From Christian anti-imperialism to postcolonial Christianity

M. M. Thomas and the ecumenical theology of communism in the 1940s and 1950s

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12876804
AutoresJustin Reynolds (Harvard University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2018
Volumen13
Número2
Páginas230-251
Fecha de publicación2018-06-21
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Global History (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1740-0228 • E-ISSN: 1740-0236
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1740022818000062
OpenAlexW2809679346
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas3
Referencias citadas29

This article uses the early thought and career of the Indian Mar Thoma Christian and Marxian theologian M. M. Thomas to investigate the connections between ecumenism’s theology of communism and its engagements with anti-colonial politics and decolonization in the 1940s and 1950s. The article situates Thomas’ efforts to reconcile Marxian doctrine with Christian faith within the movement’s institutional practices for combating the entropic effects of modern secular civilization and Cold War polarization. Tracing Thomas’ ascent from Christian Marxist youth circles in south India to leadership positions in the World Student Christian Federation and the World Council of Churches, the article highlights the central role of his theology in establishing ‘revolutionary’ postcolonial social transformation as the object of Christian global governance in the post-war era

Christianity · Communism · Ecumenism · Faith · Marxist philosophy · Political science · Political theology · Politics · Theology · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · Law · Philosophy · Religion, Gender, and Enlightenment · Religion, Society, and Development · Religious studies