Religion and Society

Religion and Society is a scholarly journal associated with the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society (CISRS) in Bengaluru. The journal publishes research and discussion on religion in relation to society, with particular attention to Indian religious traditions, social change, theology, culture, politics and questions of public life. Its history is closely connected with the intellectual work of CISRS and the wider development of Christian social thought and the academic study of religion in India.

Origins and Name

The journal began in October 1953 as the Bulletin of the Christian Institute for the Study of Society. The title Religion and Society was adopted with Volume IV, Number 3, published in December 1957. This followed the formation of the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society (CISRS), when the Institute was combined with the Centre for Research and Training in Hinduism. The earlier title was retained as a subtitle, “Bulletin of the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society”.

Editors

C. Arangaden was the founding editor of the journal, with H. K. Moulton serving as consulting editor. P. D. Devanandan was a member of the editorial board from the first issue. When the Christian Institute for the Study of Society was enlarged, P. D. Devanandan and M. M. Thomas became editors and continued in that role when CISRS was formed and the journal became Religion and Society.

During the following decades, the editorial team included Herbert Jai Singh, Richard W. Taylor, T. K. Thomas, Mark Sunder Rao, Saral K. Chatterji, G. R. Karat and Jean Paranjoti-Augustine. M. M. Thomas continued as chief of the editors for much of this period.

Editorial Purpose and Intellectual Context

During its early years, Religion and Society sought to document and encourage Indian Christian participation in intellectual and ecumenical discussions. Its editorial purpose included engagement with social, economic and political change, Hindu-Christian understanding and relationships, and the development of Indian Christian theology.

The journal’s early development was closely associated with P. D. Devanandan and M. M. Thomas, who helped shape its editorial direction and intellectual character.

Content and Themes

During its first twenty years, many articles published in Religion and Society originated in meetings and consultations organised by the Institute. As a result, individual issues were frequently organised around particular themes arising from these meetings and consultations.

The journal gave priority to Indian authors and to other contributors associated with the wider intellectual movement around the Institute. Its contents addressed questions of religion and society in the context of India’s social, economic and political changes, as well as Hindu-Christian relations and Christian theology in India.

Editorials, Reviews and Bible Studies

Editorials were an important part of the journal and commonly placed individual themes within wider contexts, including Indian national concerns and the ecumenical thinking of the World Council of Churches and, later, the Christian Conference of Asia.

Book reviews were introduced in the late 1950s and became a regular part of the journal during the following years. Bible studies arising from CISRS consultations were also published, and members of the CISRS Biennial Council called for further publication of such material.

Reports and Consultations

Reports of CISRS meetings and consultations appeared regularly in the journal. By 1972, reports of fifty-one such meetings had been published. This reflected the close relationship between the journal and the research, consultation and discussion programmes of CISRS.

The First Twenty-Five Years

The first twenty-five volumes of the journal were commemorated in Religion and Society: The First Twenty-five Years, 1953–1978, edited by Richard W. Taylor. The volume brought together selected material from the journal’s first twenty-five volumes and provided a retrospective account of its development.

Taylor noted that the selection process excluded material that had already been republished elsewhere, as well as most book reviews, Bible studies and editorials. The resulting selection represented approximately one-third of the material he had considered for inclusion.

References

1. Taylor, Richard W., ed. Religion and Society: The First Twenty-five Years, 1953–1978. Bangalore: Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, published by the Christian Literature Society, Madras, 1982.

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