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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Détails bibliographiques
Auteur principal: Anderson, Christian J. (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
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Publié: Brill 2022
Dans: Exchange
Année: 2022, Volume: 51, Numéro: 1, Pages: 22-38
RelBib Classification:BJ Islam
CC Christianisme et religions non-chrétiennes; relations interreligieuses
CH Christianisme et société
KBM Asie
Sujets non-standardisés:B Isai
B Bangladesh
B Christian
B Musulman
B Devotion
B Conversion
B Interiority
B Patronage
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Résumé: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
Contient:Enthalten in: Exchange
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/1572543X-20221617