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INDIA: Modernisation is not precluding religious commitment, says bishop
By John Pontifex
Bishop Lourdes Daniel of Nashik in India
Educated and computer-savvy Christians in India are bucking trends by becoming more involved with the Church – according to a bishop in the west of the country.
Bishop Lourdes Daniel told Aid to the Church in Need that religious commitment was more prevalent than 30 years ago – in spite of increased wealth, improved education standards and more business opportunities especially in new media.
Bishop Daniel said that youth parish involvement in his Nashik diocese had grown – in part thanks to the emergence of small faith-sharing groups and outreach schemes to the disadvantaged.
Bishop Daniel said: "I was a priest in this region in the 1980s. Back then we never heard about business degrees – MBAs – and I.T.
"But now people are much better educated and every second person you speak to is involved in I.T.
"And yet their faith is very strong and more go to church. The churches are full, especially on Sundays.
"Whenever you ask young people to do something for Church, they are very happy to do it."
The bishop said that parishes in Nashik diocese were divided up into 'zones' where young people meet regularly for catechesis and Bible sharing.
He explained how young people in the towns go to some of the poorest outlying villages to provide nursing training, adult education as well as adult formation.
The bishop went on to thank Aid to the Church in Need for supporting leadership training programmes for young people who teach the faith.
The charity is helping young people in Bishop Daniel's diocese with programmes including an Advent retreat, a Holy Week adaption enacting Christ's Passion and death, a rally for 500 altar servers and a youth convention involving 330 youngsters.
Explaining the growing interest in the Church in an increasingly educated and developed society, he said: "There is a genuine thirst for faith.
"The [young people] may not always be able to articulate what it is they want but you can see a vacuum which people are wanting to fill with meaning."