A Foreign Culture Baptised: Roberto de Nobili and the Jesuits

Roberto de Nobili (1577-1656) was a key figure in the history of Christian missions in India. Based in Madurai, capital of a Hindu kingdom, he tried to reach the local Brahmins by accommodating completely to their way of life. He mastered Indian languages and studied the holy scriptures of Hinduism...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Exchange
Main Author: Schouten, Jan Peter (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2018
In: Exchange
RelBib Classification:BK Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism
CC Christianity and Non-Christian religion; Inter-religious relations
CD Christianity and Culture
KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history
KBM Asia
KDB Roman Catholic Church
RJ Mission; missiology
Further subjects:B Missiology Nobili Hinduism India Madurai mission Malabar Rites Controversy accommodation caste Dalit theology
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
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Summary:Roberto de Nobili (1577-1656) was a key figure in the history of Christian missions in India. Based in Madurai, capital of a Hindu kingdom, he tried to reach the local Brahmins by accommodating completely to their way of life. He mastered Indian languages and studied the holy scriptures of Hinduism thoroughly. In many writings, he testified to a remarkable acquaintanceship of Hindu thinking and spirituality. His dialogical attitude brought him into conflict with both conservative Hindus and the leaders of his own Jesuit order. Later generations admired ‘the Christian sannyāsī’ for his phenomenal knowledge of languages and scriptures and his daring attempts to design Indian means of expression for the gospel. However, during the last quarter of a century, De Nobili has been criticized by Dalit theologians because of his complete adjustment to caste relations, including discrimination against low-caste people.
ISSN:1572-543X
Contains:In: Exchange
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/1572543X-12341477