The sociology of conversion, as outlined by Lofland and Stark (Table 10, p. 152), requires observing at least two notions in a conversion process. One is the notion of crisis, the other is the genuineness of conversion. Lofland and Stark acknowledged the problem of identifying a total conversion. Norris added another concept when pointing to the general shift of lifestyle as people convert. Even so, the general message as conveyed from the interviews and participant observation (p. 32) is a seamless shift from verbal conversion to total conversion. The reason is that this shift happens when people are baptised. There are usually significant requirements for baptisms in Nepal. Baptismal candidates participate in months-long baptismal courses to ensure knowledge about basic Christian doctrine and Christian lifestyle, and to safeguard awareness about the consequences of possible persecution to prevent any backsliding. As Ian Gibson
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says, ‘becoming a Christian in Nepal is thus a conversion in the fullest sense of the word.’348
Non-baptised people participate regularly in the church services and in house fellowships but are not reckoned to be true Christians. Indeed, often Hindus with religious marks on their forehead (tika) who have just performed ritual Hindu prayers (puja) go to church and occasionally also join house fellowship meetings. Obviously carnal Christians exist (Section 5.2.2.2) but due to their lifestyle they are also easily identified. Therefore, the second notion, which is the seventh and last stage in the model, is rarely problematic in Nepalese contexts.
The most significant statement in this section (Section 4.2) is Sukuman’s love declaration to the Buddhists (Table 11). The fact that he emphasises his love in connection with his evangelism technique portrays his character and focus. Therefore, when he begins talking about the migration of Tamang and about God’s grace to the Buddhists, they are attentive. Although this particularly concerns the Tamang, the idea can be extrapolated to most of the Janajati. These people and parallel people, the
Madeshi, Kiranti, or more broadly the NFDIN (Section 2.7.2, p. 49) groups, may all in
varying degrees feel less worthy than the Parbatiya or at least than the twice-born (high-caste people). Therefore, when Sukuman and like people surround them with a welcoming and understanding atmosphere, not only among the Tamang, and even pray for their sick animals, their goats and water buffalos, without pay (Section 4.2.3), people feel defended, justified, worthy and accepted. It does not mean that they change social status, on the contrary. Devi Bahadur Tamang (p. 112) says: ‘we as Christians do have a little lower status in society, we are overlooked, and we are like low-caste. But we are not from the low-caste; we are from the third caste being a Tamang, those who
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follow a foreign religion (Table 4, p. 62).’349 Therefore, in terms of social status, it does not help to be a Christian, but the point is also more basic, to be vindicated from what could look like a crisis.
Blandine Ripert writes that the Tamang feel excluded by the central Indo-Nepal power.350 When they convert they convert to Christianity and not Hinduism because they regard Christianity from a pragmatic point of view which includes finances, functionality, universal credibility and simplicity (p. 156). Ripert may have a good point, but I would like to combine this with Lofland and Stark’s model and Sukuman’s storytelling or love declaration (Table 11, p. 154). The Janajati (Section 2.7.2, p. 47) are primarily non-Hindu indigenous ethnic groups who, therefore, do not belong to the mainstream Hindu Parbatiya ethnic group and do not enjoy all privileges of the
Parbatiya. This reflection is of great significance because it may help shed light on
Sukuman’s claim that people convert due to the creation story. It is axiomatic that groups of people, the Janajati, with this lower status in relation to Hindu socio-polity, may feel vindicated by knowing more about their paternal ancestry. Many Janajati in the same way as low-caste and Madeshi groups (groups of people in the eastern Terai) knowingly or unknowingly may undergo a kind of crisis by having been dismissed from being fully able to participate in planning and being part of developing the socio- political structure in their own land. Things are getting better through interest groups like NEFIN and NFDIN (p. 49) which identify many Janajati with predisposing conversion conditions in accordance with Lofland and Stark’s seven-stage model. In
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this way, by combining Ripert’s pragmatism, Lofland and Stark’s model and Sukuman’s storytelling, the notion of crisis may emerge among the Janajati.351
4.3 Conclusion
Spiritual matters are real to Nepalis whether they follow traditional religions or whether they have become Christians, meaning for them gods and spirits are not part of a different world beyond they are part of this world of humans and nature. Along with traditional practitioners, particularly the lambu and the bombo among the Tamang, the church and individual Christians have demonstrated great potency from the perspective of providing service to spiritually afflicted people or to people who suffer severe or chronic illness, and a great number of informants have testified about spiritual authority in the name of Jesus Christ for their benefit.
Underlying factors connected to conflicts translate into Christian prayer. Christian prayers unfold into different groupings: there are specific prayers for protection; other kinds of Christian prayers give rise to anxiety among traditional religious people as they fear malevolent responses from traditional gods and goddesses; healing prayers and strategic prayers entail many issues like prayer for housing and against strongholds. With this evidence it is conclusive that Christians are knowledgeable about spiritual powers, what they face and what they are dealing with when they exercise authority through prayers.
As Christians, when evangelising and praying for people, sometimes are (mis)taken for being another kind of traditional ritual specialist, a shaman or a traditional priest, it is assumed that they have good spiritual insight both from a Christian and a traditional
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worldview that enables them to be knowledgeable people in society. From this, many Christians seem to have opportunities to be key-players in spiritual matters.
The conversion theory indicates that conversion is linked with crisis, either sociologically through personal crisis from spiritual afflictions and other types of illness and challenges or anthropologically through cultural factors giving predisposing conditions to conversion. The value of love as a quality and a behaviour emerged as an essential factor. This may be an anticipation of events but this value of love is significant and will be mentioned where appropriate. It has become my conviction based on statements from informants that meeting people in an atmosphere of love and with acts of love is imperative for the propagation of Christian belief in Nepal. In this chapter there was one example, but there are other examples later. Thus the following keywords have been identified, prayer, love and crisis. The latter, crisis, is central also in conversion theory. In the light of the statements and accounts articulated by the informants, Christians of the evangelical church are integrated into Nepalese society.
This chapter of conversion gave a good introduction to the Christian and traditional lives of Nepal, and the challenges many Nepalis are facing concerning sickness and various kinds of afflictions. With this in mind the next chapter follows naturally as it concerns ways and methods that Christians use to overcome socio-religious challenges from traditional religious people by negotiating their boundaries.