From Christian anti-imperialism to postcolonial Christianity

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

Dados Bibliográficos

ID12876804
AutoresJustin Reynolds (Harvard University, autor correspondente)
Ano2018
Volume13
Fascículo2
Páginas230-251
Data de publicação2018-06-21
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Global History (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1740-0228 • E-ISSN: 1740-0236
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1740022818000062
OpenAlexW2809679346
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas3
Referências 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