To Be Cared For
eBook - PDF

To Be Cared For

The Power of Conversion and Foreignness of Belonging in an Indian Slum

  1. 312 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

To Be Cared For

The Power of Conversion and Foreignness of Belonging in an Indian Slum

About this book

To Be Cared For offers a unique view into the conceptual and moral world of slum-bound Dalits (“untouchables”) in the South Indian city of Chennai. Focusing on the decision by many women to embrace locally specific forms of Pentecostal Christianity, Nathaniel Roberts challenges dominant anthropological understandings of religion as a matter of culture and identity, as well as Indian nationalist narratives of Christianity as a “foreign” ideology that disrupts local communities. Far from being a divisive force, conversion integrates the slum community—Christians and Hindus alike—by addressing hidden moral fault lines that subtly pit residents against one another in a national context that renders Dalits outsiders in their own land."

Read an interview with the author on the Association for Asian Studies' #AsiaNow blog.

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Yes, you can access To Be Cared For by Nathaniel Roberts in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Cultural & Social Anthropology. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Contents
  3. List of Illustrations
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. Terminological Notes
  6. Introduction
  7. 1 Outsiders
  8. 2 Caste, Care, and the Human
  9. 3 Sharing, Caring, and Supernatural Attack
  10. 4 Religion, Conversion, and the National Frame
  11. 5 The Logic of Slum Religion
  12. 6 Pastoral Power and the Miracles of Christ
  13. 7 Salvation, Knowledge, and Suffering
  14. Conclusion
  15. Appendix: Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Ordinance, 2002
  16. Notes
  17. References
  18. Index