Abstract:
Youth is a crucial category for the present and future of society. This is
particularly true in the multifaceted Indian context. According to the National Statistical
Office (NSO) of India, the youth population, defined as those between the ages of 15
and 29, comprised 27.2% of the country’s overall population of 1.3 billion in 2021.
This proportion is expected to decline to 22.7% by 2036, but the youth population in
numbers is projected to be still large, around 345 million. It means that the welfare of
the Indian society is to a great extent determined by the wellbeing of youth who form
about one-fourth of the population.
If the Christian community with their educational institutions intend to contribute
to the formation and development of multireligious Indian youth – particularly the
emarginated and the poor - then Christians have to evolve a public theology of educational
engagement. From the perspective of individual youth development, public theology
must address the intellectual, emotional and behavioural wellbeing. The emerging
question is how ecclesial faith can contribute to these varied aspects of youth development
in dialogue with religious, cultural, psychological, social, political, economic,
environmental studies.
In this paper we wish to present some salient aspects of the empirical research
undertaken among college students affiliated to Christian, Islamic and Hindu religious
traditions in Tamil Nadu, India. The scope of the research was to scrutinize the human
rights attitude of the young concerning right to life, civil rights, judicial rights, political
rights, socioeconomic rights and environmental rights, and examining the role religions
play with regard to it. Public theology of educational engagement would imply dealing
with the impact of religions at meta-ethical, normative ethical and legal ethical levels
and thus contribute to youth development.
