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In The European Encounter with Hinduism Jan Peter Schouten offers an account of European travellers coming into contact with the Hindu religion in India. From the thirteenth century on, both traders and missionaries visited India and encountered the exotic world of Hindus and Hinduism. Their travel reports reveal how Europeans gradually increased their knowledge of Hinduism and how they evaluated this foreign religion. Later on, although officials of the colonial administration also studied the languages and culture of India, it was – contrary to what is usually assumed – particularly the many missionaries who made the greatest contribution to the mapping of Hinduism.
Price: $66.00
Publisher: Brill
Imprint: Brill
Series: Currents of Encounter
Publication Date:
13 February 2020
ISBN: 9789004420069
Format: Paperback
The European Encounter with Hinduism in India is a masterful reflection on Western visitors to India from Marco Polo on, and then too on the colonial era missionary encounters with Hindu texts, practices, and believers. Sensitive to political as well as religious issues, Schouten introduces a wide range of materials very ably, and at every point offers insights into the views and strategies of missionary scholars and educated colonial officials. Readers are prompted to take a new and long view on how the West discovered India, and inevitably to reassess our current political, cultural and religious reactions to the great traditions of Hindu India. - Francis X. Clooney, SJ, Professor of Comparative Theology, Harvard University.
In the history of European contact with India, Roberto de Nobili takes pride of place. This Jesuit was a towering figure; he learned Sanskrit, studied the Veda’s, and wore Brahmin dress (described in rich detail in this book). By doing so, he tried to reach the highest caste in India and started telling the story of the ‘fifth Veda’, the gospel. He created a dilemma for the Christian churches by accepting the caste system (that still exists until today, even though it is perhaps less influential than several centuries ago). The Christian churches in India struggled to integrate Indian culture into their Christian liturgy. They rightly argued that in the guise of Christian mission, colonialism dictated Western habits and should therefore not be seen as universally binding. The Protestant missionaries in India, were convinced of the idolatrous nature of Hinduism. But even they were forced to acknowledge Indian culture as a valid incentive for the Churches in India. As an expert in Hinduism and Christian theology, Jan Peter Schouten is the perfect author to write about the confrontation between Europe and India. - Marcel Poorthuis, Professor of Interreligious Dialogue, Tilburg University.
In the history of European contact with India, Roberto de Nobili takes pride of place. This Jesuit was a towering figure; he learned Sanskrit, studied the Veda’s, and wore Brahmin dress (described in rich detail in this book). By doing so, he tried to reach the highest caste in India and started telling the story of the ‘fifth Veda’, the gospel. He created a dilemma for the Christian churches by accepting the caste system (that still exists until today, even though it is perhaps less influential than several centuries ago). The Christian churches in India struggled to integrate Indian culture into their Christian liturgy. They rightly argued that in the guise of Christian mission, colonialism dictated Western habits and should therefore not be seen as universally binding. The Protestant missionaries in India, were convinced of the idolatrous nature of Hinduism. But even they were forced to acknowledge Indian culture as a valid incentive for the Churches in India. As an expert in Hinduism and Christian theology, Jan Peter Schouten is the perfect author to write about the confrontation between Europe and India. - Marcel Poorthuis, Professor of Interreligious Dialogue, Tilburg University.
Dr. Jan Peter Schouten (1949) studied theology and sociology in Amsterdam and Utrecht. He is a retired minister of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands. He has published monographs and articles on Hinduism, including Jesus as Guru(Brill/Rodopi, 2008).