Contemporary Challenges to Faith Formation in Indian Catholic Schooling

Abstract

India is a mosaic of different cultures, religions, castes, and classes with unimaginable pluralism and diversity at everylevel, making it the most complex nation in the world. This scenario brings with it a great many confl icts, problems as wellas challenges in all aspects of life and activity. India being the cradle of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism theentry of any other religion has its challenges and confl icts. As per the Census of India, 2002, the total population of Indiais 1,002.1 millions with Hindus, 672.6 millions (82.4%); Muslims, 95.2 millions (11.7%); Christians, 18.9 millions (2.3%)with Catholics just 14.91 millions (1.51%); Sikhs, 16.3 (2.0%); Buddhists, 6.3 millions (0.8%); Jains, 3.4 millions (0.4%);and others, 3.5 millions (0.4%). The percentage of Christians in the South is larger than in the North except a few pocketsin the north-east regions, where the Church seems to be thriving and in other places merely surviving. There are locationswhere Catholics are descendants of the upper classes of the Indian society and others, where the converts have been mainlyDalits (the oppressed persons and groups) and Adivasis (the original indigenous people of India). Consequently, any attemptat the analytical study of Christianity in India refl ects the challenges posed by historical developments and mission patterns,and any efforts at faith education needs to have its basis on the context of its multicultural—multi-religious reality.