Beyond Interiority in Christian Conversion
Proximity to Jesus as Patron among Muslim-background “Isai” in Bangladesh
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11287461 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Christian J Anderson (0009-0007-1910-671X, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge Cambridge UK, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 22-38 |
| Publication date | 2022-06-08 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Exchange (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0166-2740 • E-ISSN: 1572-543X |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1163/1572543x-20221617 |
| OpenAlex | W4283811789 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 2 |
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
Duality (order theory · Epistemology · Political science · Privilege (computing · Pure mathematics · Religious conversion · Sociology · Theology · Transformative learning · Education and Islamic Studies · Islamic Finance and Banking Studies · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy · Religion, Society, and Development
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |