating New Christianities in South Asia:

Evangelism or Fundamentalism?

It seems to me that prior to proceding with this analysis it is essential -- as much as possible -- to clarify certain conceptual and terminological issues that have emerged and will continue to emerge in the study ofcontemporary religion in South Asia as well as elsewhere. The kinds of Christian groups that would be focused on in this study generally fall into the category of what I have provisionally called evangelical groups in the sense that there is a significant emphasis on all of these groups in spreading their respective faiths which also include a serious emphasis onconversions, and the overall primacy of the Bible. At the same time, scholars have also used the words Charismatics and Pentecostals to describe some of these same evangelical groups (Frykenberg 1994, Ammerman 1994, Bayly 1994).The literature on evangelical activity is replete with such terminology, often without making much terminological clarification or differentiation. On the other hand, many of these groups are also referred to as fundamentalist groups, particularly in popular discourse, but also increasingly in academic discourse as well.

The use of the word “fundamentalism” in popular discourse is clearly the case in Sri Lanka where all new Christian evangelical groups arereferred to as such in both Sinhala and English by their opponents. But that word is almost never used by these groups themselves in the self-descriptions of their movements and their activities except with specific andtechnical clarifications. Thus, only a few evangelical groups in Sri Lanka such as the Worldwide Church of God and the Ceylon Every Home Crusade did refer to themselves as fundamentalist, implying merely the primacy of the Bible as the ultimate word on their worship.Similarly, Hindus,Buddhists and Catholics in Nepal who spoke to me in English referred to the new evangelical groups in their midst as fundamentalists, which was used in a clearly articulated negative idiom.But once again, those who belonged to such groups did not use that word, but instead depended on words such as the faithful, Christians, and evangelicals to refer to themselves. In the context outlined above and until definitional and conceptual problems are ironed out, I will refer to such groups simply as evangelical groups.

But it should be clear that there is a certain degree of urgency in the need to clarify and iron out these conceptual issues as much as possible since the word “fundamentalism” is becoming more and more important in contemporary scholarship dealing with Christianity.Such an activity would be a prelude to this analysis because in the rhetoric of local debates and the confusion of the academic discourse internationally, the meanings of the word “fundamentalism” have often changed. Moreover, since recent times it has also been vested with much negative socio-cultural andemotional value in popular discourse in South Asia as well as in North America and Europe. Such an outcome would also impact upon the process of analysis in a study of this nature unless the politics and the rhetoric of the terminology are somehow unraveled.

It has generally been accepted that the word “fundamentalism” was originally used to describe certain North American Protestant groups in the 1920 (Stirrat and Henkel 1996: 1, Ammerman 1994: 13-14).According to Ammerman, people from Protestant denominations who were initially called fundamentalists in the American context, mobilized themselves in the 1920s to “do battle royal for the fundamentals of the faith,” and their battles were waged against what they saw as degenerations within their own denominations and the American school system (Ammerman 1994: 14). This was essentially a conservative religious crusade to defendorthodox beliefs about the Bible, and also to revive what they perceived as traditional American virtues and ways of life (Ammerman 1994: 13-14).They also organized campaigns against religious liberalism in churches and the teaching of Darwinian evolutionism in schools(Ammerman 1994: 13-14). But their attempts to establish rhetorical and institutional control in both of the above areas failed (Ammerman 1994: 13-14). But as we would see later, such defeats were merely short term obstacles, since in the long run, they proved to be rather resilient groups with an international outreach potential.Many of the evangelical groups currently operating in Sri Lanka and Nepal have their roots in the religious dynamics of Protestant “fundamentalism” in North America.

Frykenberg suggests that there were three historically distinct events or phases which marked the emergence of the word fundamentalism, and certain changes in the meanings attached to the word (1994: 592). The first of these is the emergence of a theological movement within American religion with a strong emphasis on rationality, intellect and scientificity which first coined the word. Second, it was used to describe a latter movement which was strongly moralistic, pietistic if not emotional, and anti-intellectual.It was a political movement against “godlessness” and “worldliness” which “marked the struggles between modernity and more orthodoxtradition” (Frykenberg 1994: 592). This is also the phase described by Ammerman as outlined above. Finally, according to Frykenberg, the word “fundamentalism” was used in a negative and pejorative idiom by the counter-movement of cultural modernists which included elements from the secular media, academia, as well as theologically liberal and modernist branches of religion in the west (1994: 592). In this latter sense the cultural modernists used the term to describe, mark and caricature everyone they perceived as “religious obscurantists or archaic relics of medieval superstition” (Frykenberg 1994: 592).

Clearly, it is in the latter negative and pejorative sense that the word is commonly used in popular usage today. Moreover, the word and itsassociation to American and Christian religion has considerably shifted from the American context to other parts of the world and is currently most often used to describe and mark non-Christian religious movements such as radical offshoots of Islam or Hinduism. In this meaning, such movements are often seen as violent, disruptive, irrational and so on. If one takes Frykenberg’s essay Accounting for Fundamentalisms in South Asia: Ideologies and Institutions in Historical Perspective(1994) as well as Stirrat and Henkel’s monograph Fundamentalism and Development (1996) the word “fundamentalism” is most often used to describe and refer to non Christian religious movements, particularly Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist movements.

Given the nature of this confusion one is immediately confronted with the problem of identifying what is a fundamentalist movement and what is not.One also needs to place in context whether academic definitions of fundamentalism overlap with popular and journalistic definitions or whether they do not.It is also important to ask the question whether the movements generally described as evangelical, charismatic or Pentecostal are also necessarily fundamentalist or whether these words are mutually interchangeable. Stirrat and Henkel suggest as a practical definition, thatfundamentalism can be defined “as a process of selective retrieval, embellishment, and construction of ‘essentials’ or ‘fundamentals’ of a religious tradition for halting the erosion of traditional society and fighting back against the encroachments of secular modernity” (Stirrat and Henkel 1996). In dealing with the emergence of new Christianities in South Asia, andparticularly in Sri Lanka and Nepal, certain aspects of this definitionimmediately run into a number of problems. For instance, in the case of Nepal and Sri Lanka all of these new Christian groups trace their origins to areas outside of those countries, and often exterior to the region as well. That place of origin may be in Western Europe, North America, Australia or South Korea. That is where much of the funding for their activities comes from, that is where certain aspects of their ritual styles come from, and that is also where their organization structure and top leaders come from. That is also where the head offices of most movements are located.So in such a situation, if these new evangelical Christian groups are to be considered fundamentalist, then notions such as halting the erosion oftraditional society embedded in Stirrat’s and Henkel’s definition would make no sense. In fact, such a definition, would more specifically and more readily accommodate fundamentalist movements that have emerged from within those societies (eg., RSS in India), including the ones that may emerge in opposition to the new Christian groups we are interested in here.

I would argue, that the reason for the obvious lapse in the abovedefinition is due to the formulators’ overemphasis on non-Christian groups (eg., Hindu groups in India) as opposed to Christian groups.I would suggest that as far as new evangelical groups in Nepal and Sri Lanka areconcerned, despite their conservative attitude to issues of religion, particularly to conversions, they are very much modern in other aspects. A sense of being “modern” in the popular sense can be detected in realms such as dress, religious rituals, church structures, organizational and communications networks as well as modes of operation such as the emphasis on “development” initiatives or projects as in the case of Nepal. In a certain sense, that kind of modernity in popular perception may verge on being foreign.In this context, rather than attempting to halt the erosion ofculture and specific values of “traditional” society, what many of these groups preach is constructed within an idiom of universality. Thus rather than preaching the erosion of Nepali or Sinhala values, they would more likely talk about the erosion of human values and fear of god.Such a universalist preaching idiom and outlook is all the more practical in the context of the ethno-cultural mosaic of South Asia where the emphasis on certaincultural values typical of one group may alienate others, and thus impose serious hindrances and obstacles upon the collective evangelical project.

On the other hand, such groups also do not hesitate to critique aspects of “traditional society” such as idol worship which is such a fundamental aspect of many South Asian religions (eg., Buddhism, Hinduism) andbelief systems.Such critiques of course come in much the same form as similar critiques from the missionaries of the more established denominations in the region during the European colonial period. Here, rather than attempting to arrest the erosion of “traditional” values and practices, the emphasis would be on the clear condemnation and dismantling of such cultural constructs.

In the light of the problems raised above, it is perhaps useful to refer to the definition of “fundamentalism” presented by Marty and Appleby where they have removed culture and tradition, specific content and context from the concept of fundamentalism, and have formulated what one may call a metaphysical ideal of fundamentalism which simply refers to one specific kind of religious idealism (Marty and Appleby 1991: 814-842). In their ideal model Marty and Appleby refer to fundamentalism as an irreducable basis for communal and personal identity which in its most extreme forms encourage separation of true believers from non believers or outsiders (Marty and Appleby 1991: 814-842). Moreover, taken in this sense they also suggest that fundamentalisms posses a “dramatic eschatology” through which moments in history could be matched to sacred truths, texts, and traditions which would legitimize the movements themselves, their ideologies and their leaders (Marty and Appleby 1991: 814-842). Thus here there is an emphasis on the importance of texts, particularly holy scriptures such as the Bible. I would suggest that within the terms of this abstract definition most Christian evangelical groups and other non Christian “fundamentalist”groups currently operating in South Asia could be accommodated, mostly due to its removal of culture specific content as well as due to its rather extensive scope.

Brouwer et. al, referring specifically to new Christian fundamentalisms suggest a number of identification markers.First, they suggest that such beliefs entail a personal “born again” relationship between thebeliever and Jesus (Brouwer et. al 1996: 3). According to them, this relationship means that believers should convert others as part of the global evangelical mission (Brouwer et. al 1996: 3). Second, in terms of fundamentalist belief, God’s word is accessible to the believers in the form of the text of the Bible, which should be adequatefor an understanding of the world. The Bible should also be a manual for good living, and the messagecontained within the Bible is considered “literally inerrant” (Brouwer et. al 1996: 3). According to Brouwer et. al, a final defining feature offundamentalist movements should be a tendency to “look for miraculous, God-centered interpretations of history, usually under the banner of biblical millennialism and dispensationalism” (Brouwer et. al 1996: 4). The basis of millennialist belief is that the Second Coming of Christ is imminent, and that his thousand year rule on earth will follow soon afterwards (Brouwer et. al 1996: 4). Dispensationalism, on the other hand refer to a complex “form of alternative historical study that is derived solely from a closed and intricate system of biblical sources and references” which have been developed over a period of about 200 years to reinforce millennialist beliefs and predications (Brouwer et. al 1996: 4).

Frykenberg argues that most South Asian fundamentalist groups can be identified as such on the basis of certain key “foundational” and“functional” features that can be found within those groups (Frykenberg 1994: 592-593). Even though it appears that Frykenberg has overemphasized non-Christian groups in South Asia in his general construction of the meaning of fundamentalism, it seems to me that many of the features he has identified as key elements in South Asian fundamentalist groups are also applicable to new Christian evangelical groups operating in the same region.Frykenberg further suggests that an analysis of these features allows one to determine how “fundamentalist” (that is the degree of fundamentalism) a given group is, as well as to trace their origins and development (Frykenberg 1994: 593). According to him, these features constitute a “procedure to determine how extreme and militant or moderate a movement is, how benign or malignant, how non violent or violent, how quietistic or aggressive, how authoritarian or egalitarian its ideologies or institutional structures are, how “this worldly” or “otherworldly” a movement is (Frykenberg 1994: 593). He identifies five key elements as foundational features of South Asian fundamentalist movements. These include the following: 

1. The Truth,

2. The Messenger,

3. The Community,

4. The Destiny and,

5. The Evil.

The truth is the central doctrine or the corpus of doctrine which constitute of the group’s core world-view.The truth can be objectified in sacred texts or in a sacred code, and its “role is definitive and its authorityprofound, if not final” (Frykenberg 1994: 593). The truth can be variously referred to as the Word, the Gospel, the Revelation, the Law and so on (Frykenberg 1994: 593).

Frykenberg defines the messenger as the person who “embodies or personifies the Truth and is the original person who conveyed it” (Frykenberg 1994: 593).The messenger can be referred to as the Teacher, the Leader, the Preacher, the Guru, the Master, the Enlightened One, etc (Frykenberg 1994: 593). He further suggests that the message and the messenger are very closely associated, and in combination they can be seen as the Living Word (Frykenberg 1994: 593). Often the messenger is a charismatic personality who can inject to followers a sense of excitement, expectation and urgency (Frykenberg 1994: 593). More importantly, “the contagion ignited by his influence brings about radical conversion (Frykenberg 1994: 593). The messenger also “inspires awe, if notdevotion, reverence and submission” (Frykenberg 1994: 593).

The third foundational feature identified by Frykenberg is theCommunity (Frykenberg 1994: 594). The community is perceived as a select and special group of individuals who constitute of the true believers. They can be referred to as the Chosen, the Elect, the People, the Church, the Brotherhood, the Fellowship and so on (Frykenberg 1994: 594). Thesignificance in the concept of community is that it demarcates the insiders and outsiders in particularly clear ways.In fact, the words used to refer to a specific community often constitute of “insider” perspectives and self-definitions of the groups and their relationship to the exterior world.This sense of stark dualityalso allows members of a given community to make clear distinctions between True and False, Believers and Unbelievers, the Children of God and Heathens, the Good and the Evil and so on (Frykenberg 1994: 594).

The fourth foundational feature Frykenberg associates with South Asian fundamentalist movements is the Destiny (Frykenberg 1994: 594). The destiny is a belief or certainty of a utopian future. Members of the movement would believe that the future belongs only to the selected few such as themselves. Destiny may be seen as “imminent, immediate, and attainable, or it may be delayed inexplicably or mysteriously” (Frykenberg 1994: 594). Depending on what kind of group one is dealing with, destiny may not come until after Apocalypse or Armageddon. Moreover, destiny is clearly seen as worth reaching because it is perceived as a place or existence where peace and harmony prevails, and where relationships never break or fail (Frykenberg 1994: 594).

The fifth foundational element identified by Frykenberg is the Evil (Frykenberg 1994: 595). The evil is seen as the kind of corruption, danger and pollution that can come from the outside world or sometimes from within the groups themselves (Frykenberg 1994: 595). Some groups may encourage the faithful to undertake a holy war (eg., Crusade, Mission, Jihad etc.) to eliminate obvious external enemies who represent the evil (Frykenberg 1994: 595).

In addition to the five foundational elements identified above, Frykenberg also identifies three functional elements that can be seen in fundamentalist groups.These are:

1. Radical conversion

2. Revivalism

3. Separatism

Conversions are a significant marker of evangelical Christianity in South Asia, a phenomenon clearly seen in both Sri Lanka and Nepal.Frykenberg suggests that each movement that is considered fundamentalist is situated within a tradition of radical conversion. In other words, such groupsdemand a drastic and clear reaction against what is perceived as evil (Frykenberg 1994: 595). Framed within these terms, radical conversions entail an awareness of evil within the individual or individuals who converted or within the society at large. At the same time this also signals “a transformation from one condition or state of being, from one outlook, world-view or way of life, to another” (Frykenberg 1994: 595).Often, this means that a change in religious institutional affiliation also takes place. It is mostly through that change that the conversions into evangelical groups in South Asia most clearly manifest themselves. In general, such conversions lead to changes in personal identity, as well as changes in ideology and socio-political action coupled with a complete re-orientation of emotional and intellectual status of a person (Frykenberg 1994: 595-596). 

What is equally important is that processes of radical conversion, along with the changes in ideological, institutional and emotional positions they entail, can lead to social and political reactions from the unconverted, which can also be in the form of violence. Such opposition to conversions, in varying degrees has beenreported from both Nepal and Sri Lanka as this analysis will later place in context. On the other hand, such opposition tends to increase due to yet another feature of radical conversions. That is, the propensity of evangelical or what is more generally called fundamentalist groups to encourage a proliferation of conversions, which is usually achieved through the commitment and activity of individuals alreadyconverted. The idea behind such conversions of course is to expand the community of “true believers” (Frykenberg 1994: 596).

The second functional feature identified by Frykenberg is revivalism or re-conversion (1994: 596).Revivalism has been described as a strategy for “restoring vitality to what has become moribund” (Frykenberg 1994: 596). Revivalism within a particular movement has to be placed in acontext where there is belief in impermanence, and thus it becomes obligatory for true believers to spread the message of truth in every generation or at every moment in time when dangers of impermanence are believed to have set in within a movement. In short, revivalism is a mechanism of fighting back in situations of real or perceived regression of a movement.

The third functional feature of South Asian fundamentalism identified by Frykenberg is separatism (1994: 596). Separatism can also mean exclusivism, but not necessarily so. This means that those who haveconverted to a religious group that can be called fundamentalist, usually entertain ideas of alienation from all “outsiders” or non-believers. In a context of separatism, outsiders are seen as “attacking, undermining or threatening ‘things that matter’” (Frykenberg 1994: 596). Frykenberg summarizes the connection between these functional features in thefollowing manner:

“If radical conversion has enabled commitment or entry into a particular conversionist or fundamentalist perspective, and into the tradition it was generating, and if revivalism pertained the renewal within such a tradition, militant alienation and separatism have been a stance toward all those forces perceived to be outside that tradition, forces that have been seen as dangerous and subversive” (1994: 596)

Thus far I have attempted to survey a cross section of existing literature and to place in perspective some of the identifying features of fundamentalist groups in South Asia -- Christian or otherwise. These features are common to most groups identified by scholars as fundamentalist within or outside Christian traditions. The next question one must ask at this stage is what kind of groups would be called evangelicals or evangelists? Are they the same as fundamentalists? In a technical sense evangelicalism began in the middle decades of the 18th century as areform movement within Protestant denominations. Although there were links with earlier reform movements, it was after the conversion of individuals such as George Whitefield, John Wesley and Charles Wesley in England and the First Great Awakening in America (1730-60) that a movement distinctly known as evangelicalism emerged (Soper 1994: 37). These early evangelicals began a movement to revitalize the churches in America and England. Since that time, evangelicalism in this sense has had considerable influence and impact on existing denominations such as Baptist, Anglican and Congregational churches (Soper 1994: 37). The influence of this variety of Christianity grew in the 19th century because “its optimistic and affirming theology attracted adherents who were not served by the Calvinist orthodoxy of the day,” which had insisted that no one could be assured of his salvation (Soper 1994: 37). By contrast, evangelicals emphasized that individuals are free to accept salvation through personal conversion at any time (Soper 1994: 37).

Soper has briefly defined who evangelicals are in the following words:

“Evangelicals are Protestant Christians who emphasizesalvation by faith in the atoning death of Jesus Christ through personal conversion and the authority of scripture in matters of faith and Christian practice” (Soper 1994: 38).

Soper also identifies three significant aspects of evangelical belief from their statements of faith. These include a belief in the sacrificial nature of Christ’s death on the cross, a deep respect for the authority of the Bible as the infallible Word of God, and an emphasis on integrating religious beliefs and social conduct (Soper 1994: 38).Similarly important for evangelicals is the emphasis placed on ‘the eternal consequences’ for individuals who do not accept Christ’s sacrificial death (Soper 1994: 38).In this scheme of things evangelicals also emphasize the need for the conversion of sinners to faith in Jesus Christ (Soper 1994: 38). According to Soper, the major theological conviction of evangelicalism is salvation through faith in Christ, and it is this conviction that serves as the content or medium for conversions (Soper 1994: 40). The serious emphasis placed on conversions by evangelicals also creates a clear demarcation between those who have experienced this life changing event, and those who have not, or the stark differentiation between the saved and the unsaved (Soper 1994: 41).Soper has argued that in the context of this structure of beliefs, evangelicals are more likely than non-evangelicals to engage in proselytizing or joinorganizations whose primary goal is the promotion of the Christian faith (Soper 1994: 50).

The question to ask now is whether what I have provisionally identified as evangelical groups with reference to contemporary Christianity in South Asia, and what has been described above with more detail as evangelicals can be subsumed within the category of fundamentalist groups as defined and described earlier. At the same time it would also be helpful at this point to ponder whether the words Charismatics or Pentecostals mean more or less the same as fundamentalists or evangelicals. I would suggest that technically, groups that emphasize the inerrancy of the Bible and the need to convert, which also feature other attributes we havediscussed above in our discussion on fundamentalism, can be described as fundamentalist groups. On the other hand, it would be obvious that many of these features are also present in those groups that have been identified as evangelical groups. Thus many of the new Christian groups engaged in evangelical activity in South Asia today can be technically calledfundamentalist groups. At the same time, it seems to me that they can also be called evangelical groups given the divergence of meanings in thescholarly literature discussed above. Most of these groups also generallybelong to non-Catholic Protestant denominations, even though scholars such as Bayly also refer to Catholic fundamentalism in South India (Bayly 1994).Charismatics on the other hand, are groups in which charismatic church leadership is emphasized and is an important feature. Often such groups also believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible, and other fundamentalist beliefs.

The other question that needs clarification now is whether Pentecostals are fundamentalists. Pentecostal churches initially emerged in the United States, and in the early 20th century they were labeled as “wild sects” by more exclusive Baptist and Presbyterian churches. At that time most members of the Pentecostal churches were poor and marginalizedindividuals (Brouwer et. al 1996: 4-5). Moreover, Pentecostals believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit while emphasizing such things as prophecy, talking in tongues, healing, and miraculous experiences for individual believers (Brouwer et. al 1996: 4-5). Thus while retaining these beliefs, Pentecostals have adopted other features of contemporary Christianfundamentalism such as the inerrancy of the Bible, creationism, and millennialist dispensationalism (Brouwer et. al 1996: 4-5). In this manner, while Pentecostalism technically refers to broad denominational category within Christianity, many Pentecostals are also fundamentalists in the technical sense of the word.Moreover,scholars have pointed out that the evangelical or fundamentalist expansion in countries such as South Korea was spearheaded by Pentecostal Churches (Brouwer et. al 1996: 4-5).

Finally, as Brouwer et. al have pointed out, new Christian fundamentalists are best defined by more inclusive criteria of belief such as those we have discussed earlier since “little can be gainedfrom a sectarian, interior point of view” in the context of “globalizing evangelical culture” (Brouwer et. al 1996: 4). In this sense, in the remainder of this text I would use the word “fundamentalist” and “fundamentalism” in the technical sense referred to above, particularly when quoting from scholarly sources where those words are currently used quite widely.Moreover, in an attempt to distance the emotions vested in the word “fundamentalism” from this analysis, the word “evangelical” and “evangelism” will be used in general discussions even though these words would also refer to groups referred to as fundamentalist in the literature and their activities. The point is that, in the final analysis, it is very difficult to clearly differentiate between the meanings of the words fundamentalism and evangelism in both popular and academic discourses.

Identifying Types of Conversion

Already in this discussion I have referred to the importance of conversion in evangelical activity. It seems to me that given the significance of this idea, I should at this point elaborate what is meant by conversion in both abstract and real terms. One of the underlying preconditions ofglobal Christian evangelism is its stress on conversion. The importance placed on conversions by evangelical groups in Nepal and Sri Lanka will become apparent in latter chapters when I discuss specific cases from these two countries. In the case of both Nepal and Sri Lanka, conversion is one of the most dominant, and also politically extremely controversial andsensitive issues in contemporary religious dynamics involving evangelical Christianity.

The word conversion could mean a number of things in differentsituations. According to Rambo, the use of the word could mean “simple change from the absence of a faith system to a faith commitment, from religious affiliation from one faith system to another, or from one orientation to another within a single faith system” (Rambo 1993: 2). In the Sri Lankan and Nepali contexts, the second and third kinds of conversions identified above can be seen quite clearly in conversions to evangelical Christianity. In so far as conversions of Buddhists and Hindus in both Nepal and Sri Lanka are concerned, what involves is the radical departure from one religious affiliation to another. On the other hand, the conversions of Sri Lankan Catholics and other Christians of main stream churches to new evangelical groups signal a conversion from one orientation to another within a single faith system.

Beyond these general observations of what is meant by conversion, numerous technical definitions have also been used to contextualize the process. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, conversion means a radical call to “reject evil and embrace a relationship with God through faith” (Rambo 1993: 5). Commentators such as A.D. Nock make sharp distinctionsbetween Christian and Jewish conversions on the one hand, and the kind of conversion that took place in what he calls the “ancient pagan world” on the other. For him, Christian and Jewish conversion is “radical, complete, and decisive, while pagan religious change is merely ‘adhesion’ to a person’s life (quoted in Rambo 1993: 5).

Talking about types of conversion Rambo refers to five ideal types based on the question how far a person has to go in order to be considered a convert (Rambo 1993: 13).These are:

1. Apostasy or defection means a repudiation of a religious tradition or its beliefs by former members, but does not necessarily involve theacceptance of a “new religious perspective but often indicates adoption of a nonreligious system of values” (Rambo 1993: 13).

2. Intensification refers to a “revitalized commitment to a faith with which the convert has had a previous affiliation” (Rambo 1993: 13).

3. Affiliation marks the movement of “an individual or group from no or minimal religious commitment to full involvement with an institution or community of faith”(Rambo 1993: 13).

4. Institutional transition refers to a situation where an individual or group makes a transition from one “community to another within a major tradition” (Rambo 1993: 13).

5. Tradition transition is a “movement of an individual or a group from one major religious tradition to another”(Rambo 1993: 13).

While in some instances, there are tendencies of overlapping between and among these categories, they are useful in understanding the dynamics of conversions in an abstract manner.On the other hand, both in Nepal and Sri Lanka, the clearest category of conversion, in terms of the above typology is “tradition transition” in which individuals convert from Hinduism or Buddhism to some form of evangelical Christianity. Lofland and Skonovd have also attempted to categorize varieties of conversion in terms of what they call “conversion motifs” (quoted in Rambo 1993: 14-15).It is an attempt to define different experiences which make each type ofconversion distinctive(quoted in Rambo 1993: 14-15).According to them, varied perceptions and descriptions of conversions do not simply result from different theoretical orientations, and thus should involve descriptions of qualities that would indicate the substantial differences in conversion experiences (quoted in Rambo 1993: 14-15).Lofland and Skonovd identify six conversion motifs:

1. Intellectual conversion: Here an individual seeks knowledge about religious or spiritual matters through books, media, and other such means, which do not involve any significant process of social contact with persons who may have access to such knowledge (quoted in Rambo 1993: 14-15).

2.Mystical conversion: To many, this kind of conversion is the proto-typical conversion which involves a sudden and traumatic burst of insight consequent to experiencing “visions,” “voices,” and other such phenomena (quoted in Rambo 1993: 14-15).

3. Experimental conversion: Here an individual actively exploresavailable religious options prior to actual conversion (quoted in Rambo 1993: 14-15). As Rambo points out, many groups encourage this process by adopting a quasi-scientific stand, where potential converts are encouraged to take nothing on faith, but on conviction (Rambo 1993: 14-15). What is important to remember is that within this kind of paradigm numeroussupport systems, inclusive of literature, ritual and institutional networks would be in place to “convince” the potential convert. Experimental conversion is typical of social contexts, where a variety of religious options are widely and easily available and accessible.

4.Affectional conversion: In affectional conversions interpersonal bonds play an important role in the process of conversion. In this conversion process, it is imperative that an individual directly experience being “loved, nurtured, and affirmed by a group and its leaders” (quoted in Rambo 1993: 15).

5. Revivalism: In this kind of conversion, crowd conformity is used to induce certain kind of behavior. In other words, “individuals are emotionally aroused and new beliefs and behaviors are promoted by pressures exerted” (quoted in Rambo 1993: 15). While this kind of conversionprocess was more common in the 19th century than in the 20th, many evangelical groups do use mass rallies with emotionally powerful music and preaching.While these processes are common in the US, by comparison in Nepal and Sri Lanka, some mass rallies have been organized mostly as healing rituals in which conversion potential has not been very effective.

6. Coercive conversion: Lofland and Skonovd believe that coercive conversion is relatively rare in the contemporary world. In terms of this conversion process, coerciveness can be determined on the intensity of pressures exerted upon a person to conform, participate and confess. In this process, deprivation of sleep and food may assure that a person does not have the will not to surrender to a group’s ideology and submissivelife-style (quoted in Rambo 1993: 16). Coercive conversion as a specificcategory, is more commonly seen in cults which are relatively removed from mainstream society.

As in the typology presented by Rambo earlier, in Lofland’s and Skonovd’s conversion motifs too, there are situations of overlap andcontradictions despite their ability to identify different conversion experiences as distinct experiential categories.For instance, many individuals who may have converted to a specific religion through what Lofland and Skonovd have identified as intellectual conversion, in their own narratives may stress mystical conversion -- in the form of voices, revelations, dreams and so on. Thus a young man in his mid twenties living in the southern Sri Lankan district of Hambantota stressed that his conversion was due to revelations from God which came to him through dreams. Nevertheless, the man who was deeply distressed as a result of his father’s disappearance and related trauma during the extensive period of political violence in southern Sri Lanka during the late 1980s, had “studied” many Bible tracts and other literature published in Sinhala by the Assemblies of God and Ceylon Every Home Crusade. He came upon the literature in his village through some individuals who distributed them, and later by mail, when he requested them. This particular case seems to be a situation of what Lofland and Skonovd call intellectual conversion, even though it is represented in the idiom of mystical conversion by the person who converted.

On the other hand, intellectual conversion may be a useful strategy to adopt in a country such as Sri Lanka where the rate of adult literacy is hovering just over 90% (RCSS 1998: 8).Evangelical groups operating in Sri Lanka have clearly recognized this potential, and many of them have thus translated Bible tracts and other literature into Sinhala and Tamil as have they trained pastors and other workers to preach in those languages.Such literature is also easily accessible through mail. Often it is also free of charge. Moreover, given the nature of this potential, there are a number of groups specifically interested in generating and distributing literature, particularly by mail. Comparatively, given the low rate of adult literacy in Nepal, which is about 27.0% (RCSS 1998: 8), the emphasisplaced on intellectual conversion by evangelical groups working in that country is not very pronounced. Even then, the production of Christian literature in local languages is considered an important venture by some groups specifically focussing their attention on such activities.As one Neplai Christian worker observed: 

“Nepal may not be a literate society at the moment. But the printed word will be very important in assuring that the Gospel reaches every home in this country in the next century. We have to prepare ahead of time. That is why we are spending money and time in translating and printing the word of God in local languages.”

Given the large religious market place that exists in both Nepal and Sri Lanka, one could expect people to literally shop around for the kind of religion and set of ritual practices that suite their specific needs. That is ideally, in both of these countries, experimental conversion rates should be quite high. But if people’s narratives of conversions are any indication, that does not seem to be the case. People do not shop around for their spiritual needs, but different packages of spirituality are offered to them by those who market them. One reason for people’s apparent reluctance to go out and seek the spiritual satisfaction they need, except within alternative conventional practices, is perhaps located in the serious social censure that would be applied against them in the event of actual conversion or even in the process of searching. In both Sri Lanka and Nepal, many narratives of conversions constantly referred to the fear of social censure, and other consequences in the event of conversion. Moreover, the ability to shop around for one’s religious needs can take place if prevailing socio-political and legal conditions allow relative free mobility in the religious sphere. Societal approval of conversions in both Nepal and Sri Lanka is not favorable. Yet the legal and constitutional conditions for conversions in Sri Lanka have been quite good for a considerable period of time while such freedoms have been severely restricted in Nepal. 

Moreover, the kind of quasi-scientific and seemingly open and flexible attitude towards conversions ideally implied in experimental conversions are also in short supply in reality. Again, the conversion process asobserved in Nepal and Sri Lanka does not allow such flexibility. In that context, beliefs are not to be experimented with. They are to be accepted because they are presented as the only valid truth claim available. In a situation of contest and competition, religious doctrines are more likely to be dogmatic with very little room for freedom of choice to operate. In comparison to experimental conversions, affectional conversion are more common in both countries. For instance, many individuals I have talked to in Kathmandu and in many parts of Sri Lanka often narrate how they experienced a sense of belonging and being loved once they were affiliated with an evangelical group.That affiliation is represented not merely in the paradigm of God’s love for the individual but also in terms of the concern for the individual shown by leaders of the groups as well as fellow adherents.Thus in the investigation of religious dynamics in Sri Lanka and Nepal, affectional conversion is a more useful analytical category.

Revivalism in the sense of mass rallies and crowd conformity do not appear to be a successful means of conversion in Nepal and Sri Lanka.But large rallies have been utilized by evangelical groups in both countries, which have functioned more like healing rituals than conversion camps.Coercive conversion, in the sense of sleep and food deprivation are not reported from either Sri Lanka or Nepal. But other kinds of coercions are reported from both places. For instance, some of the narratives suggest that consequent to conversion, religiosity must be quite manifest in order to acquire further benefits -- spiritual or material.This aspect of conversions will be analyzed later in the chapters dealing with the expansion of the evangelical movement in the two countries.

In the context of the discussion thus far, I would like to make some provisional observations relatively abstract form about conversion narratives or people’s stories about conversions. That is, stories about why they converted, and why they think others converted. Conversion narratives are important components of the overall evangelical project. In the long run, such narratives cease to become merely the personal experience of an individual. Often they enter into the realm of the public, through which religious explanations and justifications for conversions are offered.In the same manner such narratives also become a means through which other conversions may be affected. Thus pastors in the collective evangelical movement in both Nepal and Sri Lanka often refer to their personalexperiences of conversions in private and public discourse in a bid to personally appeal to possible converts.It was within this context that a foreign worker attached to a health-care project coordinated by theInternational Nepal Fellowship observed:

“It is important to share one’s personal spiritual experiences with those among whom one works. Simply referring to casesreported in the Bible or elsewhere can be very distant from the people we are trying to reach. The villagers we try to reach must feel a certain closeness to the word of God and theexperiences of accepting God’s word. That is why many of us talk of our own experiences.They may be spiritual experiences in our own countries or in this country --- We always encourage our Neplai brothers and sisters to share their experiences with their countrymen in their own languages.”

It was in a similar context that a Sri Lankan pastor with the Assemblies of God observed:

“When I preach, whenever possible I talk about the spiritual experiences of my own and those of the people that the congregation or the group I talk to, know about. It is easier for them to relate to such experiences. The gospel has to be introduced with reference to actual experiences.”

Booth has suggested that narratives are fundamental to fundamentalisms (1995: 369). As he observes, stories or narratives are important in the sense that they “united tellers and listeners in an embrace of a shared ‘world’” (Booth 1995: 369).To Booth these stories are of central importance in understanding and comparing different kinds of fundamentalisms.As he observes:

“Ask fundamentalists to explain their beliefs and they’ll almost always tell you a story of a conversion experience, either their own or someone else’s, or a story of the founding of the world or the establishment of the one true church -- a story with a beginning, middle and an end” (Booth 1995: 370).

Conversion narratives taken in this sense has a logical sequence formulated with extreme clarity. Without clarity, their utility in convincing or explaining to others the experience would not be effective. This also mean that such narratives are not open for debate or questioning. They have to be taken as something that is given and something that is true. This lack of space for different interpretations or for doubt comes from the fact that such narratives are either part of a holy text or because it is a story that “really” happened to someone. Any space for doubt would also weaken the utility of the narratives in the overall evangelical or fundamentalist project. Within this scheme of things, almost always conversion narratives are presented as true experiences, and not as fantasies or allegories.Booth suggests that “there is a dearth of fictional works by or for fundamentalists” (1995: 371).

I have referred to conversion narratives emanating from people who have converted or secondary narratives from holy scriptures or religious tracts presented by evangelical workers. But narratives about conversions do not come merely from texts, people who have converted or those sympathetic to the cause.Yet another category of counter narratives about conversions come from people who observe conversions. For instance, the narratives about why certain individuals converted, come from friends, kin and neighbors. Of course, conversion narratives are not merely the prerogative of evangelicalor Christian fundamentalist groups. They are common to all religious groups with a fundamentalist strategy, which also include an emphasis on conversion. Taken in this sense, conversion narratives by evangelicals are an important aspect of the overall evangelical project in Nepal and Sri Lanka.Similarly, narratives about conversions coming from those who have not converted are also significant since they often outline the reservations, suspicions, fears and other such attitudes held by those who have not yet entered into the evangelical fold. Such narratives also indicate the kind of cleavages that may exist in society as a result of evangelical activity or in response to such activity, and may also indicate where and how conflict may occur. Thus all these kinds ofconversions, would be taken into account to assess the reasons forconversions in Nepal and Sri Lanka as well as to ascertain the way in which these narratives become part of the evangelical rhetoric.

In general, the contents of conversion narratives and counternarratives in Sri Lanka and Nepal are quite similar to each other. Selected conversion narratives from the two countries will be presented andanalyzed in the chapters detailing the expansion of evangelical activities in Nepal and Sri Lanka, and the politics and rhetoric of conversions.