Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject Theology - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,0, Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology St. Georgen in Frankfurt am Main, course: Hauptseminar: Theologische Gesellschaftskritik - heute noch möglich?, language: English, abstract: Liberation has manifold meanings. Marxists emphasise on economic and political aspects of freedom. Christianity tries to bring the role of culture and religions in the process of liberation. Traditional theologians insist on the need of personal conversion, besides liberation from oppressive socio-economic and political structures. And Dalit, Tribal and women theologians have added a socio-cultural dimension to liberation. Liberation has become an everyday topic of Indian masses. Liberation is a common concern. However, in all the varied and complex situations of India, Latin American theology can neither define our experience nor offer solutions. But it has definitely given a hermeneutical key, an important starting point of the experience of the marginalized. Thus, Indian liberation theologies like Dalit liberation theology, Feminists' theology, tribal theologies, etc., are inspirations from Latin American liberation theology. But there are quite substantial points of differences according to the foci and features. In the following I shall deal with three specific requisites for any Indian liberation theology.

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject Theology - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,0, Graduate School of Philosophy and Theology St. Georgen in Frankfurt am Main, course: Hauptseminar: Theologische Gesellschaftskritik - heute noch möglich?, language: English, abstract: Liberation has manifold meanings. Marxists emphasise on economic and political aspects of freedom. Christianity tries to bring the role of culture and religions in the process of liberation. Traditional theologians insist on the need of personal conversion, besides liberation from oppressive socio-economic and political structures. And Dalit, Tribal and women theologians have added a socio-cultural dimension to liberation. Liberation has become an everyday topic of Indian masses. Liberation is a common concern. However, in all the varied and complex situations of India, Latin American theology can neither define our experience nor offer solutions. But it has definitely given a hermeneutical key, an important starting point of the experience of the marginalized. Thus, Indian liberation theologies like Dalit liberation theology, Feminists’ theology, tribal theologies, etc., are inspirations from Latin American liberation theology. But there are quite substantial points of differences according to the foci and features. In the following I shall deal with three specific requisites for any Indian liberation theology.

In fulfilling the long-awaited need for a constructive and critical rethinking of Dalit theology this book offers and explores the synoptic healing stories as a relevant biblical paradigm for Dalit theology in order to help redress the lacuna between Dalit theology and the social practice of the Indian Church. Peniel Rajkumar's starting point is that the growing influence of Dalit theology in academic circles is incompatible with the praxis of the Indian Church which continues to be passive in its attitude towards the oppression of the Dalits both within and outside the Church. The theological reasons for this lacuna between Dalit theology and the Church's praxis, Rajkumar suggests, lie in the content of Dalit theology, especially the biblical paradigms explored, which do not offer adequate scope for engagement in praxis.

A second generation of emerging Dalit theology texts is re-shaping the way we think of Indian theology and liberation theology. This book is a vital part of that conversation. Taking post-colonial criticism to its logical end of criticism of statism, Keith Hebden looks at the way the emergence of India as a nation state shapes political and religious ideas. He takes a critical look at these Gods of the modern age and asks how Christians from marginalised communities might resist the temptation to be co-opted into the statist ideologies and competition for power. He does this by drawing on historical trends, Christian anarchist voices, and the religious experiences of indigenous Indians. Hebden's ability to bring together such different and challenging perspectives opens up radical new thinking in Dalit theology, inviting the Indian Church to resist the Hindu fundamentalists labelling of the Church as foreign by embracing and celebrating the anarchic foreignness of a Dalit Christian future.

Writing from a Native American perspective, theologian Tinker probes American Indian culture, its vast religious and cultural legacy, and its ambiguous relationship to the tradition--historic Christianity--that colonized and converted it. He offers novel proposals about cultural survival and identity, sustainability, and the endangered health of Native Americans.

Zoe C. Sherinian shows how Christian Dalits (once known as untouchables or outcastes) in southern India have employed music to protest social oppression and as a vehicle of liberation. Her focus is on the life and theology of a charismatic composer and leader, Reverend J. Theophilus Appavoo, who drew on Tamil folk music to create a distinctive form of indigenized Christian music. Appavoo composed songs and liturgy infused with messages linking Christian theology with critiques of social inequality. Sherinian traces the history of Christian music in India and introduces us to a community of Tamil Dalit Christian villagers, seminary students, activists, and theologians who have been inspired by Appavoo's music to work for social justice. Multimedia components available online include video and audio recordings of musical performances, religious services, and community rituals.