Beyond Interiority in Christian Conversion: Proximity to Jesus as Patron among Muslim-background “Isai” in Bangladesh

Though conversion studies have attempted to move beyond models that “privilege interior states and subjectivities” (Rambo and Farhadian 2014), this article argues, first, that such a step forward has proved difficult. Interiority persists within frequent divisions of intrinsic and extrinsic factors...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. VerfasserIn: Anderson, Christian J. (VerfasserIn)
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
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Veröffentlicht: Brill 2022
In: Exchange
Jahr: 2022, Band: 51, Heft: 1, Seiten: 22-38
RelBib Classification:BJ Islam
CC Christentum und nichtchristliche Religionen; interreligiöse Beziehungen
CH Christentum und Gesellschaft
KBM Asien
weitere Schlagwörter:B Isai
B Bangladesh
B Christian
B Devotion
B Conversion
B Interiority
B Patronage
B Muslim
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Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Though conversion studies have attempted to move beyond models that “privilege interior states and subjectivities” (Rambo and Farhadian 2014), this article argues, first, that such a step forward has proved difficult. Interiority persists within frequent divisions of intrinsic and extrinsic factors in Christian conversion or is only de-emphasized at the cost of marginalizing converts’ theological or spiritual convictions. Retaining an internal-external paradigm is especially problematic in non-western contexts, where converts may have quite differently-ordered configurations of self-understanding. Second, the article demonstrates the potential of suspending this duality, through an analysis of existing studies of Muslim-background “Isai” groups in Bangladesh. Isai conversion, involving a pivot from Muhammad to Jesus, is interpreted within a patron-client scheme in which intimacy is more fundamental than interiority, indicating that devotional “proximity” might be a way to refer to the transformative conversion experience without reverting to an interior-exterior dichotomy.
ISSN:1572-543X
Enthält:Enthalten in: Exchange
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/1572543X-20221617