From Your Diary: Steven Injety
My mother used to tell me stories when I was a kid. She still does. When I was younger she told me a story about European missionaries who came bearing great news to her grandfather’s village (Mukuperi-Prakasam area) about Jesus and His salvation. To their Anglo-Saxon shock, my great-grandfather was aware and already believed in Jesus before the European missionaries came to him. What appealed to me about this event is that the Europeans came dressed in European attire, equipped with his European customs, while my great grandfather wore his Tamil attire, in addition to his Tamil customs and both believed in Jesus. Two people from two different cultures united by their faith. This story taught me from a young age that I can enjoy dosa and believe in Jesus. I can have a Christian(note I did not say Western) name while wearing a lungi. I can be an Indian Christian without having to choose between the two.
Culture and religion are structured in a manner that they both influence each other. Culture is how we experience the world. Religion is how we understand the world. Being a reasonably observant Indian Christian, it is very easy to notice the tension between the identities of being Indian and being a Christian. Since Christians are a relatively small number (32 million or 2.3 percent) of India’s population, Indian-Christian culture exists in small pockets of expressions. They exist, not in mainstream media, politics, sports or holidays, but in weekly outbursts of expression in churches and church-related functions. Thus, we see that South Asian Christians often have to compartmentalise their identity. Indian Christians are tempted to choose to be either “fully” Indian, or “fully” Christian, while rejecting the other. I find this to be a sad predicament. As identity is not fully defined by culture or religion, but a combination of a multitude of variables and factors. Identity may seem like a redundant issue that does not have much impact on someone’s life. When in reality, these seemingly ignorable identity issues are what affect how connected our future generations will be to their past. I do not want to rob my children of thousands of years of history by not passing it down. While it may feel more comfortable short-term, to choose between the two, denying either your religion(or disbelief in religion) or your culture is denying a huge part of yourself.
In the same way that Indian culture is often confused and reduced to Hindu culture, Christian culture can be and is confused with Western culture. As a Christian, it saddens me that my belief system is perceived as Western Culture. At times, this induces feelings of feeling as an outsider in my own faith. As an Indian, it saddens me that my culture is perceived as Hindu Culture. This induces feelings of feeling as an outsider in my own culture. I cannot deny the huge influence that Christianity has on Western culture, and Hinduism has on Indian culture. Most cultural holidays, diet, celebrations and customs have some relation to the predominant religion. However, in order to truly appreciate the depth of the cultures and religions, we should not conflate the two. Indian culture belongs to all who have Indian lineage and history, regardless of religion. Christianity belongs to all who accept Jesus as their savior, regardless of lineage and history.
I came to America to study in a private Christian university in Michigan. When I first landed in Chicago Airport with little knowledge of where I was going, I was slightly overwhelmed to say the least. I searched around for any friendly faces in the airport. To my dismay, I could not see any. However, I saw Indian-looking people and gravitated towards them. After a while they struck up a conversation and they ended up helping me get arrangements to my university. Two people from two different faiths united by their culture. This experience taught me that I can be an Indian Christian without having to choose between the two.
- Steven Injety
