The reality of caste-discrimination in Christianity

Ashna Skariah

SYBA 2020

Caste-based distinctions have been very prevalent for years in the Hindu community. It is also largely assumed that this discrimination is limited to the Hindus whereas in reality there are caste-based distinctions among many other religious communities including Christianity. Traditionally, many people have subscribed to the belief that Christianity does not have “castes” and yet there are cases of discrimination within the religion and if that is the case what are these discriminations based on? 

The purpose of this article is to review questions like in reality, are there no caste-based discriminations in Christianity? Are there any “caste- like” discriminative factors within it?  This article attempts to answer such questions backed up with personal experiences and instances. Although there are officially no castes in this religion, there are different rites in Christianity based on which there were a lot of past disparities that still run within the community today. At the end of this article, we would be able to clearly state if there are “castes” or “caste-like” discriminations under Christianity and how they emerged. 

Christianity is considered to have a foreign origin. It was brought to India by St. Thomas, an apostle of Jesus in 52AD. He is said to have marked his arrival in Kerala where the earliest conversions happened. Before St. Thomas, Kerala had a sizable mass of Brahmins and other Hindu communities which had caste hierarchies within them. Despite the conversion, caste-based identity politics continued to control the non-secular discourse. Higher caste Christians, who were the higher caste Hindus, had problems in accepting the fact that people they considered lower castes earlier were now equivalent to them.  

When the conversions started happening in Tamil Nadu, the caste distinctions increased more. The converted Christians living near the coastal areas or in remote villages were considered to be “lower caste” Christians because of their occupation and standards of living. This is a continued practice even today. For example, a church near to where I stay, called the Velankanni Church is situated in a coastal area. The people here have mixed traditions with the Tamilians and the Konkanis. They are mostly fishermen as the place is very close to the beach and it usually has the stench of fishes around the place. Although this church is very famous and is said to have been the cause for many miracles people are very reluctant to go there often. A few months ago, when my family was celebrating an occasion and decided to go to the church, our relatives resisted by saying, “Filthy Christians live there, do you have to go there on this special day?”. From this instance we can make out that even today there are discriminations but it is not exactly on the basis of “caste” but somehow or the other related to it. The term “filthy Christians” may have been a reference to their occupation or the place they live in but tagging any community as dirty in this manner causes discrimination. It is not surprising as this is the public opinion of most Christians and they believe that Christians from coastal areas or villages are lower caste Christians.

Finding out one's caste in Christianity is tough. This is because it is considered that there are no castes whatsoever within it. However, there are 6 rites, under which there are 24 individual churches (called sui iuris) in the Catholic Church. The six rites are Latin rite, Alexandrian rite, West Syrian rite, Armenian rite, East Syrian rite and Constantinopolitan Rite.

In addition to these Catholic churches there are a bunch of other Christian churches which include the Protestant churches, Marthoma churches, Orthodox churches, Pentecost churches and many more. Under the 6 rites of the Catholic church, Latin church from the Latin rite, Syro-Malankara from the West Syrian rite and Syro-Malabar from the East Syrian rite are the most popular in India. Catholic churches or Catholics are given a lot of recognition and respect as in some way they are considered to be superior. In fact, even under these three dominant Catholic traditions, the Latin church is considered the most superior, followed by the Malabar church and then the Malankara. This could be because people assume that they are financially better off. Latin Church members talk only in English and their Holy Mass and other important occasions are celebrated only in English whereas the other two are mostly in Malayalam. Another aspect that makes them superior is the influence of western traditions in them. The Latin church follows more of the westernized traditions which are similar to those outside India. 

I come from a Malabar Catholic family. My family and the people around me have never been uncomfortable talking about their “castes” if they were Christians, mostly because there is no caste whatsoever. My family earlier recognized themselves as Malankara Catholics. Ironically after migrating to Mumbai they got converted and identified as Malabar Catholics. However, this is because Malankara Catholics are a minority in Mumbai and there are not many Malankara churches in Mumbai. Even though we can still go back to the Malankara church we believe it would be difficult as we have already adapted to the style of living as a Malabar Catholic. Being a Malabar Catholic in some way does make me feel good about my “caste” or ‘sect’, as we would call it, because there is a lot of recognition attached to being a Malabar Catholic.

One question that I have come across a lot while introducing myself to anybody in Mumbai is “Tu catholic hei na?” (You are a catholic right?).  Many people are still unaware of the fact that Christians and Catholics are not synonymous but Catholics come under Christianity. This could be because Catholics form a majority in Mumbai and they have more recognition than the other sects of Christianity.

I used to study in a convent school run by Malabar priests where it was compulsory to attend the mass in school every first Friday. All the Catholic students were called to attend mass on those days and consequently miss lectures every first Friday. Something that has to be noted here is that the mass used to be celebrated in Malayalam. Even though the Latin children would not have understood anything, they were forced to join in and attend the Malayalam mass. Giving it a thought after so many years of schooling this was, in a way, a kind of discrimination done to the children from the Latin rites. 

When it comes to marital preferences, getting married to a Latin guy/girl being from a Malankara or Malabar community is not considered in any of these rites. In a conversation with my parents when I asked them if I could get married to a Latin guy the response I got was “They are a different caste”. Although caste here does not adhere to the real meaning of “caste”, this is a term that has been used by all Catholics. Latin Catholics will look for spouses from their own community. On the other hand, Malabar and Malankara Catholics do not have a problem getting married to each other but they would not choose a Latin spouse either. It is funny to see Malayali Christian matrimonial pages where we actually realize how these castes/sects/groups heavily influence the family in deciding the future partner.

After  St. Thomas there were more missionaries that came to India which included Portuguese missionaries and Chaldean missionaries. The Knanaya community originated from the Chaldean tradition. They come under the Syro-Malabar rite and their traditions coincide with the Malabar rites so the only tradition that makes them different is their matrimonial preferences. Knanaya believers cannot marry outside their community. According to their belief, they are supposed to keep the “blood purity” from their ancestors and thus are not allowed to marry anyone else who is a non-Knananite. If the person chooses to marry outside the community, he or she along with their families are expelled from the community. This tradition is still very prevalent among this community, even though the number of Knanaya Catholics are decreasing.

India is a country where castes have been a very significant part of the society. From the earliest of times, the caste system has been associated with the Hindu community. An implication of this essay in general is the possibility that Christianity does not promote caste in literal terms but since the Indian society that we are a part of is heavily caste oriented, Christians also associate others with the caste (sect as we call it) that one belongs to. In research or in real life I have not come across Christians who were uncomfortable with their assigned “castes”, however, we cannot say that there is no discrimination at all. The notion of high caste and low caste are backed by factors that in reality today does not actually matter. Hereby we prove that these discriminations are more on the basis of occupation, standards of living and influence of western culture. This discrimination is also a part of every community in some or the other way.

References

Jose, J. (2020, July 5). Caste in Christianity. Dalit Camera. Retrieved on September 30, 2020, from https://www.dalitcamera.com/caste-in-christianity-2/ 

LaBanca, N. (2019, April 3). The Other 23 Catholic Churches and Why They Exist. Ascension Press Media. Retrieved on September 30 2020,  from  https://media.ascensionpress.com/2019/01/21/the-other-23-catholic-churches-and-why-they-exist/ 

THOMAS, S. (2018). Privileged Minorities: Syrian Christianity, Gender, and Minority Rights in Postcolonial India. Seattle: University of Washington Press. Retrieved October 1, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvcwnx2t