Christianity and Education in Arcot Mission

Abstract

This paper discusses the role of education by the Arcot missions in the light of public theology. The Arcot Mission is a Mission of the Reformed Church of America and they sent missionaries to South India in the Arcot area. The area of Arcot Mission in Tamil Nadu, South India was from Madanapalle on the North to Tindivanam in the South and Gudiyattam on the West and Ranipet on the East. This paper covers the time period from 1853 when the mission started in India till 1953. The Mission had worked with the people in the area for more than hundred years. Public theology of mission aims at imbibing the best Christian values to the wider public. Christianity in India has been known for its service specially to the lowly and marginalised. In this paper the researcher is trying to revisit the history of Arcot Missions and its solidarity with the poor and the marginalized in the field of education. The researcher attempts to bring out the contributions to the society and the common good they were able to achieve, in consultation with the people outside their mission community. The methodology applied is Archival study. The researcher has gone through their annual reports from 1853 to 1954. This has been used as the Primary source. He has used other books and articles on the subject as a secondary source. Letters sent by the missionaries and the ‘Indian workers’ to their Boards in the USA were also explored.