Decolonization of Theology
Samuel Rayan, SJ – Vidyajyoti, Delhi
1. The Project
1.1 To decolonise is, (according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, 9th edition, 1995), to “withdraw from (a colony) leaving it independent”. A colony, (according to the same authority), is “a group of settlers in a new country (whether or not already inhabited) fully or partially subject to the mother country”. Colony can also mean the territory thus settled. These descriptions — ‘new country’, ‘withdraw’, ‘leaving it’, ‘the mother country’ — come naturally to the colonial outlook. For the people of the ‘new country’, however, to decolonise would be to make their territory independent by ridding it of settlers who, more often than not, have been invaders, illegal immigrants or cheats. The Oxford definition, then, of decolonization needs decolonising. We have little or no knowledge of colonists withdrawing except when thrown out. Historically, colonialism has been a “policy of acquiring or maintaining colonies” with a view to their exploitation, especially economic, precipitating swift corrosion of the freedom, dignity, life and culture of their original inhabitants. Under colonial domination, the exploited and marginalised people’s creativity and resourcefulness deteriorate, paving the way to deepening dependence at all levels of life and in all areas of existence, unless the people resist and keep up the struggle.
1.2 Does the project, then, of decolonising theology in India presuppose the existence in the past of a theological territory which later was invaded, disturbed and destroyed by theologies from outside? A church has existed in India, at least on its West Coast, long before the arrival of Vasco da Gama (1498) and the colonial era. That church surely had a theology expressed in its structure, worship and life, if not articulated in discourse. We know that Portuguese interference did colonize this church and its theology by introducing/imposing new structures, devotions and practices like concentration of all power in the bishop, obligatory celibacy for priests, daily Eucharist, the rosary, the benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, foreign names for Christians, and the present shape of religious congregations. It also brought here a church made root and branch in Europe with many foreign mores and manners, and speaking an ancient foreign language, Latin. But perhaps a similar colonization of Christian life in India had occurred at some earlier point in the Church’s history. For what the Portuguese sought to replace were not exactly indigenous forms of Christian life and thought. So then the spirituality, liturgy and theology of the Indian Church have, over the years, been largely shaped by West Asian and European perceptions, experiences, interests, questions and needs.
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