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It is time Indian Christianity reflected deeply upon its place in the Indian public, grew in its publicness, and got involved heart and soul in the processes of the public sphere. Needless to say that Indian Christianity has been existing, in some form or other, as part of the Indian public. However, the context is different today, and it calls for an informed and deeply reflective awareness of its identity, role, relationality with the state and different religious others, presence in public and civil spheres, etc. By way of contributing to such reflection, this volume brings together some essays that explore Indian Christianity's relationship to the Indian public from socio-theological perspectives. The essays take the reader through a journey of getting to know some salient features and concerns of Indian Christianity, and then lead to a public theological rendezvous with relevance, methods, and themes of public theology. The volume would make a good introductory reading for students of Indian Christianity, sociology of religion, public religion, and public theology in the Indian context.

Contents: Preface. Introduction: Indian Christianity in the Public Realm/Gnana Patrick. Part I: Context and Concerns. 1. Being a Minority: Prospects and Challenges Facing Christians in India to Play their Public Role/T. K. Oommen. 2. Christianity and the Indigenous People in India/S. M. Michael. 3. Christianity and Education in India/Mohan Doss. 4. Uniform Civil Code: An Appraisal/L. Sahayaraj. Part II: Public Theological Explorations. 5. Indian Christianity: Public Theological Explorations/Archbishop Prakash Mallavarapu. 6. Public Theology: Concept, History and Relevance for India/P. T. Mathew. 7. Christianity and Democracy in India/Moses Manohar. 8. Being Authentically Plural in the Contemporary World : Challenges and Prospects/Varghese Manimala. 9. Social Teachings of the Church and their Relevance of Public Theology/X. D. Selvaraj. 10. Inter-relationality between Indian State and Church : An Analysis/Peter Susaimanickam. 11. Christianity, Civil Society and Science-Theology Dialogue in India/Binoy Pichalakattu. Index.